So, my female parakeet, Rafiki, just recently laid 2 eggs with her mate Pikachu, male, and she is now molting. She has some bald spots on her breast area, and I was wondering if this was normal.
Thanks for any and all help everyone!
Molting is a normal occurrence for birds. While your bird is molting you should keep it in a warm place and add some supplements to their diet. Your bird needs extra protein during this time. You can add some chopped boiled egg to their diet for extra protein. Also, yYou can find bird feed that is specifically designed to be fed to birds that are molting.
Normally birds will do this after laying eggs. They use the features in the nest for the babies. Rabbits will pull out their own hair for the babies.
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My parakeet loses his feathers and has a bald spot on the belly area. He is eating and acting normally. What possibly could have happened? We got him Thanksgiving of 2010. Thank you.
By gaboong from Fountain Valley, CA
Have you noticed the budgie scratching itself a lot lately? Could be mites from some of the forums I've read for you.
Please call an Avian Veterinarian and make an appt. then you will be sure of what's going on. Good luck.
I agree to taking your bird friend to the vet. Also, keets love to be held and played with. If his wings are clipped he could play outside the cage on a play stand. They love their daily baths too. Use a shallow saucer.
Sometimes our avian friends pluck themselves when they are bored or unhappy. Other times it could require a vets attention. Try a slice of apple, or raw broccoli or carrot wedged between the bars of the cage. That should keep him/her busy.
It's worth a try. It works for my birds and i have 13 of various types. But first and foremost, see an avian vet.
Maybe your parakeet is molting. They have special food at the pet store when a bird is molting.
Why my parakeet has no feathers on its belly. Eats, and flies around in his cage fine
I can't afford the bill right now
I have a parakeet that is molting really badly. I took it to the vet and was given oatmeal/steroid spray and have not yet seen an improvement. What else can I do?
Make sure that your bird has access to a birdbath, and try lightly misting its feathers with water once a day. If it consists, I'd go back to the vet, especially because what they gave did not work.
Molting can be a normal happening but you must feel that your baby is beyond normal but what did the vet say?
Bald patches are not part of molting. A bird who is losing a lot of feathers, leaving behind bald spots needs to be checked for the cause. Illness, parasites, boredom, malnutrition and dry conditions can all lead to bald spots. He is probably pulling out his own feathers. He may just need more exercise, better food or more water for baths, but he could also be ill.
Our female parakeet keeps laying eggs (we have a male but he doesn't get in her cage). She is losing her chest feathers. She doesn't seem sick and she doesn't itch. Could you please help us? Thanks.
By Don
Maybe she's acting like chickens do... is trying to build a nest as she doesn't have supplies for that, so she 's using de chest feathers.
I remember as a child the chickens of my mother did so to make the nest warm.
She lay eggs and want little ones. Maybe if you gave her a nest plus pieces of wool, grass, little things to build a nest.
Eliane
Too much light. Too many hours. Like a commercial chicken. Egg laying chickens get at least 14 hours of light a day. A dark cover on cage but i don't know how is best to cut back the hours. All at once or slowly? Also she will need vitamins as she is depleted. Vet needed as perhaps too much calcium could harm and not help. Call a bird vet please before you lose her.
This is called a brood (incubation) patch and is completely normal. Since the male is not in the cage to breed with her simply remove the eggs as soon as they are laid. I learned about brood patches when I had a couple of finches (Romeo and Juliet) quite a few years ago. Here's more information about it so you won't worry that something is wrong with her:
birding.about.com/
My female bird is losing feathers around her back and is beginning to lose them around her neck. She is currently on her 9th egg and made a huge mess in her mating box. I need to know if she's sick or just stressed.
Birds have periods where they molt, or lose their feathers. I wouldn't worry if I were you.
You will need to take her to the Vet to be sure. Does she have anything new in her environment that may be stressing her? Is she getting enough play time and stimulation? That can be a big stressor for birds.
My parakeet loses her feathers every day, but doesn't seem to have a bald spot. She's energetic and and is playful more than my male parakeet. Why is she losing her feathers?
By Sara G
I think you'll find if she's wet you may see the bald spots. If it's summer where you are then it's pretty natural for birds to drop feathers. Other than that if she's scratching a lot she may have mites - you will need to buy a mite spray for both birds. More info can be found it you Google " parrots feather drop" or general parrot breeding & care.
My parakeet is losing feathers and has a kind of long beak, but the other parakeet seems just fine. Their cage is next to an energetic canary. Please reply soon I am really worried!
By Eve
We have a pair of budgies and one started pulling out its feathers and the other one was fine. Then a few weeks later the other bird started pulling its feathers out. What do we do?
By Ashlee B