Missing Feathers Under Wings

[Pureblood]

Hey guys,

I have a pair of lovebirds (1 year and 8 months old), supposed to be siblings, I adopted them from a family who couldn't take care of them anymore (they have two small children) and I love them to bits.

A few months ago the one that I assume is the male (because of the following behavior) started jumping on (what I assume is) the female like he wants to mate with her, but he's doing it on the wrong side, so he is basically jumping on her head. Anyhow, she allows that and just goes along with it, and they have periods when he does it more often than others. Some days I see him at it for most of the time and some days not at all.

Anyhow, in the past week or two I've noticed the female is getting bald under the wings ONLY (so nothing on her back, just the wings) and could this be as a result of him jumping all over her? I am not noticing it on the male though. I have a bad-ish photo of the situation, they are not trained to go to the hand or be touched (working on it though, had them for about 4-5 months now) so I cannot get a better photo than this :/

She flies around normally, plays, is active, stretches, eats, drinks, bathes, she's just bald...? :/ Any information, tips, suggestions...?

Thank you so much!

EDIT: Just took a look while she was preening, the area under her right wing is not harmed, it has normal underwing feathers, no redness, no baldness, only the left wing is affected.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Ouch! That looks pretty raw...
I don't know about lovebird mating, but I'm glad you're here, reaching out.
While we're waiting for some experts, you might use the SEARCH tab to look for previous threads, using some of your key words.
Good luck!

 

[Pureblood]

Ouch! That looks pretty raw...
I don't know about lovebird mating, but I'm glad you're here, reaching out.
While we're waiting for some experts, you might use the SEARCH tab to look for previous threads, using some of your key words.
Good luck!

It is slightly less red than it is on this photo because this was brightened up and the contrast was brought up for the photo to be lighter, but it still is red.

Yes, waiting patiently for responses and will browse through search!

 

[SailBoat]

Please separate these two parrots. You need to determine whether this is self-inflected or the other Parrot is causing the injury. The only way that is possible is to separate them.

8 months and 1 yr. is a bit young to be committed mating activity. Being a bit of a bully or early acting out maybe. But, separation is really what is needed at this point.

Target health first and behavior once that is assured.

 

[Pureblood]

Please separate these two parrots. You need to determine whether this is self-inflected or the other Parrot is causing the injury. The only way that is possible is to separate them.

8 months and 1 yr. is a bit young to be committed mating activity. Being a bit of a bully or early acting out maybe. But, separation is really what is needed at this point.

Target health first and behavior once that is assured.

Thank you. I have started looking either for a partition to separate the current birdcage in two parts, or an additional cage (funnily enough I sold the one I had for my old budgie that was the same size as the one these two currently have - which is big, I love to make them feel spacious even when in cages). I have two older cages outside but they are significantly smaller.

I wonder what can I do to help her out in the meantime (and to help her heal when separated)? Any special vitamins in the bath to help her with the skin perhaps?

EDIT: Just took a look while she was preening, the area under her right wing is not harmed, it has normal underwing feathers, no redness, no baldness, only the left wing is affected.

 

[SailBoat]

Please separate the two Parrots. Until that point, step two is on-hold, since the source of the injury is still in question.

 

[Pureblood]

Please separate the two Parrots. Until that point, step two is on-hold, since the source of the injury is still in question.

I've put in a makeshift divider in the middle of the cage and I am actively actively actively looking for either a second cage of the same size or one much larger than the current one but that comes with a divider in the middle.

Here where I live there aren't really many good choices regarding birdcages but I've put out wanted ads and will be going to stores in the next few days to choose a cage.

Hopefully her situation will improve now that he can no longer jump all over her and sit on her. Every time I see her grooming I take a look at how her underwing is looking to see the situation. She is happy, active, eating, drinking, bathing, flying, so doesn't seem to be in discomfort but better safe than sorry!

I managed to get a photo a few days ago of how he sits on her and just does nothing. They can be like this for minutes and either he pulls back or I separate them and then she runs away, but she doesn't struggle at all while he sits on her head like this.

 

[Pureblood]

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that her feathers are slowly growing back now that he can't get to her, she stretched today and I saw some white speckles in the bald areas that seem to be new young feathers in the making.

I am still wondering what to give her perhaps to eat or in the water to help her out with the feather growth, or just leave her be as she is?

 

[Eve2]

I agree with Sailboat, I don't think this is mating behavior, it's bullying and could have gotten worse if you had left them together. Good luck with finding the type of cage you want.

 

[Pureblood]

I agree with Sailboat, I don't think this is mating behavior, it's bullying and could have gotten worse if you had left them together. Good luck with finding the type of cage you want.

Thanks One of the stores is making a country-wide search to see if anyone has a cage like that in the dimensions that I'd like (found one but it's 20cm shorter than their current one and I don't really think they'd enjoy the amount of space it has to offer), so hopefully I'll be getting a new cage within a week

 

[Pureblood]

Max and Pika got a new cage today, custom made as we couldn't find a new one with an option to divide the brids in the stores. It is much bigger than their previous one and it has a removable divider that I can place in when I am not at home and over night (so when I can't supervise what's happening) or remove when I am at home or redecorating the cage

They fit right in and already found food, water and other stuff from their old cage

Anyhow, I am still looking for advice on how to help Pika grow her feathers back. She's still bald, and I wonder should I give it only time to grow back or are there some supplements or anything I could give her to help her out with the regrowth? Thank you!

