Worried about Chance

[GreenWing]

Hey everyone, long time no post - hope all of you are well

So, I'm worried about my little sassafras winged-child, Chance. I feed her well but upon looking through her chest feathers today I saw what looks like a little, dry scab. I'm really worried about her. I called the Avian Vet to try to get in this Saturday.

She's going through a molt (not pucking) and her red feathers look a little dull, slightly frayed. I feed her well, fresh veggies/fruits and cooked foods with her pellets that are vitamin-infused. I'm so worried about her.

What's up with the scab on her chest and what can I do about her dull red plumage? She's not plucking, her droppings look great and she's as vocal as ever...

[liz]

First thing I am thinking is dry skin. When was the last time he had a bath or shower?

[Wolf]

If the food that you are feeding contains soy or soy products then I would find different food. Many birds develop an allergic reaction to soy and will pick as the area where the reaction is the greatest, this appears to be close to the crop area so it could be from the soy, it could be an indication of a crop infection, it could be that the humidity is too low and that you need to get a humidifier. It could also be that Chance doesn't get enough attention, in her mind, from you. It could be that her nutrition is not in balance causing to much vitamins or too little because the balance is needed for all of them to work properly. I don't know if any of these or some of them might be involved, but they are what come to my mind.

[Pajarita]

Hmmm, yes, she could be picking from despondency... Lord knows grays are know for that! But, in my personal opinion, when it comes to dull plumage, 99% of the time, it's dietary. Personally, I would not feed pellets to any of my birds... I've taken in birds that had dry, faded and even raggedy plumage and they all molted into wonderful plumage with the fresh food diet. Sometimes it took a couple of years (Codee just molted all her stress bars and it took almost two years for it to happen) but, sooner or later, they all look better with it.