Amazon parrot feathers turning black

[SunnyBird]

Hi, wanted to get your advice (especially from Jay and Maggie and Pat – fellow amazon parronts). I’ve had Sunshine, my 8 month old male yellow crowned amazon for 4 months now. About a month after he came home to me, he started molting his chest, neck, head and leg feathers. Then he stopped to catch is breath, and about a month later started losing the down (what a mess that was – those things stick everywhere LOL). Now he’s starting to lose the larger feathers covering his wings. What’s next – the flight and tail feathers, I presume?
Anyhow, the interesting thing is that the small feathers covering his wings on and around his shoulders are turning black, not just around the edges but also some spots in the feathers. Also his tail feathers look pretty shabby. Jay and Maggie, I remember you mentioning that Salsa was also turning black some months ago. She was molting at the time. It’s hard to tell from your pictures – how is she now?
I did my usual research and found that this is a loss of pigment and can be due to lack of sunlight and vitamin deficiency. On the other hand, they also say it can be from over petting. Well, I’m a bit guilty of the latter but it doesn’t make sense in this case because I pet him on his shoulders least of all….
Anyhow, there’s not much light in my apartment. I do have a bird lamp above him and I’m going to change the bulb this weekend (they say the UV only lasts about 6 months although the lamp doesn’t burn out). I also bought 2 kinds of vitamins (thank G*d for 24parrot.com – Northern Parrots on line shop in the UK) and I’ve started putting those in his food and water 2 x a week. It will take a couple of months I guess to see if it helps but I was wondering – could it be that it’s just because these are his first feathers and therefore not so durable?? I sure hope his next set will grow in well. All his new feathers so far have been fine.
Your experiences and advice will be welcome!
Thanks,
Renate and Sunshine<br><br>Post edited by: HappyinGreece, at: 2009/12/22 09:44

[luvparrots]

Renate I hope that some of our members who have amazons will be able to help you. Merry Christmas.

[Jayd]

Hi, Jay and Maggie here: Salsa hasn't molted her wing feathers yet so, yes, she still has the black on her feathers but not as bad. Another possible cause is a fungus on the feathers caused from oil from your hands and transferred through over-petting. We suspect over-petting in Salsa's case. There is a animal medicine that you can apply to the feathers. We will get back to you on that because we are still researching how to get this in a smaller quantity rather than a gallon. Everything you are doing is great. After researching on the net about dosing and administering vitamins, ect., we have read a lot of negative feedback about dosing in their drinking water. The reason for this is bacterial growth and a lot of vitamins lose their potency when mixed with water. Also, how much does your fid really get? We adminster meds etc in a 1/2 teaspoon in mash, mashed sweet potato or organic baby food, whatever they like best. As far as where you pet the bird, they preen the area that you petted them and then preen the other areas that you haven't. We have also been told by a CAS (Certified Avian Specialist) that is may be genetic.(?) We do not believe it is a precursor to something more serious. (By the way, Salsa is not talking yet but she is our little acrobat! LOL)
The following is what we are doing for Salsa and it appears to be working for her (these are only suggestions)
* Vitamins: During molting, (stressful) so vitamins are a good bet. If the bird is doing good in all other ways than vitamins are not necessary. We like to use probiotics. Some baby formulas have it, plain lowfat yogurt used in moderation is a good source, and we like to use Primal Defense by Garden of Life. You can get it on the net. The dosage for that is 1/10th of a teaspoon. You can also use Cluturelle, this is available in supermarkets in the US in the vitamin section. This is also a probiotic. We give this to all of our fids. We also give them organic hulled sesame seeds.
* Salsa is on a diet; so she only gets one to two nuts a day and no sunflower seeds. Also during molting, amino acids are more important than vitamins so anything like kelp, spirulina, anise seed, etc are beneficial.
* We spray her with aloe vera juice or aloe vera gel mixed with water (we spray all the fids with this).
We will keep this post open and research this subject some more...here is a current photo of Salsa
Thanks,
Salsa, Maggie, Jay and the Fids
:laugh:

[luvparrots]

Thanks for the help and information Jay and Maggie! Salsa for sure is a sweetheart!

[Jayd]

Hibitane (chlorhexine) is a disinfecent for animals and humans alike. There is a lot on the net about it. It is mixed 1/10 to 1 distilled water for a parrot and wiped on the feathers. It's used both internally and externally for all kinds of animals. Here we can get it at CVS pharmacy.
Salsa :side:

[Char]

I have a 6 month old DYH Amazon. Are you saying that your bird was molting at 4-5 months? My Tango is 6 mo old and has lost very few feathers. He is just now starting to lose a few down feathers which probably has more to do with the dry winter heat. I am no expert but it seems kind of young to me for your bird to be losing so many feathers. Has he been vet checked?

[Jayd]

It's common for a amazon to have a 1st molt and a long one around 6mo's old. In the wild there on there own at this age like the TAG, where a CAG doesn't leave the flock till around a year old. Note: Our indoor fid's should receive 6 to 8hr's UV light a day. Salsa's vet checks are A OK, he's my best supplier of info. <br><br>Post edited by: Jayd, at: 2009/12/23 15:13

[Char]

Jayd wrote:

It's common for a amazon to have a 1st molt and a long one around 6mo's old. In the wild there on there own at this age like the TAG, where a CAG doesn't leave the flock till around a year old. Salsa's vet checks are A OK, he's my best supplier of info.

I was asking if Sunshine has been vet checked.

[SunnyBird]

Thanks for your concern. All the feathers he has lost have been replaced. He was full of shafts at some point and I was busy scratching his itch! LOL. My african grey went through the same molt at the same age, so I don't think it's unusual. Perhaps it has something to do with the climate? I live in Athens which is warm and has a lot of sunshine mostly.

As for being vet checked, no he has not been. I wish I could but there is no such thing as an avian vet in this country. My breeder even shies away from the one or two that are supposedly more experienced with birds since there is no such training in Greece. Too many parrots have been killed here by over-enthusiastic vets who think they know what they are doing and over-medicate. I would love to have my bird micro-chipped but I'm petrified to do it.

I intend to contact a private zoo in the area which I heard has a vet who knows about birds. Hopefully I can establish some kind of a rapport with them and they will agree to see my bird at some point.

Otherwise my Sunny is fine and eats well, is vigorous (to the point of annoying :-) ) alert and intelligent, spoiled to death, etc. Perhaps this is normal,too, but I don't have any base for comparison. I will also write to the breeder to get his opinion.

[Jayd]

I apologize to Char and Renate.....Jayd