Is she okay?(spots on feathers)

MangoTheGCC

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Mango The Green Cheeked Conure (pineapple mutation)
My bird mango she’s 7 months old and currently molting. She is a pine apple mutation of a green cheek conure and I just noticed a few dark/brown spots on the end of a few feathers as you can see in the attached picture. I just want to make sure she’s okay.
 

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Laurasea

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Mango looks a little scruffy, sometimes that's just they way they look when molting. I saw the tiny dark spots at the end of feathers , could be normal could be stress bars. Edit: not true stress bars, as now I've googled ;) , but I've always thought of those spots as indication of some stress...) First molt is extra hard on them I think .Now I gotta go look at my GCC see if she has :)
What do you feed? Do you offer baths, or spritz bath?
Sitting a few minutes outside in dappled shade with you bird in a secure travel cage is beneficial to feathers in my opinion. Mine get very beautiful after weeks if sunbathing. My elder mom visited the other day, and asked why the birds feathers aren't as pretty? Blew me away that she even noticed, but I haven't had them outside getting sun in awhile due to out break of EEE in our area..
Also I think hot chili peppers are great to have available for your bird, vatimin A. Molting takes extra calories and protein. You could offer some hard boiled egg, or scrambled egg. Maybe an walnut, almond, or pistachio treat.
Ok those are just thoughts. Do you weigh your bird? It's a good idea to keep track of weight. Walmart digital kitchen scale for 20 bucks works great .
I'd need to see some other pictures to see how she looks.
Edit: Ta-dah doesn't have and speckled spots on her feathers currently.
 
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MangoTheGCC

MangoTheGCC

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i could definitely start taking her out more. I also think she is going through puberty that may be a cause of stress. ill definitely pick up a kitchen scale too so i can weigh her. ill post a few more pictures in a minute. she bathes in her water bowl alot and i change the water in it afterwards. and for her diet i feed her HARI tropimix.
 

charmedbyekkie

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That discoloration at the tips looks to be bronzing.

Stress bars are lines that go across the feather. If you hold up a molted feather with a stress bar up to the light, you'll be able to see the light stream through the stress bar more than other parts of the feather.

Bronzing, on the other hand, is what happens when feathers brush up against something often. It commonly happens where people pet their birds the most and it commonly happens in babies who brush their feathers up against things (cage bars, toys, floor, etc).

You'll notice bronzing more right before and during a molt. Bronzing doesn't hurt your bird, but do help them keep themselves clean by giving frequent showers, especially during a molt.
 
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MangoTheGCC

MangoTheGCC

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A few more pics
 

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MangoTheGCC

MangoTheGCC

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That discoloration at the tips looks to be bronzing.

Stress bars are lines that go across the feather. If you hold up a molted feather with a stress bar up to the light, you'll be able to see the light stream through the stress bar more than other parts of the feather.

Bronzing, on the other hand, is what happens when feathers brush up against something often. It commonly happens where people pet their birds the most and it commonly happens in babies who brush their feathers up against things (cage bars, toys, floor, etc).

You'll notice bronzing more right before and during a molt. Bronzing doesn't hurt your bird, but do help them keep themselves clean by giving frequent showers, especially during a molt.

She certainly does rub up against everything she can. Does she look healthy? She’s very active and curies and extremely alert. I plan on taking her to the vet but I also worry about her a lot too so I want to see if there anything I need to do for her.
 

Laurasea

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I try and get her eating some fresh veggies too. Romaine lettuce and dandelion greens from grocery store, and lots of viriaty of other veggies.
Even if she hasn't been eating veggies before I've yet to see one turn down red hot chili peppers seeds and all, south America parrots like green cheecks eat peppers in the wild and are the natural dispersal of peppers. Lol so they seem to come pre programed to love them!! The capsicum doesn't bother them, and may be an immune booster. If you hang those leafy greens near were they sit they usually nibble them just cuz it makes em mad, and that helps them get used to putting their beak on it and figure out it's good. Peas never seemed to get turned down either.
I like to give yoghurt once in a while or you can buy bird probiotics and sprinkle on the food.
 
