Losing feathers under chin

[Steenbokpixie]

Hi guys,

Our baby lorikeet seems to be losing feathers under his chin. We found him injured in the road, so he's likely from the wild and not bred by a breeder. We took him to the vet for a checkup last week and the vet didn't notice the feather loss, neither did we until a few days ago. At first I thought it was just his feathers being matted together as he's such a messy eater as when he takes a shower they look fine, but today my boyfriend says he's definitely noticing that he's growing a bald patch there.

I've been looking it up online and there was nothing specifically about lorikeets, but I found a couple of forum posts about other birds (finches and quakers) that sounded similar. One person suggested mites on one of those forums, in the quaker-related thread yeast infection was suggested (they also said that suddenly starting to eat a lot of fruit might increase the sugar in his system which can cause yeast or something along those lines? He did just start eating a lot of fruit...), and in another thread it was suggested that it can be a mini-moult of sorts...I'm not sure which one is relevant here!

Does anyone have an idea of what this could be? I don't have a lot of experience with parrots. It couldn't be beak and feather disease could it? This was my main fear when we found him as apparently it's common for wild lorikeets around here (Western Australia), but the vet said that he wasn't showing any symptoms. I'd like to take him to the vet (and try to find an avian vet this time) next weekend to get it checked out but wanted to see if anyone here could offer any insight...should we be worried about something serious?

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Could it just be due to the mess? When feathers get matted and sticky they're prone to fall out when cleaning/grooming.

 

[greycloud]

Not to scare you, but yes, since he is from the wild and being a baby, it could be PBFD. I highly recommend you have bloodwork done.

 

[Steenbokpixie]

Auggie's Dad, that's what I was thinking at first - but all lorikeets' chin feathers don't seem to be missing (as far as I've been able to see, anyway), and they're all messy.

Greycloud, how urgent is something like this usually? I still have to find an avian vet and if I can manage to make an appointment with one open on Saturday I could probably go tomorrow, but if not it wouldn't be until next weekend sometime...

 

[Bobby34231]

I hope this comes out right....since your a one bird only home, and there is no cure for PBFD in that respect I guess there would be no real rush, however if it is something else that could be the cause of the feather loss and it is cureable the time frame to get him to the vet could be an issue..........

 

[Steenbokpixie]

Bobby, I think I'll try to find a phone number of an avian vet in Perth at lunch today and give them a call to see if they can maybe offer some insight and things to watch out for. If they think it sounds like we should bring him in asap I'll try to book an appointment for tomorrow and hopefully they could squeeze us in due to the urgency, otherwise I'll book one for next weekend if they can fit me in or try to take time off work during the week if they're not open on the weekend.

 

[Bobby34231]

Sounds like a plan, good on ya!

 

[greycloud]

Yes, I agree. I would get the bird into a vet ASAP! PBFD is fatal. However, there have been cases of birds living very long lives. I am hoping this is just a bacterial condition of the skin causing the feather loss. Please keep us updated.

 

[Steenbokpixie]

Called an avian vet and told them our observations. The lady there was very patient and said that we should make an appointment, but it isn't urgent. Unfortunately while they're open on Saturdays she said the avian vet specifically only comes in on weekdays, so I'll need to take time off work and find out when my boyfriend can get some free time to go as well (he's the only one of us who drives :S).

She also suggested that it could just be matted feathers from eating, but said it's best to bring him in just in case if we think he's actually losing feathers. I read that lorikeets can be quite robust and survive beak and feather well (then again another source say that 1/3 die if they have it, so that doesn't sound too good..). Fingers crossed that it isn't that, anyway.

 

[wildheart]

Not necessarily the same thing but:

They had an African Grey at the bird 'hospital' with a complete bold patch under his beak. His crop was standing out like a lump and the vet said it was caused by malnutrition. There was no other signs of illness and the boy looked very bright to an inexperienced eye. Dr. Russell are keeping the bird and giving him meds with a syringe that he squirts right down the throat.

It is very important that you see an Avian vet because normal vets are not capable to see or treat a bird correctly - no matter what they say.

 

[Steenbokpixie]

Thanks, Wildheart, maybe it -is- something like malnutrition...he's been refusing to eat all but a little of his actual nectar mix and eating fruit only. While I read that they require lots of fruit in their diet I'm not sure that it provides them with all of their nutritional needs as they eat lots of nectar in the wild from what I understand. Perhaps the vet will be able to recommend a certain brand of nectar mix if it is that issue, or help us figure out how to make him actually eat the type we have now..

