HELP!! HELP!! HELP!!

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ElliottsMomma
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HELP!! HELP!! HELP!!

Post by ElliottsMomma »

Elliott is going through a pretty bad moult right now and I think he might be bleeding.
He is not normally an overly affectionate bird but today he has been following me around and flying to me when I leave the room. So tonight, just before bed I sat with him and tried to pet him, which he normally doesn't like, or he likes for 2 seconds and then gets sick of it. To my surprise he actually enjoyed it and wanted me to pet him and scratch him more. As I was ruffling up the feathers on the back of his neck I noticed some red on some of his feathers. There is some on both sides of his neck and on the top of his head also. I can't tell if it is blood or if they are red feathers or if it is possible from the strawberries he has been eating lately. They don't feel wet and nothing came off on my fingers, but I am very concerned. I wanted to try to get them wet, but it is late and he is going to be going to bed soon, I don't think he would be happy going to be all wet. What should I do? Is it normal for a bird to bleed during a moult? He has never moulted like this before and he has been scratching at himself alot, so I know he is uncomfortable. I just feel so bad for my poor little baby. I am going to call the vet in the morning and see if they can see him. Any advice you can offer before then would be greatly appreciated.
pinkdevil
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Post by pinkdevil »

When my birds were going through a moult, they seemed to bathe a bit more often. I guess new feathers popping through would be an itchy time for them.

I don't think it is normal for birds to bleed when moulting, but sounds like if he has been eating strawberries then that could be it. I gave my birds strawberries a couple of days ago and almost went into a panic when I saw red on the head! :shock: :shock: But on closer inspection I realised it was strawberry juice, Whew. lol

If he allows you to, you could try wiping the "blood" stained areas with a damp cloth or cotton wool and see if it comes off. That way he won't get too wet before bed time :)
Fah
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Post by Fah »

Bad moults go alot smoother with soome spraying / shower time, even if the bird doesnt enjoy them overly... just dont go to the point of making your bird too upset doing so. If he isnt bathing alot I really suggest some form of getting him a bit damp one way or the other as it really seems to help things progress.
julie
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Post by julie »

as far as I know it would be what is called blood feathers and is perfectly normal. I have seen indie with the same thing but he is also lutino and his stands out heaps.
I just looked it up and found on the birds n ways website this
Pin feathers, also called blood feathers, will emerge encased in a sheath called a quill. The quill is whitish in color and has a clear plastic-like appearance. The quill will contain a blood vein. As the feather grows inside of the quill, the blood vein retracts and the quill flakes off and disintegrates.

Birds will remove the quills from the pin feathers and pairs will preen each other to remove the old sheaths. Singly kept birds will benefit from having their owners preen the new feathers in the places that they can't reach such as their head and neck area. Before you preen your bird's new pin feathers check for the presence of blood feathers. New blood feathers are quite sensitive and your bird will surely let you know if you accidently try to preen one of them. Then, gently roll the end of the quill between your fingers to remove the sheath. The sheath should fall off easily.
ryelle
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Post by ryelle »

my friend bought a baby Grey a few years ago and she had a massive panic when she noticed blood in his poop. a very quick run to the vets showed it was actually from a feather near his butt. he'd over preened and snapped the new feather coming through and it had bled. it wasnt that bad in the end, the vet simply cauterized it and all was well again. This wasnt just dried blood tho, every time the bird pooped it made the feather bleed again
ElliottsMomma
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Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Post by ElliottsMomma »

I know it has been forever since I posted this but I just wanted to let you all know that I found out what it was! It was not blood, but his rose colored feathers coming in!! The red on his head was strawberry!!! But Elliott is definetly a boy!!! He is still moulting and I feel really bad for him because he looks terrible right now, but his ring is coming in more and more! I will post pics of it soon!!
leo
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Post by leo »

wow...cool...how old is elliot?
guys, if i offend you in any way, please let me know....don't keep it to yourself....okay.tango is FE-male.............
ElliottsMomma
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Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Post by ElliottsMomma »

He is about 17 mos old. We werent sure if he was a boy or a girl, but I had this gut feeling from the beginning that he was a boy!
leo
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Post by leo »

hmm, what the sign of the bird going to molt?
guys, if i offend you in any way, please let me know....don't keep it to yourself....okay.tango is FE-male.............
ElliottsMomma
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Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:34 pm
Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Post by ElliottsMomma »

Here is the ring!!