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MangoTheGCC

MangoTheGCC

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I try and get her eating some fresh veggies too. Romaine lettuce and dandelion greens from grocery store, and lots of viriaty of other veggies.
Even if she hasn't been eating veggies before I've yet to see one turn down red hot chili peppers seeds and all, south America parrots like green cheecks eat peppers in the wild and are the natural dispersal of peppers. Lol so they seem to come pre programed to love them!! The capsicum doesn't bother them, and may be an immune booster. If you hang those leafy greens near were they sit they usually nibble them just cuz it makes em mad, and that helps them get used to putting their beak on it and figure out it's good. Peas never seemed to get turned down either.
I like to give yoghurt once in a while or you can buy bird probiotics and sprinkle on the food.
I’m going to pick some up later today. She loves dried fruit but she seems to hate anything that isn’t dried she is a strange bird.
 

Laurasea

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How wonderful too see all these pics of your beautiful baby!!!! Careful though a hawk tried to take my bird, and I never saw it coming!!
She looks great, I'd get some veggies in her anyway it will only i.prove her feathers. Try a shallow casserole dish see if she will bathe in that,. My GCC always dunks get food in her bowl and I try to change it several times a day , but I think she puts a pellets in then decided to take baths ugh.
It's clear you love your baby! And it's great to always see if there is stuff you can do to make them even healthier!
Try sharing a salad with her, or some meals that bird safe, s little cooked pasta , cooked squash, cooked sweet potato, cooked oatmeal. It's fun to share and makes them more adventurous in trying new stuff...
GCC do seem to like fruit more than my Quakers, some good fruits are plums, raspberry, blackberries, pomegranate, strawberry, cherries, blueberries, all good, im not a fan of dried fruit..
 
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MangoTheGCC

MangoTheGCC

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Mango The Green Cheeked Conure (pineapple mutation)
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How wonderful too see all these pics of your beautiful baby!!!! Careful though a hawk tried to take my bird, and I never saw it coming!!
She looks great, I'd get some veggies in her anyway it will only i.prove her feathers. Try a shallow casserole dish see if she will bathe in that,. My GCC always dunks get food in her bowl and I try to change it several times a day , but I think she puts a pellets in then decided to take baths ugh.
It's clear you love your baby! And it's great to always see if there is stuff you can do to make them even healthier!
Try sharing a salad with her, or some meals that bird safe, s little cooked pasta , cooked squash, cooked sweet potato, cooked oatmeal. It's fun to share and makes them more adventurous in trying new stuff...
GCC do seem to like fruit more than my Quakers, some good fruits are plums, raspberry, blackberries, pomegranate, strawberry, cherries, blueberries, all good, im not a fan of dried fruit..
she never moves far from my shoulder when outside but i make sure to be careful of hawks. theirs been plenty of close calls with the chickens i used to have and i actually lost one to a hawk.
 
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MangoTheGCC

MangoTheGCC

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Mango The Green Cheeked Conure (pineapple mutation)
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How wonderful too see all these pics of your beautiful baby!!!! Careful though a hawk tried to take my bird, and I never saw it coming!!
She looks great, I'd get some veggies in her anyway it will only i.prove her feathers. Try a shallow casserole dish see if she will bathe in that,. My GCC always dunks get food in her bowl and I try to change it several times a day , but I think she puts a pellets in then decided to take baths ugh.
It's clear you love your baby! And it's great to always see if there is stuff you can do to make them even healthier!
Try sharing a salad with her, or some meals that bird safe, s little cooked pasta , cooked squash, cooked sweet potato, cooked oatmeal. It's fun to share and makes them more adventurous in trying new stuff...
GCC do seem to like fruit more than my Quakers, some good fruits are plums, raspberry, blackberries, pomegranate, strawberry, cherries, blueberries, all good, im not a fan of dried fruit..
i will say too she will try anything im eating/drinking and whenever i try to get her try new things i have to eat it or pretend to eat it first. my bring currently lives in the basment where me and my girlfriend spend most of our time. mostly because its the only pace she is safe from the dogs. would it be a good idea to try and use a UV since there isnt much natural lighting in this room.
 
