[maria mc]

Hi, Some pictures of charlie and feathers i have found over the past two weeks he is one year old in may and i understand he is going throu his 1st proper molt hes chewing feathers from the pictures would you say this is a normal first molt? thanks in advance for any help & opinions given

for some reason it wont let me upload photos but here is a link so you can see them i would really appriciate some advice if this is a normal first molt ....

http://www.facebook....109115622439301

Thankyou x

[maria mc]

Why wont it let me upload photos i just want to put them on so i can get some advice :-(

[Titch]

maria mc, on 14 March 2010 - 03:01 PM, said:

Why wont it let me upload photos i just want to put them on so i can get some advice :-(

Internet Explorer

Right click the picture
Properties
Treble click the Address(url) - the actual address on the right.
Right click the highlighted address and click - copy on the menu that appears

that will give you this -

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs491.snc3/26817_109115672439296_100000225923810_226929_1351214_n.jpg

click the little picture icon at the top of the posting page



and paste the link in and that will give you this

[img]http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs491.snc3/26817_109115672439296_100000225923810_226929_1351214_n.jpg[/img]

Done..

or in Firefox and Chrome browsers.

Right click the picture
Click - copy Image URL
then paste the copied url into the icon

[maria mc]

thanks... but ive just spent ages making a photo bucket account

http://pbckt.com/sB.9Xt

I hope this link works and the pictures are viewable i am desperate for some advice

[Picco]

does look like a heavy molt to me and im sure he's feeling rather dry and itchy at this time.

[maria mc]

I am showering with water and aloe, i have introduced palm oil into his diet but i am just concerned about the chewing.... should i be worried about the feathers i have found (the ones pictured) i was worried he plucked them out he has no bald patches i just found them on floor of cage....

[Titch]

Some birds chew the feather after it has moulted to get the cellulose from it

[maria mc]

Ohhhhh so i am just worrying over nothing i am new to this and he seems happy enough apart from occasionally franticly preening but i was worried he was plucking silly me... what is the cellulose the get from it?? x

[Picco]

Maria does Charlie receive any type of spectrum lighting sunlight time etc and did you get a good supplement from the vets?

[maria mc]

Hes in the sun all of the day (if ts sunny ha) i got Zocal D off the vet which i belive is calcium and vitamin D3.

[Mama2ManyMouths]

Our birds will also play with their moulted feathers, it's pretty normal behaviour, but it's understandable to assume that they are plucking. The feathers themselves tell the real story.

[maria mc]

Panic over ha i am going to stop worrying so much ha.

I am so glad i found this forum the day i got charlie nearly a year ago because you are all so helpful, I truely appriciate all the help and advice you all have give me no matter what it is i am unsure about i always get the answers here. This forum is amazing. . . . Thanks again,

[Xanthus]

This picture here, it looks like he is overpreening/barbering his feathers. I have a cockatoo that does this, and the more I bath her, the less she does it.

[Mama2ManyMouths]

Barbering can be very frustrating to deal with. It's really hard to understand what motivates them, but if an increase in showering reduces the overpreening, then go for it.

I speculate that birds who "barber" have brittle feathers to begin with. Can anyone with a "barbering" bird verify this?

[Titch]

maria mc, on 14 March 2010 - 05:12 PM, said:

Ohhhhh so i am just worrying over nothing i am new to this and he seems happy enough apart from occasionally franticly preening but i was worried he was plucking silly me... what is the cellulose the get from it?? x

Please don't think my reply was the definitive reason, I was just merely saying that the feathers which have come off could be chewed up for that reason..

The fact that they are snipped in half in some cases and the sheer number of them would indicate this is more than simply chewing the odd feather imo..

Have you seen a Vet yet? That would be the first port of call to rule out any underlying medical symptoms.

[Papa2ManyMouths]

Titch, on 14 March 2010 - 10:02 AM, said:

Some birds chew the feather after it has moulted to get the cellulose from it

Oh dear, 'cellulose'! Beware of termites infesting your birds!

(Keratin anyone? )

[maria mc]

Vet said he was molting and to increase showers and certain foods which i have been doing hes getting showered everyday now and its really helpin, he whistles away why i am misting water & aloe over him and he actually used to hate showers ....