Worried about baby conures fearhers

[whitejory97]

I adopted him_he was my sons bird. He is just a few months old. His feathers have black spits on them. Is this normal or stress bars? I think he has stress bars. His tail feathers look thin and raggedy. He has a thin spot on his chest. Could this be from molting. Is it normal to havd bald spits. I am going to take him to the vet.

 

[Jen5200]

Well he’s a little cutie! But I agree, the vet is the best place to start if there are feather issues. The thin patch looks like he could be plucking a bit, but it’s very hard to tell (vet will be the best bet). My sun conure Bindi has stress bars on her tail feathers (I got her from a rescue a couple of months ago), and I’m hoping that when she molts they’ll be replaced with nice shiny new ones. I did notice that when I brought her home and got her on a proper diet - the rest of her feathers now look so much better.

 

[Sunnyclover]

My Ollie baby HAD stress bars when I got him but got his new feathers in and all stress bars are gone. Babies often have stress bars because it's stressful being a baby and weening, learning to fly ect. My Finley has them a bit too but he is black a bit so no one can noticed but me. I look forward to his adult feathers coming in and getting rid of those icky stressed feathers. As long as your bird is under a year old you probably have nothing to worry about but if it's an adult over a year old I would definitely seek medical attention to make sure there is no underlying cause.

 

[MonicaMc]

I would seriously hope that an ~19 week old chick would not be plucking or displaying FDB (Feather Destructive Behavior) at such a young age. Based on the behaviors of your eldest son, it does sound like a possibility.


Has Lucifer always looked like that since your son purchased him? Or did he eventually start looking that way?

 

[whitejory97]

His feathers did not look like that when
He first bought him. The bird has been through
Stress. But i would hope a bird that young wouldnt pluck already. I have never seen him plucking. So im sure the bald spot is from something else.the bird is about 3 months old. My younger son who is very calm and nicer
Spends time with him. ,if it is from overstress i hope he gets better now, my older son use to yell a lot,not at the bird,but at us. He is gone now.

 

[whitejory97]

He wasnt use to me at first_i could hardly pick him up_
But he is starting to like me more_easier cause he is a baby_he is very cute_

 

[whitejory97]

I think he is 4 or 5 months old

 

[Sunnyclover]

Make sure he's seen the vet at least once since you got him. If the vet thought he was fine then he just has stress marks and if they are still there in about a year or he starts to be missing feathers in patches and there are blood on the end of the feathers you find in the cage then you have something to worry about. If he doesn't get worse he should moult in about 6 or so months and get all new nice feathers. Happened to my bird and will happen with my baby bird.

 

[LordTriggs]

it does look like stress bars to me. Baby birds often get stress bars cause well, going from the home they have known with the breeder/parents is pretty stressful

Definitely do get a vet appt either way as it's good to get baselines and get everyone familiar with each other

 

[whitejory97]

I found receipts for this bird_
He is 5 months old now_
Isnt that when they molt?

 

[Squeekmouse]

A Green cheek conure's first molt typically comes between 6 and 10 months old, so it might be a bit early for Lucifer. You'll know when it is really happening though, he'll be leaving plenty of little feathers all over the bottom of his cage.

I agree with the others about stress bars being fairly typical at that young age, even if you didn't see them at first. Keep in mind, you can only really see the bottom half of all his feathers, so it may take a while before those stressbars start to be visible as his feathers lengthen. After his first molt is done (which could take a month or a few months) you should see that his new feathers are stress bar free. Assuming you are feeding him good stuff and he is growing happier and less scared of course.

Please do take him to a vet at least once in his first year. He should get his blood tested and looked at by an expert who can tell you what's really happening and give you good advice. In Downer's Grove, All Creatures Great and Small has one of the few Avian certified vets in illinois, Dr Eisenberg. There are others, but I can personally vouch for this one. It's worth the drive from Waukegan, IMHO.

Good luck!!!