Help! Not sure what's wrong with parakeet.

My parakeet, Kika, is around 8-9 years old which I have been told is kind of elderly for a parakeet. He made a couple of vet visits recently for colds and has recovered beautifully! However, I've noticed he has been scratching his face against his perches and other things. To the point that he now has bald patches on either side of his beak as well as a small one along the top of his cere. I've been researching what this could possibly be but I'm not entirely sure. I thought maybe scaly face mites but his cere, beak and feet look perfectly smooth and normal. I see pin feathers growing in on one side of his beak but the other side has what looks like white flaky dead skin. I don't think this is just a molt since those don't usually leave bald patches. I thought maybe he isn't getting enough humidity/baths so I've spraying him 1-3x a day and leaving out bathing dishes for him as well as hanging a damp cloth by his cage to air dry to increase humidity. He has a seed diet that I've been trying to change for the better for some time. He eats crushed pellets, spinach and cuttlebone so I'm not sure if diet might be a factor.. Still working on getting this stubborn brat to eat better! Almost forgot! I syringe fed him to help fatten him up for awhile but he's a messy eater so some of it might have been stuck in the feathers by his beak and irritating him? I tried to clean what I could with wet q-tips but I couldn't really get under the feathers if any got there. I'm really unsure if there is more I should be doing. I want to see what I can do on my own because he has visited the vet several times recently and my mom is starting to get mad about all the vet bills. Please let me know if there's any more information you need. Thank you in advance!

Hi Noodlemonsters I hope your parakeet Kika gets fully better soon and that you get some helpful advice here as I dont feel competent or experienced enough to answer your question other than to ask has your AV done blood work and tested the poo and also has your parakeet been treated for mites...the scaly skin might possibly be the result of mites...did your AV say anything about his recurring cold and was there a chest infection or just nasal discharge...Is Spinach the only vegetable he eats ? Also when did he lose weight or is he constantly inclined to lose weight and do you have to syringe feed him on an ongoing bassis from time to time to help keep his weight up or was the syringe feeding a once off event. Lastly is your vet a qualified Avian Vet? Im asking all these questions in the hope that your answers may help one of the more experienced parakeet paronts here to help you find a solution that ebables your parakeet to be more healthy in the future. Hope Kika gets fully well and stays healthy and eats better soon...just a tip my guys arent mad about eating veg so I make Birdie bread full of veggies for them and they love it.

We didn't get any blood work done since he is older and easily stressed (and my mother refuses to pay for it) but when I took him to the avian vet they said his poop looked normal and didn't mention there being any signs of mites. They said physically he looked very healthy just a little underweight which is why I was syringe feeding him. That was just a one off thing though and I've since stopped. He's had a chest cold before but the very last time he went in he had been regurgitating nonstop and they gave him reglan syrup to help with that and he seemed completely fine afterwards so not entirely sure what the illness was but it seems gone now. My vet is a qualified avian vet (I made sure to research their credentials). He's still perky and I noticed when he scratched his face a chunk of dead skin came off and the skin underneath looked pretty healthy if a little dry. Thank you for the questions and I will definitely try the suggestion for the birdie bread! Are there any particular recipes you'd recommend?

My usual recipe consists of whatever is available. I just use mashed bananas coconut oil a half spoon of honey and an egg to bind and toss in any grated or finely chopped fruit and veggies I can get that are good for them. I also throw in a handful of organic oatmeal to dry it up ...knead it into a bread and pop it in the oven to bake

Here is s link to where you will find lots of recipes and also lots of advice on diet

*http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/

Here is where you will find the birdie bread recipes
*http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/28298-my-birdie-bread-macs-love-these.html
Hope this helps

Thanks very much for that, I'll give it a try!

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/57416-sprouting-made-easy.html

This is something you could try and is nutritious

If this rubbing continues please explain to your mum that he could be suffering and therefore needs to see the vet.

To do your part and be effective whilst there you need to give the vet accurate details for them to try and help your bird. I always think at Doctors or Vets if you give them rubbish info on symptoms you get rubbish treatment back, makes sense doesn't it?

It could be these underlying issues are caused by poor diet and if that can be changed then he will pick up? Have a go at making a 'chop' if it is chopped fine or mashed it is far easier to hide the not so keen veggies.

