whose a pretty boy?

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sanjays mummi
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Location: Bedfordshire UK

whose a pretty boy?

Post by sanjays mummi »

It happened last year, and it has happened again, all of a sudden Sanjay has gone from leaf green to almost lutino, when I look closely he is almost covered in little sunshine yellow feathers. The only other time I have observed this, was when we lived in Germany and owned a pair of Lovebirds, the male would suddenly display a covering of little red feathers at this time of year, like little red dots all over. Has anyone else noticed a predominance of brightly coloured plumage on their IRN's at this time of year? (spring).
Donovan
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Re: whose a pretty boy?

Post by Donovan »

well.. sorta... my blue irn has times when he shows some green but it's like it's under the surface and barely visible.

My lutino has underlying green on his head. Now after he was hatched, before his feathers came in I was told he could pretty much be anything, green, blue, lutino, some wierd mix that I'd have to research in the mutations section of the forum to name.

The lutino is very young, only a few months, I wonder if that faint green shade underlying the feathers on his head will be more pronounced later, if it's completely natural for any lutino, or if it will just go away in time.

Anyway, I haven't thought about how this could be seasonal but I will pay attention more now. It might take a couple years to figure it out fully though since i'm just learning as i go.
AJPeter
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Re: whose a pretty boy?

Post by AJPeter »

Is it something in the water? Maybe Feather up has caused this but my Alex Billie shows no colour change, put it down to something that just happens at this time of year.
sanjays mummi
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Re: whose a pretty boy?

Post by sanjays mummi »

We didn't give the Lovebirds "Feather Up", it was a dimorphic thing. But as Sanjay hasn't developed a collar and tie, and male birds are usually flashier than females, this is quite surprising, and absolutely beautiful!.
AJPeter
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Re: whose a pretty boy?

Post by AJPeter »

i have given Billie a quick look over and think her head has mottled green feathers, in stead of the plain green which she was. I also weighed her, 240 grams that has been steady for the past three months, and her vent area is as clean as a whistle although l am unsure how clean a whistle is but never the less it was clean.

Some years ago l was given a bowl of china cherries by a friend so l decided to pass them on to my neighbour down stairs and put them on the table next Billie's cage and she flew down and tried to eat them.

Shopping tomorrow so l will buy some cherries, do people take the stones out first or just make sure their birds do not eat the stones, why are they called pitts?
MissK
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Re: whose a pretty boy?

Post by MissK »

I've been reading my Encyclopedia of Birds of The World again, and I did note at least one bird was specifically referenced as using their strong beak to open cherry pits to access and eat the insides. Not saying we should give that to our birds, just that some bird is reported to eat them. No, don't ask me which one. My birds have all eaten the cherry minus the pit and lived to look for more.

I did read of another species, possibly on the internet, possibly the Vasa, in which the feathers of the female changed colour during some part of the female breeding cycle It was theorized that the bird was experiencing a change in the oil gland secretions which affected feather colour when she preened. Now I am the first to stand up and acknowledge that the Vasa is a much different bird, much, much different, and so I would not really expect anything it does to be the same as what our birds do. I'm just passing on what I read.
-MissK
ranechild
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Re: whose a pretty boy?

Post by ranechild »

In Eclectus parrots, incorrectly colored feathers are a sign of a dietary issue. I'm not saying that's what you have here, but I have this dietary issue with my eclectus parrots.

Pellets with artificial colors can cause liver issues which manifest in the developping feathers with a lack of pigment, or sometimes bands of missing pigments. Other bad foods can cause this too, but it's mostly attributed to artifical colors. Our Ekkie named Yellow has one yellow feather out the side of his neck. He has one bright blue feather out the other side of the neck. He has other evidence (like soft beak and nails) that leads us to believe he was on an all seed or nearly all seed diet and not getting the vitamins he needs. Both feathers are supposed to be green. But those are there for the duration of the time he keeps the feather says the vet. Another member of this forum and I are friends on facebook and her female ekkie has the issue too, that's how I know about it. We researched it together.

Does your bird's yellow go away or does it stay that way for the duration of the feather? Because in springtime, just after mating season is a common time to moult feathers... He could have a liver issue.
sanjays mummi
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Re: whose a pretty boy?

Post by sanjays mummi »

No, he doesn't have this all the time, only when he grows in new plumage, but he has always been more lutino than green. He never has foods with artificial colours, because he won't eat pellets, just fresh organic fruit and veg, with a seed bar and miller, the seed bars are nut, seed and honey, no colours. We noticed with our dogs, their new coats were always brighter and fresher than the one they had just moulted.
MissK
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Re: whose a pretty boy?

Post by MissK »

It stands to reason that a coat (fur or feather) would get scuffed and worn over time, and by comparison the new one would be brighter, shinier, etc.
-MissK
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