Trained Parrot BlogParrot Wizard Online Parrot Toy StoreThe Parrot Forum

Help! My bird has Black Feathers!

Talk about bird illnesses and other bird health related issues. Seeds, pellets, fruits, vegetables and more. Discuss what to feed your birds and in what quantity. Share your recipe ideas.

Help! My bird has Black Feathers!

Postby Bird Lover123 » Mon Nov 27, 2017 6:16 pm

Hello everyone. I have a problem, my bird Einstein, who is a Green Cheek Conure, :gcc: and he is developing black all all of his tail feathers. (Tail feathers only) It is not little spots, that would be stress marks. My bird is about 1 and a half years of age. i give him fresh water, he is in a big cage, I give him vary good bird food, fruits and vegetables in the morning, put him in sunlight for and hour a day, and spend time with him. What do I do? It would be awesome if you could help!-Thanks! :thumbsup:
Bird Lover123
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 9
Location: Maryland
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Green Cheek
Flight: Yes

Re: Help! My bird has Black Feathers!

Postby Pajarita » Tue Nov 28, 2017 12:32 pm

Any black on feathers is a stress bar - it doesn't matter what the shape is, it could be horizontal lines, it could be spots, it could be the edges, it could be the entire feather... Now, the thing about stress bars is that they are always caused by stress BUT the stress can be physical and/or psychological so too many hours in a cage, depriving the bird of flight, a diet high in protein, keeping them on a human light schedule, moving to a new home, etc can be the cause for them.

GCCs are real easy to keep if you do everything right by them. They are good eaters, good bathers, sweet-tempered, quiet birds that want nothing more than cuddle to you but they can also be screamers, pluckers and biters if they are unhappy. People see them small and think they are low maintenance as far as parrots go but they are and they are not because they require a fresh food diet, a strict solar schedule, flight and an inordinate amount of time devoted to them as they are as needy as cockatoos when it comes to company. They can't be clipped, they are active birds that need flight - mostly because they want to be able to get to you. They need to be out of their cages for, at least, 5 or 6 hours a day and they need to spend, at least, 4 hours with their humans and that means right on top of them.

I would recommend you re-evaluate diet, light schedule, routines, etc and try to pinpoint what is stressing your bird out. Mind you, if I go by my own personal experience with stress bars on GCCs, it will take a long time to get rid of them [took mine three whole years to be completely free of them!]
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

Thanks

Postby Bird Lover123 » Tue Nov 28, 2017 8:05 pm

Thanks that helped a lot! :D
Bird Lover123
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 9
Location: Maryland
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Green Cheek
Flight: Yes


Return to Health, Nutrition & Diet

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests

cron
Parrot ForumArticles IndexTraining Step UpParrot Training BlogPoicephalus Parrot InformationParrot Wizard Store