"baby" feathers? 6 month old Crimson Bellied Conure

I have a baby Crimson Bellied Conure that I brought home when he was almost 3 months old. He was weaned onto a good, seed-rich mix, but I have switched him onto a better diet of Harrison's pellets, fresh food and some seeds. I had a Maroon Bellied Conure for 17 years, but he was older (about 7 or 8 months old) when I got him, and I don't really remember the "baby" stage that much.

Here's my question: When I got Darby, his feathers were beautiful: rich and lustrous. In the meantime, they've become drab and raggedy-looking. His tail feathers are all broken off at the tips, a few about 1/2-way up. He plays really hard, so I attribute the tail breakage to that, but am concerned about the rest of his plumage. Most of them have a blackish cast to them (I believe from the barbules breaking down) and the ends are broken and ragged.

I've read on a few pages that the first "baby" feathers are more fragile than more mature ones. Does anyone have factual knowledge on that? If that's the case, I won't worry, as he has begun getting new feathers on his head that look like they're in good condition. He is also getting random red feathers on his belly, but of course, doesn't have the full red belly of an adult bird yet.

My crimson bellied looks exactly like you describe. He is 8 months old, and the girl who had him before me carried him everywhere in her hoodie. He came to me looking like this almost 2 months ago. He is looking a little better as he started moulting, and I think the problem with fix itself after moulting (maybe a couple of times). We had him vet checked and he is fine
I'd love to see pictures of Darby!

Thanks, Terry!

That helps. I know he's eating well, so I didn't think it was a deficiency, but still, I was concerned because I know feather condition is one indicator of possible health problems. He's such a sweet, playful bird and I love him so much, I didn't want to think he might be ill. Dickens, my MBC, died last June as the result of liver problems, so I might be a little "over-protective" of my baby!

I'm attaching some pictures. You can see the little red feathers on his belly (I think it looks so cute!) and I tried to get one of his tail feathers and the blackening of the feathers on his back. They're not the greatest (little guy doesn't hold still very long!) but I think you can get the idea.

The feathers on his back aren't actually black...they used to be shiny, green-blue, but they seem to have lost a lot of the little "hooklets" on the barbules and so they're more dull, and look black in the photo.

Looks like feather bronzing to me - my green cheek got it on his back & shoulders of his baby feathers. One molt later, it was all gone and his new feathers looked beautiful. They still looked pretty nice even when he started having his second molt. So just from my experience alone, the baby feathers being fragile thing seems to make sense. Its caused by wear and tear, generally.