Just a Rough Molt or Cause for Worry?

[Akula00]

So I've had my IRN: Chief since December and all signs point to him being quite young. Curiously he has always had a kind of bald 'line' across his head with a small patch above one eye.

Recently he's been shedding a lot of feathers and the scruffy/balding area is noticeably worse. I feed Chief zupreem pellets appropriate for a bird his size, lots of corn on the cob, banana and peas, so I think his diet is good and he's showing no signs of illness or depleted energy.

Is he just a rough molter? Or should I be concerned?

You can kind of see it in this picture. It looks worse than that now, more of a 'dot' shape these days.

 

[Akula00]

They're grainy because he was dancing while I took this, but these are how it looks now.

 

[Littleredbeak]

I have we a female and never had a bald issue. In wild birds baldness is a sign of parasites (this is not including cardinals as sometimes they molt weirdly)

 

[Akula00]

I have we a female and never had a bald issue. In wild birds baldness is a sign of parasites (this is not including cardinals as sometimes they molt weirdly)

I've never noticed any itching, plucking or bugs around him and the skin I can see is very clean. I do see some scruffy new pin feathers though.

 

[SailBoat]

Depending on where is this huge World you live (the region would be helpful) it could be a heavier than normal molt. Especially if you are in North America or Europe as the Northern Hemisphere had several very worm periods during the summer and appears headed for a cooler /colder earlier Winter. That combined with what sounds like his first Fall molt it is very possible that he is having a heavier than normal event. Most Parrots tend too molt in patches on their heads and it is possible that is what is happening.

From a health standpoint it is possible that you Parrot may have mites and that should be checked.

Diet, in general, sounds good. Any Parrot that enjoys corn on the cob should be allowed that experience. But you need to understand that it is more a treat then a healthy part of his diet as other then its transition into sugar, it really does not add much. Consider a much wider variety of high quality seeds and grains. Near all plants start from seed and the list seems near endless. Take the time to determine what grows natural in his native range and target adding them and like seeds.

 

[Littleredbeak]

Some parasites are internal and you can't see them with naked eye.

 

[Akula00]

Depending on where is this huge World you live (the region would be helpful) it could be a heavier than normal molt. Especially if you are in North America or Europe as the Northern Hemisphere had several very worm periods during the summer and appears headed for a cooler /colder earlier Winter. That combined with what sounds like his first Fall molt it is very possible that he is having a heavier than normal event. Most Parrots tend too molt in patches on their heads and it is possible that is what is happening.

From a health standpoint it is possible that you Parrot may have mites and that should be checked.

Diet, in general, sounds good. Any Parrot that enjoys corn on the cob should be allowed that experience. But you need to understand that it is more a treat then a healthy part of his diet as other then its transition into sugar, it really does not add much. Consider a much wider variety of high quality seeds and grains. Near all plants start from seed and the list seems near endless. Take the time to determine what grows natural in his native range and target adding them and like seeds.

Thank you for the detailed reply.

He doesn't eat corn every day, more like 3-4 times a week, so hopefully that's not too much? If you can recommend some healthier greens and seeds though I'd be happy to try them out, it's been a bit of a task to get him to enjoy foods other than corn but I have found some favourites.

I live in the UK and we did have a serious heatwave, while it didn't dampen his spirits this seems to line up with what you're saying.

I am 99.9% certain he doesn't have mites, however I will check and observe him thoroughly. Rest assured if I spot any signs of mites or irritation he'll be taken to the vets.

 

[SailBoat]

Changing a Parrots diet can be difficult and in most cases a longtime undertaking. In their natural setting most Parrots are highly selective /messy eaters and leave much behind as they target the best and most ripe leaving much behind for the others.

Keeping a wide selection available and continuing to both change out, replace and return items may seem messy /wasteful, but it is fairly close to their natural eating habit. We feed our outside wild birds with what our Amazon elected not to eat today.

 

[Akula00]

Changing a Parrots diet can be difficult and in most cases a longtime undertaking. In their natural setting most Parrots are highly selective /messy eaters and leave much behind as they target the best and most ripe leaving much behind for the others.

Keeping a wide selection available and continuing to both change out, replace and return items may seem messy /wasteful, but it is fairly close to their natural eating habit. We feed our outside wild birds with what our Amazon elected not to eat today.

I've seen this myself in action, sometimes he'll elect to ignore the corn cob, throw it out of his bowl and have the other greens lol