Alexandrine

[Lesley Krol]

Hi, I am new and have a question. I have an Alexandrine female and she is with us for three years. I don't know how old she is. We live in Israel. She laid six eggs this year and now we are entering molting season. I have noticed a bunch of after feathers on her breast on each side of her breast. I took a closer look today and it looks like she has really been worrying those areas and I can see a new live feather stalk, quite thick and exposed. This is the first time this has happened. She is obviously concentrating on those areas. Can anyone tell me if this is something I should worry about. Is she possibly stressed?
She has a clean cage, clean water daily. fresh fruit daily, good pellets which she doesn't like, seeds which she loves. She mostly likes, peas, cooked potatoes, rice and fresh apple.
Thank you in advance. I would appreciate advice.
P.S. Her routine is pretty much the same. I leave her music when I go to work and she is not near a window.

[Harpmaker]

Welcome Lesley! Can you post pictures of the problem areas?

[Lesley Krol]

Hi thank you for responding. Have tried, for some reason not uploading my JPEG. Soon thank you

[Lesley Krol]

Here is the picture

Baby

[Lesley Krol]

That's my girl. Is'nt she beautiful

[Pajarita]

Yes, she certainly is beautiful! I am glad you were able to post the picture because, when you first posted, I thought that what you were talking about was a brooding patch (area in lower abdomen that hens pluck so their skin can be right on the eggs they are incubating) but it seems too high for it so it could be plucking. How many hours a day is she out of her cage? How much hours of one-on-one interaction? Does she fly every day? Is she kept to a solar schedule or do you have artificial lights on when the sky is dark? Is she an only bird?

Any particular reason why you mentioned that her cage is not in front of a window?

[Lesley Krol]

Hi great:-) I mentioned the window because she possibly doesn't receive enough ultra violet. On the other hand there are all kinds of birds outside because we live on the coast and some birds make her nervous and we have gone through winter..didn't want any draughts around her. We live in a flat. I work quite long hours so she is out of her cage or on her cage from say 18:30 until 7 the next morning when I leave. I leave the radio on for her. We have plenty of interaction, she knows what she wants She knows when something is ready in the kitchen and she knows how to let me know when she wants to be alone. You know, it could always be better but I am very aware that she needs attention. She nibbles my ear and chews my hair and is rarely bad tempered.
Unfortunately because she is in the living area there are pros and cons. She is subject to too much artificial light but in the evening I turn the lights down low and drape a corner of the opened cage where she can tuck her head in. Nothing is perfect but I try the best I can. This is the first time in three years that she has concentrated on those areas and I am worried about stress which is pretty difficult to solve. She is on my shoulder now

[Lesley Krol]

Oh and for obvious reasons we are on the third floor so her wings are clipped. She flew out of the window two years ago (with clipped wings) because I slept late and she went for walkabout. She landed in the garden downstairs where there are lots of cats!! We were very lucky to get her back in one piece. Funnily enough she seems less interested to go near the window now.

[cml]

Welcome to the forums !

Oh and for obvious reasons we are on the third floor so her wings are clipped. She flew out of the window two years ago (with clipped wings) because I slept late and she went for walkabout. She landed in the garden downstairs where there are lots of cats!! We were very lucky to get her back in one piece. Funnily enough she seems less interested to go near the window now.

Just a head's up, it's much safer for a bird to be unclipped, that way they have much better mobility. The thing to do to ensure that they dont fly away is to never take them outside unless in a harness or travel cage, and thoroughly parrot proofing your house.

Give it some thought, and please do some research on clipping vs not clipping.

[Lesley Krol]

Thank you. Its summer here now and I leave the windows open for light and air. On the weekends like now she is never closed in her cage. Next to her cage I have a large stand for more food and her bath. My constant fear that she would inadvertently fly away and the world outside is not a nice place for a beautiful pampered Alexandrine but I will definitely do some homework on clipping.
Thank you so much for your support