ideas on Opal's flying and possible feather problems

[reeb]

So, some of you may remember that I posted about Opal's flying issues near the beginning of the year. We took him to the vet, and all tests showed that he was healthy, except he had a minor respiratory infection which we easily treated and he fully recovered from it. At the time, his wings were mid-molt, so it was pretty difficult to tell if it was a feather problem. Anyway, he's been flying much better, gets height and does dips and what not, however he is still not as fit as Pearl and Berry.

So, I decided to have a look at his wings, and they are very scruffy. Not malformed or plucked or anything, just kind of uneven. They look bright in colour, and healthy otherwise. He gets a really balanced diet, but nevertheless my biggest concern is that he is lacking nutrition in some way.

Does anyone have knowledge of feather problems?

 

[LordTriggs]

he could just be banging his feathers or even over-preening slightly, it's not unheard of with birds growing feathers after a clip

 

[reeb]

he has never been clipped, that is what worries me

 

[LordTriggs]

could be he's a little uncomfortable with the new feathers coming in, or like I say bashing against something.

Try finding a new foraging toy he can get his mind on, possible some more fresh veg in his diet

 

[MonicaMc]

Pictures may help... and a bath or two, too!


Some birds are also better flyers than others, just like some humans are better runners than others.