Molting or bad diet? HELP PLEASE

[parrotnewbie247]

Hi everyone.
Just for context, I have had my Indian Ringneck Parakeet for a little while now and I will admit his diet was bad. I got him at a pet shop and they gave me seeds, and I assumed this was enough. So his diet was seeds and fruit because he hated veggies. Then I noticed he began losing feathers and it made me worry so I began to do so much research and realised it was his diet. So now I feed him the TOP's Pellets with the Psittacus high protein bird food. With lots of broccoli, cucumber, kale, spinach, and carrots. And every day I will give him a tiny bit of banana or an apple slice or a strawberry for example and will give him about 2 almonds just for when I am training him. But mainly he eats veggies now which was so hard to get him to eat. Just as a side question, he does eat a lot. Is this normal and okay? He will eat so many pellets and bird food alongside 3 big bits of broccoli and the kale etc. Do I limit this or give him as much as he wants.

Now my issue is, is whether he is moulting right now or if the diet I am giving him is still bad. So when he had a bad diet, around his bum there were hardly any feathers left. But I can see that they have started to grow back now, slowly but surely. But instead, I have noticed everywhere else he is beginning to pick at his feather, I can see new feathers growing in, he got slightly aggressive yesterday but calmed down later, and he is sleeping SO much. He'll wake up, and usually, he eats straight away and then plays, and flies around. But now he wakes up, eats, naps, then eats again, and then plays a bit with me but then goes to sleep. I googled this and it does say the symptoms are signs of moulting, But I am a bit worried. Just because of the sleeping, I think it worries me the most. But he is still playing and eating. Yesterday he did not eat much, but today he is eating a lot more, and he hasn't napped as much today, or maybe he is bored?

So I will attach some pictures. I do feel so guilty for giving him a poor diet and all those seeds, but he is now on a better diet. I have also bought him vitamins for feather growth from Johnstons which I put in his water. But I'm just worried as there are no avian vets near me, none at all and I'm so so scared.

 

[Skarila]

My first thought was that it is completely normal for a bird to have a heavy moult upon a drastic change in diet, all of my birds went through it. However as soon I have seen the pictures I'd say something else is at play. No moult ever will leave a bare belly where you can see the skin. Keep an eye to see if the bird is plucking off the feathers.

No matter, the bird should go and visit a vet as soon as possible to asses what is the issue (if plucking - is it because he's sick and it is itchy or depression? Are the feathers falling off by them selves?) Seeing that the head seems in prime condition, my initial thought is that the bird is surely plucking.

 

[SailBoat]

Molting is very miss-understood by many as it is connected to local heat, humidity, diet and time of year. Diet is a major part of a successful molt as the Parrot places heavy loads on its stored energy resources. As a result, a healthy Parrot will have an active Spring molt as it transition from Winter to Summer feathering. Our DYH Amazon will turn our home a winter wonderland with downy feathers.

Mid to larger Parrots commonly molt their body feathers in late Spring, early Summer in preparation for the Summers Heat and again in the Fall as they prepare for Mating Season. Flight surfaces (Wing and Tail Feathers) are year around as they selectively molt specific feathers in a pattern to assure that flight is always possible.

Plucking is a very different reality and as stated above, seeing an Avian Professional is very important. A smaller percentage of plucking is based on a skin infection and your Avian Professional can test for, but there is only a limited time line in which that testing is successful as near all Plucking will develop a skin infection.