Panama Amazon Molting?

Hello everyone! I am very new to these forums and had a question about my Panama 'Zon.

I am not sure if she is molting or not.

She eats and drinks great, her diet is Zupreem pellets with a cup of fresh fruits and good veggies daily. She is playful, her poo is normal, she is talkative. She has been much more moody lately, not aggressive, but not loving or wanting to step up as much. She gets about 2 hours a day of outside aviary time and plenty of time on the play stands. She gets misting random times throughout the week, and 2 good soaking showers a week.

Her last AV check up was about 4 months ago, and the blood work was normal.

The problem I am having (and i dont know if its a problem or just me) is she has quite a few wing feathers that look ratty. She isnt a plucker and when one of her wings feathers was broken and just hanging there when she flapped in place, she trimmed that feather only at the break.

a little more history. i rescued her about a year and a half ago. she was completely cage bound. her owners had retired and told me she had not left her cage in 6 months. they would feed her and water her and thats it. not much interaction at all. it was so bad that to get her home she stayed in her cage and we had to tip it and move it with her in it.

after a year of working with her, she became the loving bird i have now. she loves time out, shower time, talks up a storm, and will now walk over to the edge of her branch/cage top and give me a kiss.

so i dont know if this is still from her poor treatment or not/

Welcome to the forum. How great you have a Pan, they are such great zons, the #1 companion parrot IMO. I have several Pans ,some for almost 40 yrs. I don't completely understand your question? yes ,if she broke a feather she might try and "fix" it herself.Plucked feathers will replace themselves quickier than natural molt will. Birds know this. behavior wise,, after 1 1/2 yrs she should be starting to adjust ,although many Pans are what i call fearful personalities. They are usually more "timid" than many other zons. OH, and best "talker" i've ever seen was a hen Pan i used to have.

she is deff "out of her shell" and a great addition to our personal zoo. my question is/was does the pictures look like molting, or is there anything else going on? my vet didnt say anything or comment on it. but i know its not how they should be. the wing feathers are all there but ratty and tattered looking.

Can't tell if that is molting or not, but it might be feather destructive behavior.


When was the last time she received a good, soaking bath?

Today is Saturday, she had a nice soaking wet shower on wednesday, and misting yesterday. i have never seen feather destructive behavior, maybe feather neglect? like she either doesnt know to or care to groom? is total clipping done? i.e. if i got all her feather clipped to above the tattered parts would she let them grow in normal? maybe?

Is it possible her cage is too crowded? She might be hitting her feathers on objects when she flaps or moves around her cage.

Feathers shouldn't become tattered before/during moulting, though they may get slightly duller. If you notice feathers at the bottom of her cage or falling off of her, then she may be moulting.

Good morning and welcome to the forums
Very nice of you to give her a loving home. Do all her feathers appear dull or a bit disheveled to you? Is she getting sufficient vitamin A in her diet? I once had a orange wing I took her to the vet because her feathers constantly looked a bit disheveled and tattered turns on she was deficient in vitamin A and with proper diet and vitamin drops she has beautiful healthy feathers. Just my contribution. Hope it helps. Have a nice day. Take care.

The feathers that are full are very vibrant right now. the ones that are tattered are kinda dull. She does get deep dark greens and I use Vita-Sol in her drinking water and her misting bottle. She is housed in a macaw cage, and an outside aviary that is 8x8x10, plus she is out on the playstands or walking along the couch for most of the day. Her cage is a crowded with toys and perches so maybe that could be a problem.

Here a few more pics of her, she really is an awesome birdy! I guess I am more concerned than our vet is, or she is for that matter!