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Juvenile Clumsiness and Broken Feathers

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Juvenile Clumsiness and Broken Feathers

Postby Mountain Parrot » Tue Jul 05, 2016 10:29 am

I have a one year old male Vos Eclectus. He has never been clipped and exercises his wings frequently. He climbs and plays all the time but also falls a lot (seems to be when he's perched and not when he is hanging upside down playing bat bird). As a baby I padded his cage with a towel expecting him to misstep. He has broken all of his tail feathers and is still breaking wing feathers. I often check on him to find one almost snapped. He hasn't broken a blood feather (I check all the time because this is my fear). I know the feathers will grown back but I am wondering if there is anything I can do in the meantime to ensure his safety? He isn't plucking or chewing, just falling. I removed his boing from his cage and he spends most of his day on his stand. This seems to help as the breakage is occurring in his cage. I do not have his cage overloaded with toys or perches either. I also wonder if this is part of being a baby? He is in good health and his droppings are normal. My other birds are much older so this is my first experience with a juvenile. Thank you!
Mountain Parrot
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: CAG, Sun Conure, Vos Eclectus
Flight: Yes

Re: Juvenile Clumsiness and Broken Feathers

Postby Pajarita » Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:15 am

No, I am afraid that neither falling off his perch nor his feathers breaking so easily is normal - think about it, if this was normal, the species would have become extinct a long time ago because birds that fall off branches and break primaries so easily would not have been able to get away from predators. Has he seen an avian vet for a complete exam?
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Juvenile Clumsiness and Broken Feathers

Postby Mountain Parrot » Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:29 am

Yes, when I first got him. Nothing was amiss. I will contact my vet.
Mountain Parrot
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: CAG, Sun Conure, Vos Eclectus
Flight: Yes

Re: Juvenile Clumsiness and Broken Feathers

Postby Pajarita » Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:34 am

Was an ionized calcium test done on him? A bile acids? The reason I ask is that low calcium affects them neurologically and one of the symptoms is imbalance and the inability to utilize their muscles correctly (calcium regulates muscle elasticity) - blood calcium doesn't work for birds, you need to do an ionized test. And the bile acids is to determine if the liver (where protein is metabolized) is working normally because the too-fragile feathers can only be a problem with low protein -well, there could be other causes like PBFD but I hope that's not the case.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


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