Crackers...my new baby

[staywithme]

Hiya everyone

Ok..i have just bought my parrot of someone who was mistreating him to get him out of the situation he was in, i have never had a parrot before i know i should have learnt more before taking him on but i thought i was doing the right thing by Crackers

Anyhow to cut a long story short i love him to bits already and i have only had him for 7 weeks hes so funny, i was lead to believe that he is only 3 months old but not sure about that, and i think hes a he as im not sure on that either.

When i first got him his feathers were so colourless he looked a sorry state the previous owner had only been feeding him sunflower seeds and nothing else, so i read up on the internet and found out the dos and donts of food for him and bought the misting bottle, a tupperwear dish for his little baths both of which he loves and its very funny to watch him...but tonight as i have been watching him i became aware of bald patches appearing under his wings which i only noticed when his wings are spread while hes hanging on the back of his cage...

So i thought that i needed to ask at what age do they molt, he has been cleaning himself every day after his bath or misting his red tail feathers are looking a bit chewed on the tips also...could it be something im doing or is it just because hes going to molt...any ideas...and many thanks for any replies

[pennyandrocky]

could be poor diet or stress.if you see him chewing or plucking turn away and ignore him.get some foraging and preening toys,switch to fresh food and pellet diet.keep us up and good luck.

[marie83]

Welcome to the forums

Although I agree with what pennyandrocky said may I suggest a vet check because plucking under the wings is very unusual unless they have plucked other feathers first. I am hearing that your bird is probably stressed out from it's previous home but good avian vets do tend to think that 70% of plucking is caused by medical or nutritional issues opposed to behavioural issues, especially when the plucking is localised.

Thank you for giving this little conure a better life

[MikeLK]

I totally agree...Thanks for the big heart.. Your bird is very lucky today. If he came from a bad home as it sounds, he may have been plucking his feathers long before he found you. You are doing the right thing by him with his diet and care giving. As his learns his new loving home, hopefully he will stop plucking if that's what he was doing. Best of luck! I have parrot information and bird diet information at my website if you need more information.
Mike

[hooligan]

If I was in your situation, I probably would have rescued Crackers too even if I had never owned a parrot. By doing your homework now, you're already going to provide that bird with much better life than what he had.

A vet visit sounds like a really good idea. I have a Green Cheek too, and she started molting around 6 months. She's never had bald patches as a result of molting though. Her feathers fall out all over rather than in one centralized area. When she lifts her wings though, the density of her feathers does change up in the "pits" of her wings. They're not bald, but the feathers are softer and more downy looking. Is that what you mean?