Help needed! parrot feather bronzing or wear and tear ?

SailBoat said:

Not sure what part of this huge World you are from, but it looks like your DYH Amazon is getting ready to molt a fair number of body and wing edge feathers. Have you changed to another cage in the last year or so? Or, she maybe leaning or rubbing along the bars as this type of action will also cause feather wear.

Amazons, especially the larger ones, can get a darker or Bronzing look to their Body feathers as the feather ages. This is normally caused by the Feather loosing its ability to hold together and as a result the light reflection from the surface of the feather shifts and one sees it as a change in color.

Your provided diet should not require additional vitamins.

Consider keeping the Harrisons in cool /cold storage will assure its freshness for longer time periods.

NOTE: Your Amazon is nearing the age s/he will begin to transition to an Adult. This will likely result in periods of major mood shifts and behavioral changes. This is a chemical process that s/he has no real control over. Your understanding that this is a natural change and with time (several years) your Amazon will settle back down. Now is the time to assure that your interaction skills and understanding of its Body Language are strong and in place on your side.


FYI: Great Photos!

We are also Owned by a DYH Amazon!

Click to expand...

EllenD said:

Welcome to the community!

First of all, no, the feather changes have nothing to do with anything that you did, like keeping the pellets for a long time...As Sailboat mentioned, it works very well when you buy them in large quantities to simply bag them and put them in the freezer. But this had nothing to do with her feather changes.

And no, she doesn't need any type of "vitamin" supplements unless deemed necessary by a Certified Avian Vet ONLY after they have done blood-work and diagnosed her with a nutritional deficiency of some kind, which is unlikely with the diet she's on. If she's eating a good pellet and fresh veggies, then she would simply excrete most of the extra vitamins you gave her anyway in her urates, with some of them being stored in her fat, which can actually become a bad thing because it can cause vitamin toxicity with the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K). So she definitely doesn't need any extra vitamin supplements...Giving a daily Avian Probiotic supplement, such as Qwiko Avian Probiotic powder sprinkled on her pellets once a day, that's a good idea, as it keeps her GI Tract healthy and aids in protecting her from Fungal/Yeast infections. But that's the only supplement she would benefit from at this point. She looks very healthy, happy, and alert. You've done a good job raising her.

As Sailboat mentioned, it's likely that she's going to be going through a very large molt coming-up soon. I wouldn't be surprised if that starts very soon...And as far as the "broken" feathers, it may very well be that she's banging them off of her cage bars, or they may also be itching her and she may be over-preening them, as they are getting ready to molt. I wouldn't worry too much about it, but if you have any doubt you can always take her to a Certified Avian Vet (only) who has much experience and would be able to ensure that she's healthy...All of my birds have a Wellness-Exam with my CAV once a year that consists of a full physical and visual exam, full Blood-Work, and a Fecal Exam. This helps stay ahead of any major illnesses, infections, dietary issues/deficiencies, liver and kidney health, etc.

Click to expand...