my alexandrine loses a lot of feathers

hi guys, since yesterday my 2years old alexandrine loses a lot of feathers, today he lost one big quill. I dont know what can be a reason, his behavior is the same as always. He gets vitamins. Is it normal or he needs visit in a vet? He has some discolorations on his stomach too. Any suggestions?


my parrot
his vitamins
his lost feathers
his discolorations on stomach

If he is losing matching pairs of feathers, he is molting which is a perfectly normal process of old feathers falling out and new ones growing in.

Welcome to Parrot Forums!

My good friend above has provide the most likely reason you are seeing an increase in feather loss.

Where you are is a very important as to what level of molting you are seeing 'this' year. The cold spring in Central and Eastern North America has slowed the molting of many Parrots and with the sudden rapid warming many Parrots are molting heavily. In addition, your two year old is having its first true molt.

Molting is divided into two groups, Body and downy feathers, and flight surface molting. Body and downy feathers tend to be twice a year with some adjustments between those periods. Whereas, flight surfaces, as stated above, is year around and commonly balance between left and right sides of the Wings and Tail feathers.

Hi Trinton

From your photographs , it looks normal to me. And by the way you bird is not an Alexandrine Parakeet but a Rose-ringed Parakeet or IRN.

cheers

Avin

oh, thanks guys, I didnt expect the answer so quickly.

I'm calmer but after a delicate shower his stomach looks really strange.

Sorry if it is normal but I'm really worried about my little boy.

The belly is one of the last areas to dry after a shower. Wait a few more hours and see if they cover better.

Feather Plucking is always a possibility, but let's allow those belly feathers to fully dry first.

Yeah, you can't look at his feathers while they are wet, as that area of his belly is where his down is thickest and it will not look normal until it is completely dry. And typically they will preen themselves to get their feathers feeling and looking right to them after a bath or shower, so give him some time.

To me, based on your Indian Ringneck's age (he is not an Alexandrine by the way, he's an Indian Ringneck) he is simply going through his first big molt, which is perfectly normal. When those body feathers that you showed in your photo come out like that, in multiples, that's a very good indication that it's due to molting, not due to plucking.

So my best suggestion is to not get upset from this point through the next month, as it 'tis the season for our parrots to look a little scruffy, lol. Indian Ringnecks are beautiful birds, and he is a beautiful looking IRN, but when in-molt, especially right in the middle of it, they can get to looking pretty ugly. Give it time, and do not be surprised if it gets worse before it gets better.

Also, keep an eye on him and watch to see if he's actually forcefully plucking his feather out...Now I'm not talking about him preening himself and possibly seeing some fluff come out, that's normal. However, if you actually see him forcefully yanking any of his feathers out, specifically any of his long tail feather, flight feathers, etc., OR if you see him lose a very large amount of feathers in one particular spot, like his chest, where you start to see an actual bald spot, then that's another story. But that doesn't at all appear to be what your IRN is doing at all, he's simply going through his first big molt. All birds molt, some more than others, but it's perfectly normal and not an indication of anything that is wrong. Also, I'm assuming that he is not showing any other signs or symptoms of illness, such as lethargy/sleeping a lot, fluffing-up a lot, being on the bottom of the cage a lot, vomiting, lack of appetite or thirst, etc.