My birds feathers

[PerryTheParrot]

Hey guys I give my bird a seed mixture and apple a day. His tail feathers are broken well they look broken but I don't know why the cage is pretty big his feathers are ruffled it isn't tight and his chest is missing a few feathers. His behaviour towards me is the same though no biting acts all cute and happy. Any idea how I can make his feathers look healthy again? He was fine a few weeks ago :S

[mikeb]

it may be molting don't know where you are located but they usually molt once a year mostly in the heat of summer

[taywer321]

I would try supplementing his diet with something other than seed and apple.. try to mix it up a bit and add a few fresh veggies to the mix.. sprouts are also good. Keep in mind if he is molting he will need added nutrition as molting is hard on the little guys. Also try reading through some of the recipes and food ideas posted here.

[Molossus2]

Add cooked corni and peas into the diet. If thats not possible buy micronised pre cooked mix for parakeets for variety. Feathers falling during molt is normal. If the bird drops feathers out of the moulting season means a health problem. Post a pic of the bird.

[Wessel Gordon]

We're in the middle of summer in South Africa and 2 of my 4 IRN's are going through a visible molt. Strictly speaking the one is a female with plucking issues that's growing a new set of feathers (for how long only she will know) and the other is a male in the cage next to her that's looking a bit scruffy at the moment. Any ideas to boost all the birds diet?

[Molossus2]

There are avian supplements available for this. Go to a racing pigeon supply store near you and enquire for something suitable.

[Melika]

We're in the middle of summer in South Africa and 2 of my 4 IRN's are going through a visible molt. Strictly speaking the one is a female with plucking issues that's growing a new set of feathers (for how long only she will know) and the other is a male in the cage next to her that's looking a bit scruffy at the moment. Any ideas to boost all the birds diet?

If you're looking to supplement through food, you can easily increase protein via brown rice and soaked and cooked beans (brown rice plus beans is a complete protein) or cooked eggs. Since protein is the main ingredient of a feather, it is needed to create the new ones.

Of course, veggies and fruits will offer additional vitamins/minerals.