white & green slimy stuff from feathers?

[miithu]

Hi all! I got a sun conure from my uncle last May. Recently he started chewing the feathers on his body under his right wing. I don't see loose feathers in his cage and yet, he is missing his feathers for about a month now. So, I have been trying to watch him and noticed that sometimes when he chews on his feather he would "get" something and stops chewing on his feather and starts eating that thing instead, and it sounds really slimy. Today I was horrified at what I saw him eating! It was this large mass of whitish, greenish slimy thing that I have no idea what it is, and it looks waaaay too big to be coming out of a feather! And I am 100% sure it is not his poop because I can see that the area where he was chewing was all slimy as well. My question is what is the slimy thing and is it something that is natural with feathers? Or, is it something that is under his skin? I noticed that the feather was a bit reddish in color. While he is closest with me in the family, he still does not let me touch him so I can't inspect his feathers. I can just glimpse at it every now and then.

I appreciate any comments!

 

[IcyWolf]

I'm not sure what that is but there shouldn't ever be any kind of fluid coming from feathers. Healthy feathers are slick but dry. What kind of diet is he on? I would suggest visiting an avian vet to be sure that it's not some kind of infection.

 

[miithu]

His diet is mainly sunflower seeds, peanuts, oat groats, and some pellet. I have been trying to introduce more pellet and fresh food to him but he would not eat them and just avoid them. So then I just end up feeding him what he wants to eat. He is hand-fed and usually does not eat from his bowl so it is hard to try to feed him new things.

I am definitely considering taking him to the vet soon. We have a little cage but so far have not been successful at getting him to go into it. So, I am wondering how I would actually get him to the vet since he is not willingly be held or taken out of his cage. The only time he goes away from his cage is if I take his toy bell and then he follows it. I have never gone to the vet before. Would it be safe to take him without a cage?

 

[Pedro]

From what you are saying I don't think there is anything to worry about. I guess your bird is a young adult & from your description I think he is regurgating food up & trying to feed under his wing.

I have never heard of a bird feeding their own body parts before but you stated you hand feed him& he won't eat from a bowl. I think that could be the reason he regurgs under his wing. I would stop feeding him food & only do so for training & a treat. Trust me he will eat from his bowl if he is hungry enough.

 

[miithu]

Thanks Pedro! I guess I never considered regurgitating before. I just made the association with feather chewing since it's always while he's chewing his feathers.

 

[roxynoodle]

I hope it's regurgitation. The only thing that came to my mind was yeast infection or something similar. Candiosis perhaps?

I would not take him to the vet without a carrier of some kind. If you absolutely have to get him in there, you will have to get him with a towel. You want to get him around his heck using your thumb and middle finger, letting his head rest against your index.

 

[Pedro]

Thanks Pedro! I guess I never considered regurgitating before. I just made the association with feather chewing since it's always while he's chewing his feathers.

Keep your eye on him when he next plays around with his feathers. Watch to see if he is actually bring food up. If he is problem solved. I would wash off the food & each time i saw him feeding his wing i would try to take his attention away.

 

[Amber]

If you need to take him to the vet, best way to get a semi tame bird there is to have a carrier ready. Turn off the lights, wait a minuet or two until he settles down and starts to doze. In the dark, bird automatically settle down and roost/sleep. Then, use a towel to catch him (read up on how to towel and handle towing birds first, some excellent youtube vids out there) an transfer him to the carrier. Cover the carrier and keep it as dark as possible during the trip as it will help keep him calm if he is not used to travelling. Once at the vets, keep it dark/covered until seeing the vet. Let him/her handle it from there. To get him home, do the same in reverse. Cover the carrier for the trip home, when home take it into the cage room, keep the room dark, towel him and transfer him back to the cage. Once he is back in the cage and the familiar environment, light the room back up and let him settle back in.

He may be a bit stressed after, but it is much less stress then if you yanked him from the cage, drove to the vets with him seeing everything and becoming overstimulated and frightened, was subject to the vet exam, then had this in reverse coming home.

Once he is tame, you might find he enjoys car rides. Alex loves them. We just had a 2 hour trip to come back to our uni town the other day. He whistled and chirped the whole way. Silly boy will jump in his travel cage/carrier as soon as he sees me getting it ready now. Makes vet trips so much easier.