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MangoTheGCC

MangoTheGCC

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Mango The Green Cheeked Conure (pineapple mutation)
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How wonderful too see all these pics of your beautiful baby!!!! Careful though a hawk tried to take my bird, and I never saw it coming!!
She looks great, I'd get some veggies in her anyway it will only i.prove her feathers. Try a shallow casserole dish see if she will bathe in that,. My GCC always dunks get food in her bowl and I try to change it several times a day , but I think she puts a pellets in then decided to take baths ugh.
It's clear you love your baby! And it's great to always see if there is stuff you can do to make them even healthier!
Try sharing a salad with her, or some meals that bird safe, s little cooked pasta , cooked squash, cooked sweet potato, cooked oatmeal. It's fun to share and makes them more adventurous in trying new stuff...
GCC do seem to like fruit more than my Quakers, some good fruits are plums, raspberry, blackberries, pomegranate, strawberry, cherries, blueberries, all good, im not a fan of dried fruit..
also the place where she lives may not be the best but currently it is my only option since i live with my girlfriend and her mother has two dogs one of which trys to eat my little mango. would it be a good idea to have a uv light for her?
 

KawaiiTori

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Yes, pease be very careful of the dried fruit as most commercially available brands have added sugar, juice, and/or preservatives! As far as baths go, my GCC is not a fan of bathing in a dish but she does LOVE it when I spray her with the spray bottle...the one I have has an ULTRA fine mist that sprays continuously when you pump it up. I can for the life of me remember where I got it but I do know that it was made for misting water on clothing while ironing.
 
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MangoTheGCC

MangoTheGCC

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Yes, pease be very careful of the dried fruit as most commercially available brands have added sugar, juice, and/or preservatives! As far as baths go, my GCC is not a fan of bathing in a dish but she does LOVE it when I spray her with the spray bottle...the one I have has an ULTRA fine mist that sprays continuously when you pump it up. I can for the life of me remember where I got it but I do know that it was made for misting water on clothing while ironing.
the dried fruit she eats is from her food which the pet store recommended for her since it was what the breeder whas feeding her. its HARi Tropimix.
 

KawaiiTori

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Also, it’s not just the hawks you have to worry about! Crows and Ravens will also go after smaller birds! I would highly recommend not taking her out unless you have a way to secure her...it really only takes a fraction of a second for something terrible to happen!
 
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MangoTheGCC

MangoTheGCC

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Mango The Green Cheeked Conure (pineapple mutation)
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Also, it’s not just the hawks you have to worry about! Crows and Ravens will also go after smaller birds! I would highly recommend not taking her out unless you have a way to secure her...it really only takes a fraction of a second for something terrible to happen!

i have a travel cage i use for her but i just hate keeping her stuck in it. her wings are clipped and she never leaves my shoulder when we are outside.but i will try to keep her in the cage when i go out. also i just noticed are birds look almost identical.
 

KawaiiTori

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i have a travel cage i use for her but i just hate keeping her stuck in it. her wings are clipped and she never leaves my shoulder when we are outside.but i will try to keep her in the cage when i go out. also i just noticed are birds look almost identical.

Yes, Tori is also a Pineapple :)
 

Laurasea

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Darn just lost all I typed. .
Bird lights highly and hotly debated..
Real sun 15 minutes three times a week is best( my opinion) and even in light shade is good as my vet told me. You can use your travel cage with doors zip tied go for a walk with girlfriend, or a bike ride :) I use my mobility scooter and xio around the hood. Since you guys in basement I think it be great for you all.. :)
 

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