 

[wildheart]

You stated that you think he was wild and in the wild he could get all the necessary food that he needed and there is just no way on earth that we can match that no matter how hard we try. He was weak after his accident and on top of that he also do not get his usual diet anymore so maybe he is lacking something.

I hope you do find an experienced avian vet that will help you out and I wish you both all the best!

 

[Steenbokpixie]

Today was our avian vet appointment. Unfortunately while the vet said that the little bald patch we found under his chin is normal, he very likely has beak and feather anyway. He rubbed the lorikeet against his shirt and couldn't find any feather dust. Then he felt closer with his hands, reaching into the wing, and there was still nothing coming off. He said this coupled with the fact that so many wild lorikeets have this disease is a good indicator that it's probable our little bird has it too

I just wanted to cry, I've been reading all these beak and feather horror stories. But the vet said that lorikeets usually do well with surviving beak and feather and that we may see his feathers thinning but they should regrow after a molt, and that we may see patches of yellow appearing in his green. He said other than the dust indicator his color looks good and he looks healthy, if a little thin. He said the best we can do now is hope for the best and make him as happy and comfortable as possible (and of course not let him come in contact with any other birds).*

We enquired about testing his gender but when the vet said it would involve either getting a blood feather, drawing blood, or anesthetic we decided it wouldn't be worth the potential stress on him. Besides we can always do it a few years down the line (if he lives ), so there's no rush. The vet estimated him to be under 1 year old.*

 

[Aussie Ben]

thats awful, i am so sorry to hear that. I do hope he is able to soldier through and get better. At least he has caring guardians that are going to help him through it. Probably a good move avoiding the DNA sexing, you don't want to stress him. I wish you all the best.

 

[Bobby34231]

I'm begining to wonder about some so called avian vets, I've never heard of a vet rubing feathers on his shirt and saying the bird "probably" has PBFD and leaving it at that , a simple inexpensive blood test would tell you for sure, and he could have done the DNA sexing as well with the same sample, it only takes a few drops, now your just left to wonder if and when your bird may die from a disease it may or may not have, that and it takes away your decision of whether you can have another bird in the house for years to come, just to let you know, you can have these tests done yourself by aquiring a test kit and taking a small blood sample and sending it directly to the lab......

 

[Steenbokpixie]

We might look into getting him properly tested if it's as simple as you say, Bobby. I didn't even think to doubt the vet on this, he sounded so certain that it was probably beak and feather. I think that now I'll be worried each time it looks like he's not feeling well or losing feathers in a spot, not knowing with 100% certainty that it's not due to some other potentially serious issue that's curable and needs vet attention. The vet seemed to discourage the blood test when we were talking about the gender testing and wanted us to opt for the keyhole-surgery type method instead if we were going to do it. I wonder why he didn't mention that doing the blood test would help us know for sure if it's beak and feather as well as allow for the gender test with the same sample. I feel a bit stupid now that I didn't ask, I read that you can do a test to find out for sure but for some stupid reason didn't even think to request it. I think my mind just went a bit blank when he told us the lorikeet probably has it, I was busy wondering how long he had to live.

 

[Aussie Ben]

oh, I was under the assumption that he was going to run further tests anyway.... so this is not the case? Perhaps it would be best to test (not sure how expensive it is though). This way you can have a better idea of what you are dealing with. It is such a horrible thing when they are very ill and you're not exactly sure what to do, I have been there with my tiel, so I kinda know how you feel.

 

[Steenbokpixie]

I wonder if a general vet can take the appropraite samples to test as opposed to an avian vet. The avian vet we visited was about a half an hour drive away and I'm not sure when I can get back there again for a test. I'll call the general vet at lunch, they're only a 5 minute drive away and I could maybe take him on the weekend if they can do it. I'm starting to feel bad having to drive the poor bird around so much, and we don't have a proper carry cage so are having to put him in a shoebox with an apple! He's very calm in there, just munching away at his fruit, and he doesn't mind the vets handling him (yet), but it still can't be very pleasant for him..

 

[Aussie Ben]

They might have someone there who can do it, although spe c i a l ists are generally better in most cases.

If you have access to one, a small dog or cat carrier is fine for transport. I just put a towel in the bottom or you can put a low perch in there. Half hour isn't too long, just take some food and water with you just in case. Traveling is the least of his worries at the moment I think.

 

[Bobby34231]

I use Avian Boitech here in the states for disease and DNA testing, it is about $20US for DNA and $25US per test on diseases or $40US for the combination of both tests, they don't take requests for testing outside the US, however they do have a Lab in the UK that does most all of Europe and other areas outside the UK, I'll add the link to this post

Avian Biotech - Europe