Odd bald spots on head?

[happycat]

I noticed these scruffy looking, bald spots on Kirby the Kakariki lately.
It only looks that way on one side, though I can notice a bit on the other. Could he be molting? He lost two huge feathers today which makes me think he might be. But molting is equal on both sides I heard?
Here are pictures:
Left side:

Right side:

I also noticed him scratching every few seconds a couple of times. He hasn't been scratching any more than usual except for two times when he wouldn't stop scratching over and over for a few minutes.

I don't know if this is worth noting, but he didn't seem comfortable holding his food a couple of days ago. I am fairly sure this is because his nails are super long and its not comfortable to hold things with them. He hasn't lost his appetite at all because he is still eating but he prefers to eat them through the bars and a few times I noted that he dropped them as if he didn't like holding it. I am taking him to get them clipped tomorrow but I was wondering if it had anything to do with it..

Thank you for any help

 

[happycat]

You can see it even better from the back. I'll have to post a pic from that angle.

It looks like pin feathers, actually. You can see the base of the feathers but no actual feathers so it makes them all uneven and scruffy.

 

[Kiwibird]

Is he an older bird for his species and has he recently gone through a molt? I know I've seen older birds (though not his species) have thin patches after molting because they aren't growing back their feathers as fast as they used to. Pin feathers can cause a bird to scratch itself in an area more than usual too.

The other possibility I can think of is some sort of skin infection, allergy or dry skin that would make him itch. IF that were the case, only a vet could diagnosis what the issue was. Hope he's ok, he sure is a cute little thing

 

[happycat]

Is he an older bird for his species and has he recently gone through a molt? I know I've seen older birds (though not his species) have thin patches after molting because they aren't growing back their feathers as fast as they used to. Pin feathers can cause a bird to scratch itself in an area more than usual too.

The other possibility I can think of is some sort of skin infection, allergy or dry skin that would make him itch. IF that were the case, only a vet could diagnosis what the issue was. Hope he's ok, he sure is a cute little thing

No, he's very young. About a year old. I think it is a skin thing, perhaps mites? He rubs his head against the bars every once in a while, which could be cause or a symptom. I really hope I don't have to take him to the vet though, I just had to take my cat there and it was super expensive.

Maybe it could also be gnats? He is so messy and leaves tons of food on the cage floor and recently it has attracted tons of gnats.

Oh, and I don't know how recently, but he definitely has been through a molt sometime in the past few months. (maybe later, I'm not really sure when it happened) I never really noticed it when it was happening, but one day I realized the feathers above his beak were yellow instead of red. Haha, I guess it being so gradual made me not notice it!

 

[crimson]

it looks to me like he's molting....

 

[happycat]

Oh! Oh! Sorry for neglecting to mention this also, but I noticed a few white flakes on his feathers too.

 

[Kiwibird]

When was the last time he had a good bath?

 

[happycat]

it looks to me like he's molting....

Oh good...haha, sorry for being such a worry wort. My fur and feather babies get me so worried sometimes!

 

[happycat]

When was the last time he had a good bath?

Now that you mention it, a really long time. I gave him a shower about a week ago (it scared him, so I didn't do it again) and I have tried giving him a bath about 3 times since then and he hasn't taken one. I think it is because I can't find his good bath bowl, so I have been using ones that are are so big they scare him or ones too small. He sometimes bathes in his water bowl, but I wouldn't consider that a "good bath".

 

[Kiwibird]

White flakes are often nothing more than dander and besides cockatoos, most other parrots do not have dander problems if they are bathed frequently. Have you tried making a positive association with the squirt bottle? So he understands it isn't a bad thing or is frightened of it? I'm not sure if you put him in the actual shower, but with such a little guy, I would only mist with a spray bottle.