 

[Pureblood]

Hey guys, so the issue is still here. The birds have not been conflicting any more yet she is still red and bald under that wing. We do not have an avian vet here where I live, it's just not something that people specialize in. Open to all ideas and suggestions, even if it means catching her with a towel every day to put ointments or similar. Planning on perhaps catching her to take photos of the area...

She is eating normally, drinking, playing, flying, not over-grooming or scratching, just normal grooming of both feathers equally... so I have no idea.

 

[YUMgrinder]

I agree with Sailboat, I don't think this is mating behavior, it's bullying and could have gotten worse if you had left them together. Good luck with finding the type of cage you want.

Thanks One of the stores is making a country-wide search to see if anyone has a cage like that in the dimensions that I'd like (found one but it's 20cm shorter than their current one and I don't really think they'd enjoy the amount of space it has to offer), so hopefully I'll be getting a new cage within a week

Where are you located? Do you have craigslist in your area? SO many cages get put on craigslist here in the Wyoming/Colorado area and they hardly sell. I've gotten a couple cages on there and usually they have been on for awhile and I got them for so cheap. I'll pick one up and ship it to ya if you want

EDIT sorry you already got one. I didn't see there was a 2nd page to this thread lol

 

[SailBoat]

Hey guys, so the issue is still here. The birds have not been conflicting any more yet she is still red and bald under that wing. We do not have an avian vet here where I live, it's just not something that people specialize in. Open to all ideas and suggestions, even if it means catching her with a towel every day to put ointments or similar. Planning on perhaps catching her to take photos of the area...

She is eating normally, drinking, playing, flying, not over-grooming or scratching, just normal grooming of both feathers equally... so I have no idea.

Just a couple of small points. Parrot Forum and the member to member support it provides has great depth of knowledge, but is highly dependent on the available time each member has to provide that support. It is all voluntary and depending on when one visits, a Thread /Post update can be missed. That is a reality and I am sorry that your update Post has gotten missed.

The feathers will come back in on their own. It will take sometime for that to happen since they are support feathers of the Primary and Secondary Flight feathers.

At this point, unless that Parrot is over-preening that area and the other Parrot is keep separate, the area should heal much on it own.

I fully understand the want to limit knowledge of ones location in this Huge World and I fully respect you're want to keep that private. That said, your timelines imply that you are East of the Eastern Coast of North America. Please remember that Parrot Forums is a World Wide Forum with members fully around the world. There are members likely near your Time Zone that can provide support. It is not uncommon for those members (Okay most all members to check the OP's location) to help define their need to check a Thread or updated Post. It also, helps define the type of information provided, i.e. seeking the services of an Avian Vet.

Once again, sorry that you're updated Post had gotten missed!

 

[Pureblood]

YUMgrinder, yes, I got a new cage for them, thankfully

SailBoat, it's not a problem, figured I'd post again since the issue is still occuring. I am in Europe, Croatia
And no, she's not overpreening, she normally takes baths and normally uses that wing in flight and when moving around the cage and outside, so besides it being red and bald she's not showing sings of pain or itchy-ness. She's the one on the right side on both photos (the lights are not plugged in to an electric socket, so no worries!):

 

[SailBoat]

The second photo is a great shot of her Flight Surface - they really look good. The feathers that she lost, provide support for the Flight Surface and only come in to play (work) during take-off and high speed turning. The Parrot will quickly adjust and it will be hard to determine any difference.

Thanks for the Photos!

Figured you to be on the other side of the pond! Traveled Europe extensively for business prior to my retirement!

 

[Pureblood]

Thank you, it's a relief now! Thanks to all for the help!

 

[Pureblood]

Just an update, the situation is not improving, actually it's going worse. I noticed blood the other day and immediately went on a long search to find at least someone who knows how to handle and treat birds. Also I called in all my friends that have someting to do with veterinary medicine and/or work at clinics. I found a clinic that works with them (one in the whole capital city and the only one probably for the whole country) and Pika will be going either tomorrow (if they work since it's a holiday) or Tuesday the latest!

Will keep you guys posted what they will say, in case someone else will arrive to the forum with a same/similar issue! My poor girl! I feel so bad, and I feel like a terrible owner that I didn't find out about these guys sooner and I hope they will be able to help her...

 

[Pureblood]

Hey guys, so I have an update! We've been to the vet and they were really nice and professional and knew how to handle her nicely (given that they're not really too tame)

She has a cut right under the wing where the wing attaches to the body and the vets said it's not deep and that it started healing, but that it is in such a location where the wound is always without air and always a bit damp, so that it heals much, much slower and that it's a long process. It probably occured when Max was jumping and harrassing her before we got a new cage, and it didn't heal since. Today when I actually saw it for more than a second or two I realized it doesn't look so bad in bright light and it wasn't red or purple-ish, it was normal "chicken" skin of normal bright color There was also no blood in sight.

She's been given a cream to help dry the area (NormlGel) and antibiotics (Enrofloxacin) and we have to go back for a checkup in 7 to 10 days The challenge now is going to be to administer it all to her each day, but it's a new adventure for us!

Thanks for all the support guys, this can be closed now!