Aloe juice in his daily shower can get rid of itchy skin.
Is the air in your house dry?

Thanks for the feedback! I will definitely try these suggestions for his diet. And I have "Rain" which is made for birds with dry/itchy skin (the main ingredient is aloe) and I've been spraying him with that. The bald skin around his beak is starting to look a normal pink and doesn't seem all crusty and flaky anymore and I haven't seen him rubbing his face lately either. There is some white dust in his fluffinchops which looks like it could be dander.. I'm hoping it was just dry skin! Also I heard applying vaseline to dry skin in VERY small amounts could be helpful. What do you guys think?

Don't think so re the Vaseline, its made from Petroleum Jelly isnt it?

Yes, I believe so and that's what I heard was helpful for them (petroleum jelly) I just couldn't remember the name of it I also heard coconut oil is good for that as well!

Just found an old camera so here are some pics! Sorry for the bad quality, it's a digital camera from the early 2000s.

That's not something I've ever seen before, but it looks like the little dark spots are tiny feathers. Definitely not normal to have those bald areas. I wouldn't go putting stuff on it without a diagnosis of what it is.

I'd urge your mom to consider again, taking your beloved little guy to the avian vet. Your budgie is NOT necessarily old! Just because many people have budgies pass away at less than 10, it doesn't mean they pass away because of old age. Budgies are fairly delicate, but one without genetic problems or illness can live into their teens. I think 20 is the oldest I've heard of, but that is not the norm. I have heard of many who have lived into their teens. Your boy can be considered middle aged .

You need to be very careful not to get cream on the feathers as it can remove the birds natural ability to keep himself warm ...cream on feathers is not usually good...I dont think vaseline is a good idea

I agree with RavensGryf your budgie is only middle aged and a very pretty budgie too I might add. The spots do look like he is growing feathers...I was just windering as yiu said hes a messy eater and that you had to clean his face did you use anything while cleaning a shower in future might be better than using a quetip to clean his face. Also if he is not eating well a multi vitamin for a while might be a good idea to make up for what your Beautiful boy is missing out on in his diet. You could ask your vet about this. Lastly do you bring him outside for some fresh air...he needs a little fresh air daily to help him build up vitamins too. Hes Adorable I hope the new diet and some vitamins and fresh air do the trick and thst he gets fully well soon

Thank you! I didn't use any chemicals when cleaning his face just a wet q-tip. I've also been giving him baths and spritzing him with aloe water daily! I make sure to open the window to let in fresh air everyday as well. I don't have any multi vitamins for him but have been giving him some supplements for birds that are stressed/molting/ill and calcium powder on top of his food from grated cuttlebone. He also loves eating his daily dose of spinach! The little shoots seem to be growing in more and the skin isn't red or irritated just oddly bald..

Is it slightly swolen where the feathers are growing as you say inwards...it could be that he has ingrown feathers in that spot which can grow into a feather cyst ...thats treatable...often it can return but it can be treated each time. As I have never done this myself never having had a bird with this condition I am not going to give you advice on what to do or how to do it plus we are not sure at this point that thats what is csusing the bald spots. Suplements are good and similar to multi vitamins but both suplements and multi vitamin if taken too often or the bird gets too much of them can also cause problems so always take your vets advice with regard to giving these supplements and or vitamins too. Do you have anywhere near you that has an aviary or who keep a lot of birds of any kind? Maybe you could ask them if they have experience with ingrown feathers and they might take a look and be able to tell you if thats what your little budgie has but be sure they know what they are talking about...your best port of call of course would be your Avian Vet.

This is a little video on how sunshine and fresh air can help your budgie well all parrots and birds but if you cant manage the hours outdoors there is another way with a special avian UV bulb. This may be beneficial in your case in particular as it does helpin the promotion healthy feather growth as well as many other health benefits ...ingrown feathers can be an herridatory thing but there are lits of things that can be done to assist and promote good healthy feather growth ...some coconut oil would also be good in his diet though not on his skin.

[ame="https://youtu.be/H46owcabAdM"]The Importance of Ultra Violet Light in Birds - YouTube[/ame]