Molting lovebird?

[cdnbirdlover]

Basil is a peach-faced lovebird and has been with us since May. He was about one year old in May. In the last few days we've noticed him losing more feathers than usual, and larger feathers (not just the tiny little fluffy feathers). He still looks like himself with his bright eyes and smooth feathers. He has had a lot of pin feathers visible in his head area, so he rubs his head on his ropey perch for relief of the itchiness.

Is this molting? If so, what should I do about it? Is there anything else we should watch for?

Thanks!

 

[henpecked]

Yes that sounds like molting. You could help a fellow out and scratch some of those hard to reach spots. LOL, Baths help .if he likes those. Aloe mixed with water and sprayed make a good shower to help with the itches. Blood feathers are developing feathers that are filled with blood until they mature and the blood dries up,shafts turn from dark to light. Becareful of him breaking primary flight feathers that are molting in and are tender. If they break they can cause huge amounts of blood loss so have something like cornstarch on hand to stop bleeding.

 

[cdnbirdlover]

Thanks. Where would I get aloe? Just from an aloe plant? He has a bath every morning (plain water from a spray bottle). We do try to scratch his little head but this is a bit of challenge as he's not hand tamed (yet). He will let me give him a little head scratch while nibbling millet seeds offered by my other hand. Will he appearance change much during the molt?

 

[henpecked]

At one year he pretty much has his adult plumage. The new feathers will be brighter and new looking. Some birds will gain more color as they age but this will be slow and hard to notice if you see him every day. He may want more scratches as the pin feathers mature , but when fresh they are tender and he'll not want you to mess with them.