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image[/img]
leo
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Post by leo »

so jealous................

what the 1st sign of molting?
is it got alot of soft white feather coming out?
guys, if i offend you in any way, please let me know....don't keep it to yourself....okay.tango is FE-male.............
ElliottsMomma
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Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Post by ElliottsMomma »

Yes! This was Elliott's second moult and by far the worst one. He has been moulting for over a month now.


leo wrote:so jealous................

what the 1st sign of molting?
is it got alot of soft white feather coming out?
leo
Posts: 606
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 4:26 am

Post by leo »

tango lately drop alot of white feather, the 1 very soft 1...and stop and then, now start dropping again...does elliot dropped alot of those white feather also?

thanks alot
guys, if i offend you in any way, please let me know....don't keep it to yourself....okay.tango is FE-male.............
ElliottsMomma
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Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:34 pm
Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Post by ElliottsMomma »

It def sounds like she is moulting.
inept
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Post by inept »

Is it abnormal for birds to lose down feathers? My little guy lets out poofy down balls almost anytime he shakes out his feathers vigirously. He hasn't gone through a molt yet and he hasn't lost any primary feathers or semiplume. I always figured it was normal for the down to come out - is that not the case?
Fah
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Post by Fah »

Its normal for those white feathers to come out now and then... my IRN aviaries in wet weather have them stuck to the mesh often, and they can be annoying to remove heh.

Would not worry about the white downy feathers in that case.
ryelle
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Location: N.E England

Post by ryelle »

aww poor little thing!! shove him under a warm shower lol. My fid got to the point of growling at his feathers when he was preening himself whilst he was moulting his ring in. i think he got very irritated by the feathers growing just under his beak :(
LAAnnie
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Post by LAAnnie »

My Pretty Girl is just coming down off a terrible moult, the worst in over 4 years.

She was so sick I took her to the vet. The vet said she needs some vitamin A and calcium supplement. She actually gave the bird injections of Vit A & Calcium, which last for a while. Now I have to make sure Pretty Girl gets more vitamins in her diet. I guess the moulting is stressful, and they need supplementation to build them back up. It's hard to do when the bird is picky. I'm baking birdy bread with all kinds of healthful ingredients that she will not normally eat, like sweet potato and spinach.

I also gave her some homeopathics (echinaea to build up the immune system and aloe vera juice as a general system cleanse). Small amounts, mixed in food or water, for a week.

Good results -- Pretty Girl is now as beautiful and healthy as before, and her plumage is looking good. You can get the echinacea & aloe at the vitamin store -- take a few drops of echinacea yourself, if you are coming down with a cold!
ryelle
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Location: N.E England

Post by ryelle »

oooh yea, i take Echinacea supplement tablets myself along with multi-vitamins etc. in the colder months to try avoid getting a cold (i normally get 3 each winter that last a month each :x ).

Good to know it can be given to birds aswell. I prefer homeopathic medicines for my pets, unless ofc its something serious and needs medical attention from a vet.
Lauren
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Post by Lauren »

:shock: Woah Elly! Had me worried for a minute there. Congrads on the boy!

Oh strawberries can be scary sometimes, when they get it all over them, they look like they are bleeding! LOL
"Jibby aka Gilbert" Indian Ringneck 13 years "Charlie" Rex Rabbit 1 year
leo
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Post by leo »

hi...how does irn big molt take place? is it like sudenly 1 day got alot of feather dropping?

tango drop 1 feather 1 day, then the next day, a few more and everyday a few more...now, it slows down, but when he fly, he will drop 1 or 2 feather some times...

i notice the change in behaviour...i dont know weather it is cause of unclip wing or molting...

he is become more clingy and will decide thing for him self...like, when she is tired, she will just fly to the cage back, and would not want to go out if i ask her to...but her noise level goes down tremendously and she become very sweet bird that just content by just sitting next to me when im doing my work, not like last time, dunning and chewing around...

i got a baby tiel name cheeky to acompany her as i im attach to a comany that require me to get home late, about 7-8 and go out at 6 am...

anyway...im really confuse about tango gender...i see there is a white ring ar his cheak, near the lower beak, like yougn green male start developing the balck ring...
guys, if i offend you in any way, please let me know....don't keep it to yourself....okay.tango is FE-male.............
ryelle
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:25 am
Location: N.E England

Post by ryelle »

Youre bird is definately moulting Leo. As to wether the ring will come through or not i think you will have to wait.Im sure my fid had new head and ring feathers coming through towards the end of the moult. A lot of non-down feathers normally show the sign of a moult - although if she drops a wing feather aswell, then its a definate
leo
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Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 4:26 am

Post by leo »

hi,,,thanks alot...

yesterday i go hoem and found more feather ont eh floor...
suddenly her feather look very messy and lose...hehe...the answer gonna be reveal very soon...moment of truth is around the corner,..end of long wondering...hehe

thanks guys
guys, if i offend you in any way, please let me know....don't keep it to yourself....okay.tango is FE-male.............
leo
Posts: 606
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 4:26 am

Post by leo »

is the personality change is due to molting or flighted?
guys, if i offend you in any way, please let me know....don't keep it to yourself....okay.tango is FE-male.............
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