Feather & Beak disease in young bird or just badly treated?

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Hi

I am looking at buying a 3 month old, unsexed green ringneck baby, purely as i feel terrible for it.
It is currently being kept in a box, and the person is looking to get rid of it as soon as possible.
What concerns me, is the bird has lost its tail feathers (they are growing back in slowly, i asked for photos),
it cannot fly, nor can it perch, it just falls off and hurts itself. The gentleman selling it says it comes from JHB stock,
where it fell out of the nest a few times, explaining the condition. I am wondering if it is not ill or if it does not have
feather and beak, and the parents pushed it from the nest knowing there was something wrong.

I have 8 other birds at home to worry about, and cannot risk bringing an ill bird into my household...
I would love to take the little guy as i feel so sorry for him given his present condition but with January always being a bit of a pinch after the holidays and december I cannot afford to take the little guy straight to the vet to give him a check up either....

Any advice?

[MissK]

Here's my best advice:

Run, don't walk, away from this bird.

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Thanks MissK i will be honest the person who currently has it is selling it cheap as he is desperate to get rid of it...
He says it has been vet checked but has yet to reply about which vet, if i can confirm it has been checked i will take it, as it breaks my heart that it is currently being kept in a cardboard box!!! I cannot figure out how to upload photos, will see if McMillan Birds could possibly upload a few onto the forum for me if I mail the pics to her, as she is the breeder of my other current baby I own....

[McmillanBirds]

Hi Everyone

Here is the bird in question. I hope this helps you Sherri. Looking at the pics you sent me though I honestly feel is is PBFD but we can see what others have to say.



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Uploaded with ImageShack.us

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According to the gentleman he bought it from a breeder in JHB. He has not responded to me at all today regarding what vet checked it. He says it was a parent raised chick, and is not suitable for being handled. To me looking at the pictures, I unfortunately also think it is disease, and cannot risk taking it into my home.
WORST thing, is this same gentleman has other birds who have been exposed to this bird for sale as well. So he is then selling other birds who may have then caught it. Breaks my heart to know I have to leave the poor thing in those living conditions.

[SCB 22]

I only wanted to help at first, as i saw the conditions it was being kept in. it was only after i received these pictures i doubted that the bird was mistreated, and suspected it may be ill. The worst thing is he is selling other adult breeding birds as well, that do not look to be in bad condition but have been exposed to the disease. and it is so close to my area I am concerned for anyone who purchases these birds.

[MissK]

Sorry!  I know how you feel.
-MissK

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Well unfortunately both birds have been sold, and the owner is adamant there was nothing wrong with the one in the pics above.
He insists it was in PERFECT health. Which makes me so furious, and he obviously does not realise how many birds could now be affected if they come into contact with the one (if indeed it does have PBFD).

Very sad indeed, and now means I will have to be very careful where i purchase all future birds, as these birds are from my area.

[MissK]

Fortunately, you are in an excellent position to meet new breeders Right Here.

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Have been part of this forum for a long time my last baby actually came from Carmen - McMillan Birds... He is absolutely lovely, and the sweetest little thing. Wish once again I could post pics!

[clawnz]

I have seen PBFD at it's worst and I can tell you it is not something you want close to your loved ones.
The only good thing that I can think of it is not meant to cross species.]
But it sure can be spread by dried feces.
One of the first things that set me on edge was a crest feather that had not formed well on a baby SC2.
I made mat take this bird to a vet. Negative! Ok! Take it to this one then, This one took his money did blood tests and told him not to panic there were still things that could be done! More money! 4mths later the bird was put to sleep, strange more money. By this time the bird had very few feathers, deformed beak and toes.
Very sad! Stay away from this bird, you do not need to take the risk with oyu flock at home.
I know it is very sad. But as Miss K said we cannot save them all.

[clawnz]

Clawnz said 'not meant to cross species' :
PBFD is a highly infectious disease and left unattended it will infect other parrot species in any collection. Some species are more prone to infection than others. This does not mean the other species are immune. As a rule of thumb and for safetys sake anyone who knows of birds even suspected of carrying this dreaded disease , should protect their birds from infection.
Seek advice from an avian vet.

Thank you for pointing this out.
I would agree with you 100%
If you have any doubt do not take any risks.
I am sorry I should of pointed out this was a claim about birds in the wild, I had read about.
I would never put my birds at risk. It is not worth it.
The other thing I forgot to point out is that a bird can carry this and still pass blood tests and may only test positive months later or after it has been stressed.
In Australia the numbers of infected wild Parrots in some flocks is high.
Here in NZ we have it in a flock of wild SC2 (This is the full blown horror) Eastern Rosellas (seems to be not so bad) And in the last couple of years has been recorded in our Kakariki on two islands here in the gulf.

One of the signs or the one that put me on edge is badly forming incoming feathers.
Here is the only photo I had of the SC2 But you can see the one bad feather that got me going. I kept telling the owner I did not want him in my home with my birds until we were sure I was wrong. But I was not wrong. Very very sad.

This young bird was infected by his parents in the nest, he was taken from the wild and hand raised.
Mate only had him for 4mths before he had to be put to sleep.

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You will have to forgive me if i am being blind, but i see nothing wrong with the above cockatoo other than he is probably a bit dirtier than he should be, and all his white is a bit brown....
To me there appears to be nothing wrong with him, Clawz, please point out which feathers you are referring too???