No Down Feathers

katie_fleming

Active member
Oct 30, 2012
881
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Montreal, Canada
Parrots
Jasper (6yr old Solomon Island Eclectus Parrot)
Soooo over the past year or so Jasper has decided he doesn't need his down feathers! *Sigh* He's removed all of them from his body, and as soon as a new one comes in, out it goes :(. I haven't been able to figure out what's going on.



I've been WFH for nearly a year now because of the pandemic (and BTW I have to say I LOVE having this much time with him, I never want to go back) so I'm with him 24/7, he seems happy, still playing with toys although more bells than other toys it seems...I HAVE been lacking on the foraging so I'm probably to blame there...


I haven't had blood work done in a few years now since that stint with low calcium so once spring hits and it's safe to get him to to the vet (it's -20 right now and I need to do the car rental stuff) I'll get that checked out.


Anyone else hear of only removing down feathers??


Side note just in the past couple weeks he HAS started to remove a few of his normal green feathers. A friend who had a rescue for many years (the one who took him in a few years back when he was having troubles) said it could be hormones as well. He HAS been very sexually frustrated but his "wiggle blanket" is doing its job, lol.


Cheers :)
 

SailBoat

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One of the true dangers is to not be a regular visitor of your Avian Medial Professional. Back as this was originally unfolding, your Vet could have completed a skin sample, which looked closely at the skin surface and feather root to determine whether an infection existed. I still recommend having this work done, but at this point, sadly, it is likely that it is now behavioral in nature.

As you know, diet is a critical part of the health and behavior for Jasper. Assure you are providing a proper diet.

I have not seen a Parrot that targeted only downy feathers as commonly it is the body feathers prior to downy feathers. But, that does not mean it doesn't happen.

Please schedule a visit to his Avian Medial Professional.
 
OP
katie_fleming

katie_fleming

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Oct 30, 2012
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Montreal, Canada
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Jasper (6yr old Solomon Island Eclectus Parrot)
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The vet here in Montreal is absolutely useless and failed to diagnose his low calcium before. I wish I got home more often to see the vet who actually diagnosed him properly. But yes, agreed I will get him in for blood work.


The woman who I mentioned also said it could be because he's too hot. I keep my apartment around 25 celsius.
 

SailBoat

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The vet here in Montreal is absolutely useless and failed to diagnose his low calcium before. I wish I got home more often to see the vet who actually diagnosed him properly. But yes, agreed I will get him in for blood work.

The woman who I mentioned also said it could be because he's too hot. I keep my apartment around 25 celsius.

Personally I would be more concerned about having a relative humidity level near 45%. Yes, a little on the warm side, but Parrots can easily adjust to that naturally by limiting the growth of downy feathers.
 
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katie_fleming

katie_fleming

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Oct 30, 2012
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Montreal, Canada
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Jasper (6yr old Solomon Island Eclectus Parrot)
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Its been about -20 here in Montreal the past week so my humidity was around 25%. It's really difficult to get it any higher and my windows are dripping all day long! Today it's about 37% because it was only -8 outside. I run the humidifier 24/7.
 

SailBoat

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Its been about -20 here in Montreal the past week so my humidity was around 25%. It's really difficult to get it any higher and my windows are dripping all day long! Today it's about 37% because it was only -8 outside. I run the humidifier 24/7.

The goal is the fine line where one begins to form moisture droplets on your windows. The parameters change when the temperature drops that low in comparison to the interior temperature.

Just a wild guess here, but I guess that your heat loss is fairly high as it sounds as if your humidity loss is likewise high.
 

Anansi

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Maya (Female Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Jolly (Male Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Bixby (Male, red-sided eclectus. RIP), Suzie (Male cockatiel. RIP)
Soooo over the past year or so Jasper has decided he doesn't need his down feathers! *Sigh* He's removed all of them from his body, and as soon as a new one comes in, out it goes :(. I haven't been able to figure out what's going on.



I've been WFH for nearly a year now because of the pandemic (and BTW I have to say I LOVE having this much time with him, I never want to go back) so I'm with him 24/7, he seems happy, still playing with toys although more bells than other toys it seems...I HAVE been lacking on the foraging so I'm probably to blame there...


I haven't had blood work done in a few years now since that stint with low calcium so once spring hits and it's safe to get him to to the vet (it's -20 right now and I need to do the car rental stuff) I'll get that checked out.


Anyone else hear of only removing down feathers??


Side note just in the past couple weeks he HAS started to remove a few of his normal green feathers. A friend who had a rescue for many years (the one who took him in a few years back when he was having troubles) said it could be hormones as well. He HAS been very sexually frustrated but his "wiggle blanket" is doing its job, lol.


Cheers :)

Hey, Katie. Yeah, sometimes it's hard to tell what triggers certain behaviors. I know that Maya had a situation where she suddenly and inexplicably sprouted a bunch of pin feathers at the same time - way more than usual - and it irritated her skin to the point that she took to pulling out new pins every time they came in. She never touches the existing adult feathers. Only the new ones that cause the irritation. I've been battling it with her ever since that situation happened, but as Steven mentioned, much of it might be behavioral now. Still, a visit to the vet once you can manage it might yield some answers.

The woman who I mentioned also said it could be because he's too hot. I keep my apartment around 25 celsius.

25 degrees Celsius is around 77 degrees Fahrenheit. That isn't too hot for an eclectus. Their natural habitats are often hotter. So long as it wasn't a sudden spike in temperature that brought the room to the current temperature, I wouldn't worry.
 
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katie_fleming

katie_fleming

Active member
Oct 30, 2012
881
31
Montreal, Canada
Parrots
Jasper (6yr old Solomon Island Eclectus Parrot)
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Thanks for the reply! I feel like it's probably become a habit :( I feel so bad. I'll need to wait until the spring other than emergencies because of the car situation but appreciate all the replies right now. Thanks guys :)
 

cneuhauser

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Jul 9, 2020
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Cary NC (hate it), LF Job in Moab UT or elsewhere
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Dusky Conure, Male Ekkie
The vet here in Montreal is absolutely useless and failed to diagnose his low calcium before. I wish I got home more often to see the vet who actually diagnosed him properly. But yes, agreed I will get him in for blood work.


The woman who I mentioned also said it could be because he's too hot. I keep my apartment around 25 celsius.

Interesting, I didn't realize Ekkies could have issues with low calcium, I thought the norm was low Vitamin A...
 

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