Losing feathers

[Justmercedes]

My galah, ten months old, has been losing feathers for six weeks or more. Is this normal? She has new ones appearing as sharp pointed shafts, but there are areas on her body where there are no feathers at all. She doesn't seem to pluck them out herself - I did see her chewing on one, weeks ago when she first started to lose them, but she doesn't do that any more.

[Wolf]

Since there is no indication of what region of the world you are living in we can't say for certain that this is the normal time for your bird to be molting or not but, that sounds to me to be what is occurring. Now there is a possibility that she is plucking as well, the easiest way to be sure is to look at the shaft of the feathers where they would normally be growing out of the skin and see if they look normal or if they look chewed on. If they look normal then all is likely well and your bird is just molting.

[Justmercedes]

Hi Wolf- I'm in New Zealand, our spring has just started - this is when my hens used to molt, but I don't remember it taking so many weeks. The shed feathers, and the feathers still in her skin, all look normal, so I'll stop worrying. I hope.

[Wolf]

Diet may have something to do with this.

[Pajarita]

No, parrots don't molt in the spring, they do it after the breeding season so it's usually at the end of the summer BUT for this to happen on schedule, their endocrine system has to be in tune with the seasons and that means that the bird has been kept at a solar schedule. But, if you see bald spots, it's not even a normal molt because the only birds that actually look moth-eaten during molt are psittaculas.

[Justmercedes]

Diet may have something to do with this.

Her diet is varied- commercial small parrot seeds always available, ( wheat, barley, sorghum, oats, sunflower, millet) fresh greens daily, (mainly celery and silver beet from my garden, also milk weed which she loves) also carrots and apples. She shares most meals with me as well - she likes boiled rice, pasta, pizza crust, wholegrain bread, and has cooked oats for breakfast. Plus she gets rewards of small bunch from a millet spray when she does something correctly - rolls over on command, or repeats what I say.

Can you see anything there that she shouldn't have? Or, anything missing?

[Justmercedes]

No, parrots don't molt in the spring, they do it after the breeding season so it's usually at the end of the summer BUT for this to happen on schedule, their endocrine system has to be in tune with the seasons and that means that the bird has been kept at a solar schedule. But, if you see bald spots, it's not even a normal molt because the only birds that actually look moth-eaten during molt are psittaculas.

She lives in a cage in my window and gets direct sunlight for a couple of hours every day. She comes outside with me and eats weed seeds, flowers etc on my lawn - time outside varies, from an hour at a time to ten minutes if I'm really busy. She spends at least two hours a day out of her cage - often longer.

[Wolf]

I don't free feed seeds for any of my birds as it gives them too much protein and fats in their diet. This can cause a variety of problems ranging from an increase in aggressive behaviors to liver disease or it can cause them to go into a breeding cycle too early or prolong the breeding season. The problem is not the seeds in themselves but only in the amount that they get which with free feeding seeds to a captive bird is far in excess to what they would get naturally. I would also try to get her to eat a greater variety of veggies and some fruit too.
A solar light schedule is one in which the birds is exposed to the predawn twilight and then wakes up just after dawn, is exposed to a lot of natural sunlight throughout the day and then is exposed to the light at dusk and then goes to sleep shortly after full dark. This is important to them because the wavelengths of light at dusk signal the endocrine system to start producing certain hormones and the pre dawn twilight signals it to stop producing those hormones. these two times also are how the birds internal clock measures the length of the days and keeps the bird in tune with the proper season.
Birds a wonderfully complex creatures and we are still learning a lot about them. I know that I am utterly fascinated by them and the more I study about them and interact with my own birds the more amazed I am becoming.

[Justmercedes]

I don't free feed seeds for any of my birds as it gives them too much protein and fats in their diet. This can cause a variety of problems ranging from an increase in aggressive behaviors to liver disease or it can cause them to go into a breeding cycle too early or prolong the breeding season. The problem is not the seeds in themselves but only in the amount that they get which with free feeding seeds to a captive bird is far in excess to what they would get naturally. I would also try to get her to eat a greater variety of veggies and some fruit too.
A solar light schedule is one in which the birds is exposed to the predawn twilight and then wakes up just after dawn, is exposed to a lot of natural sunlight throughout the day and then is exposed to the light at dusk and then goes to sleep shortly after full dark. This is important to them because the wavelengths of light at dusk signal the endocrine system to start producing certain hormones and the pre dawn twilight signals it to stop producing those hormones. these two times also are how the birds internal clock measures the length of the days and keeps the bird in tune with the proper season.
Birds a wonderfully complex creatures and we are still learning a lot about them. I know that I am utterly fascinated by them and the more I study about them and interact with my own birds the more amazed I am becoming.

How do you feed your birds? How much seed should I give her, and when?

[Wolf]

I feed my birds gloop, which is a cooked mixture of white beans, lentils, brown rice whole wheat pastas, whole grains and mixed vegetables. I feed this in the morning along with chopped fresh veggies and a little fruit, I give them enough to allow them to nibble on it all day. I then feed a seed mix for their dinner and I remove it when they go to sleep, for a Galah that would probably be close to 1/2 to 1/3 of a cup of seed mix.
Although there is some protein in the gloop it is less than in the seed mix.