Feathers growing in gray?

Hello all! I have a five month old male Red Sided Eclectus. His name is Bug, and he is definitely a love bug! I've had him since he was 6 weeks and hand reared him. He has fully weaned off of his formula for about 3-4 weeks now. He gets fresh fruits and veggies daily. His diet usually consists of kale, sprouts, variety of beans, brown rice, pomegranate, pear, apple, carrot, sweet potato, etc. He does get a mixture of seeds for eclectus and the Roudybusch California blend every once in a while but he thrives on his fresh and raw diet. I have been very peculiar about ensuring that I'm following strictly to the requirements of an Eclectus diet. I have noticed lately that my buggy boy is looking rather dull. When I move his feathers around I can see that the ends of it are bright green but the roots of his feathers and now that it has grown longer, the majority of his feather is growing out gray. I know that diet has a lot to do with his plumage but he is on a great diet, and thriving. I also noticed the other day that he has a few feathers near his left eye that look like they have fallen out because i can see his skin in those areas.

I've read that these could be signs of molting but I am not sure if this is the case with Bug. I'll attach a picture so you can see.

Someone please help me! Thank you thank you!!

Jenny

Jenny,
It looks like he is molting but it has been awhile since Ziggy had his first molt which may be a little more drastic than the molts I see now. Sometimes Ziggy gets dull looking and a shower brightens his feathers. It also makes them feel better when molting. I recently read where protein is good for them during a molt - cooked egg and I leave the shell in for calcium. Ziggy also loves chicken. I hope this helps!

Donna

Donna,

Thank you so much for your response! I really appreciate it! Glad to have found a community of helpful people!

It looks like his under coat is showing through which is the grey fuzzy stuffs. And it does look like he's going through a molt right now. Some bathing would be very helpful!!!

Could the gray feathers be baby down feathers that are molting out? Sunny is not an Ekkie, but he molted gray, baby down feathers for a while during his first molt.

This may sound obvious... Are you certain these are not the Down Feathers you are looking at? They will always be grey. Blood Feathers (actual feathers) are noted by a long white thick shaft with a darker insider (blood) and these will come out as blacker until nearly grown where the pigment will begin to appear while the blood all vanishes.

At this age I would not worry. Dietary things normally take months to have effect on feather health. Remember oil on your hands from petting can blackened or dull though.