Male Ekkie Pattern Baldness??

JanMarie

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Jan 20, 2014
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Eclectus, Congo African Grey
Hi...my ekkie Oliver is going bald on the top of his head and right beneath his lower beak there are feathers missing. He doesn't have any feathers missing from any other area....is this normal? He has a vet appointment in a couple of weeks (the soonest I could get him in to a good avian vet) So I thought I would see what you all thought.

Jan
 

Kiwibird

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2012
9,539
111
Parrots
1 BFA- Kiwi. Hatch circa 98', forever home with us Dec. 08'
The vet will be able to look for mites, skin infections, nutritional deficiencies ext.... one of which is likely the cause. Or, as MikeyTN suggested, the other bird may be plucking him.

However, it's possible he has some kind of "genetic" issue with no other apparent cause. My parents GCA went bald on his head about 25 years ago. No changes in his other feathers, and has been otherwise healthy. He did suffer a stroke a few years ago, but he's also a 40 year old bird and fully recovered. He went to several vets when he started balding, and had no identifiable cause. Poor Barney looks like a vulture:( and the vet suspects it's something genetic. It's apparently a VERY rare issue, because no vet he's ever been to has ever seen anything quite like it before in an otherwise healthy bird and I think something like this would be *HIGHLY* unlikely and another, more common cause would be able to be identified.
Newyork002_zps9f47d256.jpg
 
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labell

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Feb 17, 2014
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Eclectus can sometimes go through some major molts. One is called a "mojo molt" and has freaked out more than a few owners. It is good that you are getting him in to see the vet though, better to be safe than sorry.
 

Caesar

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Oct 26, 2013
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I agree with Iabell .This may just be the Dreaded mojo moult that I have mentioned in previous posts.
In some cases the bird will loose almost all its feathers . It can also com e in the form of patches. Starting at the head and working its way DOWN the body of the bird.
This moult normally, but not always comes on when the bird is about two years. But I've have a friend and her female got it on her first moult.
She described her bird as looking like a bird with some form of diseased mutation.
But I would take her to the vet anyway.
The moult is quite fast and feathers do grow back at a rapid rate...
You will have a new bird.
good luck
 

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