Normal GCC new bright orange feather

guatomallin · Nov 20, 2017

Hi All!

I've had my little normal GCC for a few months now. He's half way through molting his baby feathers and they are coming out more vibrant and healthy. I noticed just yesterday that he has grown one small bright orange feather at the bend of his wing (elbow?). The feather is very small, hidden and BRIGHT orange.

He eats fruits and veggies, seeds as treat and mostly a mix of Harrison's and TOPs.

Should I be concerned?

Thanks!

IndySE · Nov 20, 2017

I don't believe so. I've noticed an odd bright yellow/orange feather in Kermit's feathers in that area. In fact, when she was younger she even had some yellow feathers on the back of her wings (though lost those, sadly, after her first molt). She's also a wild-type green cheek. If I had to guess, it may be a part of their ordinary appearance... perhaps the red-factor green cheek mutation is an exaggeration of that trait.

In general, birds push out the odd-colored feather and isn't anything to be concerned about, unless you notice it happening consistently. Especially because of his diet, I'd rule out anything like fatty liver disease.

Teddscau · Nov 20, 2017

Agree with Indy. A single, oddly coloured feather is interesting, but unless he starts growing even more orange feathers, I wouldn't worry. However, oddly coloured feathers can be indicative of different viruses and/or nutritional issues.

Some perfectly healthy birds have interesting patches of oddly coloured feathers, but I think this happens more with species known for their various colour mutations, like budgies and kākāriki. Tiki is a yellow colour mutation, and he has some green feathers on his lower back (wild kākāriki are green). Well, maybe Tiki isn't a good example, since he and Ria are quite unwell (for those who don't know, I rescued them from a very bad situation last March).

Normal GCC new bright orange feather

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