Molting or plucking?

[BCook67]

Hello, and thank you in advance for any insights. We have a 13 month old male CAG who has been an absolute pleasure to raise so far. He was very quick to learn whistling, and in the last few days starting babbling non-stop now that he's "found his voice." He seems incredibly happy, playful, chatty and his behavior seems completely normal.

The last 3 days I've been noticing an increasing number of gray feathers in the bottom of his cage. It hasn't been uncommon for me to find a gray feather or two every other day (apart from the fluffy white preening feathers), but the last few days I've found 6-8 feathers per day (they are all the smaller ones, about 1-1.5 inches long). At 13 months I believe that he should be going through his first molt, and maybe I'm just overthinking, but I wanted to be sure that this isn't a warning sign for over-preening or plucking. As I noted he seems very happy, playful and stress-free at face value, behavior and body language is the same as it's always been, so I'm just curious if losing 6-8 feathers per day is normal during their first "baby" molt?

I should also note that we recently took a 7-day vacation overseas, and he was being boarded by the same specialty pet store that we purchased him from when he was a baby. When we drop him off he always seems to remember the owner and is friendly towards her, so no huge red flags there, but I figured I would mention it as it may provide a clue.

Thanks again for any advice.

 

[LeaKP]

Hi there! I would think your baby is in his first molt that can last a long time and be on and off for upwards of 18 months. This first molt can be tricky. If you notice bald spots then it may be plucking. They are generally scruffy looking during molting. Hope this helps and it's not plucking! Any doubts go see your AV. Good luck!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I totally agree with LeaKP...sounds like a moult.
When Smokey was going thru her moult,I'd find all sorts of fedders around..little fluffy down ones and larger other ones..and the poor girl looked rather ragged at times


Jim

 

[DRB]

Sounds like molt to me, my Perjo had her first and it seemed to be a long mild one that ended with a bit of a bang at around the 11mo mark.

 

[Taw5106]

I agree with a molt. My Buzz blows a lot of "dust", meaning he looses a lot of feathers during his molts and I clean his cage, lots of feathers stuck to the bars. They seem to be downy like feathers, very sticky, feathers under his main feathers.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[SilverSage]

Agreed that it sounds like a molt. If he starts to develop bald spots, then head to your vet. Otherwise you should be fine give extra baths in the mean time to help ease the molt and keep the dust down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Aidualc]

This may sound weird but I am really happy you're asking this as I've been going through the exactly same thing.. and I can now say that I wholeheartedly agree with what everyone says.. it's almost certainly a molt. Nemo is about 1 year and 9 months now and has been molting since before christmas.. and I see exactly the same pattern.. lots of downy feathers with the occasional large feather. But I have yet to see a bald spot and if I play with his feathers I see lots of new ones breaking through. So as said.. don't worry. But DO try and moisten him to reduce irritability.. this may be tricky as African Greys as far as I can tell do not like water.. at all. Furthermore, as he's molting try introducing more protein to his diet to help with the molting.. I just recently changed over to Harrisons High Potency pellets and I don't know if it's a coincidence, but his feathers actually look better.
What to also look out for is symmetry.. if it is indeed a molt you'll notice.. easiest to see on the wings I find.. that he'll shed feathers symmetrically on each side of the body.. this is to still allow flight. Hope that helps. I'm sure it's just a molt !

 

[SailBoat]

Hello, and thank you in advance for any insights. We have a 13 month old male CAG who has been an absolute pleasure to raise so far. He was very quick to learn whistling, and in the last few days starting babbling non-stop now that he's "found his voice." He seems incredibly happy, playful, chatty and his behavior seems completely normal.

The last 3 days I've been noticing an increasing number of gray feathers in the bottom of his cage. It hasn't been uncommon for me to find a gray feather or two every other day (apart from the fluffy white preening feathers), but the last few days I've found 6-8 feathers per day (they are all the smaller ones, about 1-1.5 inches long). At 13 months I believe that he should be going through his first molt, and maybe I'm just overthinking, but I wanted to be sure that this isn't a warning sign for over-preening or plucking. As I noted he seems very happy, playful and stress-free at face value, behavior and body language is the same as it's always been, so I'm just curious if losing 6-8 feathers per day is normal during their first "baby" molt?

I should also note that we recently took a 7-day vacation overseas, and he was being boarded by the same specialty pet store that we purchased him from when he was a baby. When we drop him off he always seems to remember the owner and is friendly towards her, so no huge red flags there, but I figured I would mention it as it may provide a clue.

Thanks again for any advice.

Please note, depending on whether you are in the Northern or Southern half of this very large World can greatly effect whether your Parrot is molting or not! Yes, as stated by all of my good friends above, it clearly sounds like Molting. That said, a Fall Molt and a Spring Molt are different in their volume, timing and whether the volume is downy, body feathers or both.

In addition, as stated above, whether it is a traditional molt or plucking is separated along a very thin line of whether or not bald spots develop and where those bald spots are. Top of the head is clearly molting, whereas on the chest could be either.

Thank you, for choosing to include that your Parrot had been boarded at the same specialty pet store you purchased from during your vacation. In my opinion, this is a very important piece of information. Such events can be /are very stressful on most Parrots and is always a concern and a proper piece of information to include. Note: Even the very best Stores are faced with a constant passage of 'stuff' flowing through with Human and Parrot Visitors, new Parrots arriving, etc, etc... Add the stress of being way from your home opens your Parrot to all that 'Stuff,' plus the 'fear' that you are not come back.

Has your Parrot seen an Avian Vet (CAV) since joining your family? If not, please do so in the very near future.

As also stated: Watch your Parrot closely, if bare spots are seen on the body, it is worth taking your Parrot into a CAV.

 

[BCook67]

Thanks everyone for the insight, it sounds like everything is OK. I'll definitely keep my eyes out for formation of any bald spots or strange behavior.

SailBoat - Thanks for the additional information......the store owner noted that he seemed depressed the first few days, but then started getting a bit more happy and interactive with the staff. Boarding may have catalyze a bit of stress. Yes one of the requirements of purchasing the bird was that I was required by the store to take him to an AV to get a check-up within 1 week of purchase, which he passed no problem. About 2 months ago I had him back to the AV for a quick nail trim and he again said that all's well.