Green spot

Hey all,

Since we got Pebbles, I have noticed this small patch of green on one of her feathers. Her feather condition when she first arrived, in my opinion was pretty terrible, and I suspected her diet was not good, so after a vet check, I decided to just focus on diet, plenty of showers, and wait until the feather fell out during her moult and see what happens then.

Here is a photo of her today (sharing the human perch that is my wife):



I am happy with her feather condition, and she has gone through a moult, and as dumb as this sounds, I can't recall if that green feather is one of the feathers that came out in the last moult (it was a big focus for me initially, but over time, I kind of forgot it was there).

Here is a close up:

not fluffed





Fluffed







I actually have the power to get Gizmo and Pebbles to fluff on command, all I need is a bathroom (because they get a shower, they always fluff up when we enter the bathroom, I really should start saying "Fluff up" when they do it, and see if I can get them to associate the word).

Anyway, I guess what I am asking is, other than her one little male spot, I am very happy with Pebbles condition at them moment, she is flying very well now (although Gizmo is still the better flyer), her grip confidence has improved (she used to struggle to hold on), she is very relaxed in her environment, she doesn't bite, she is very friendly, etc, etc., so do I need to be concerned about the feather, or should I just ignore it?

Any thoughts??

Cheers,

Camo

I dont have any insight on the green spot. But, I just had to say that your birds are beautiful!

They are so precious!!! Have you gotten a bile test to check her liver function? Different colored feathers can indicate liver problems OR it could just be a cute little green spot.

Bandespresso said:

They are so precious!!! Have you gotten a bile test to check her liver function? Different colored feathers can indicate liver problems OR it could just be a cute little green spot.

Click to expand...

She has had no tests. She has only been to the vets for a general checkup (After posting about her here, it was fairly obvious that my supposed quarantine proceedures were vastly inadequate). They are great vets, but not avian specialists. It was not a great experience for Pebbles, the vets were gentle, but she was very stressed during the physical. I decided not to take her through any tests at that stage (rightly or wrongly, I figured, I would get her settled with us, focus on diet, etc), at the time she was still very unsocialised (I believe she may have been kept in an avery with minimal human contact).

May I ask, how invasive would you say a bile test is, what's involved, does this need to be done by an avian vet (my closest is over 1hr away)? So if the test comes back fine, I can just put it down to a bit of Gizmo rubbing off on her?

I think I should get a test done, but would like to make it as stress free for Pebbles as possible, so if my local vet can do it, then that would be best.

Cheers,

Camo

A full blood panel will test bile acid levels which helps to check liver function. (Here I thought it was a completely different type of test....I should know better than to recall any information from That Other Forum.....). Depending on your vet, blood tests are typically pretty easy and non-invasive. You'll have a grumpy bird on your hands but it is always good to fully check all new birds especially if they come from a sketchy background.

I think you made a great choice by trying to make the first vet visit as not stressful as possible but it is definitely important to get both of them tested soon! Are they only birds? I waited for a good month before going to the vet with Espresso because she was unhandleable and I didn't want to stress her out. But she is an only bird so I didn't have to worry about infectious diseases!

It should be done by an avian vet OR you can use avian biotech and do it at home if you feel comfortable. I have never used them and I am not entirely sure if they test liver function. Hopefully another user can chime in and let us know!!

Thanks again for your reply. They are my only birds. Sounds like I need to plan a long trip for Gizmo & Pebbles. I think I will need to buy a second travel cage, perhaps they will travel more happy together, or I will have 2 grumpy birds

Thanks,

Camo

Good! There is no rush if they are your only birds; keep working on their diet and spend time preparing them for the trip. Work with toweling and treating, touch training, and give them lots of love! If they are used to being with each other, I'm sure they will travel better together. It is no problem I am always glad to help!! There are a lot of ekkie parronts on this site who can help you with any species-specific questions you could ever have. Your guys look very happy with you

Bandespresso is quite right about the importance of getting your ekkies tested. A full blood panel can be very helpful in determining both a baseline for your parrots with your avian vet and giving you a general idea if you're on the right track, nutritionally speaking.

Photos can be misleading, of course, as lighting conditions can significantly affect appearance, but judging from what I'm seeing your Pebbles seems to be in excellent feather. This being the case, that one green feather is likely nothing to worry about.

Depending on her age, it may even eventually molt out. But if she's over 2 years old, then that is less likely.