Helping my dove through a molt

Hey

So Baby is about 22yrs old give or take a year.

Hes been losing his feathers and looking scruffy lately. Ive seen him do this before but I dont recall it taking so long.

He also had a pin sticking out of his head with no feather growth (not sure if pin feather is the proper term) which looked painful but is now finally growing in.

He is the pickest eater. I offer bird mash, fresh fruits and veggies but he usually just flies off. He gets distracted easily and will coo to my hand for 5 mins if I tried to offer him something from my hand. He also ignores plates with food.

So i finally got a scale (thanks for everyones input on that btw!) and weighed him.

His weight and how light he feels in my hands makes me think he is too thin and his weight too low.

Other than offering him hard boiled egg which he will eat or at least pick at and offering him calendula flower baths which he always refuses....how can i help make this easier for him?

He eats a regular dove seed mix, and i offer budgie seed mix. I was offering him Mr. Harrisons adult pellets but he was always doing the action where he is clearing his throat. At one time he sat there with his beak partially open. I almost had a hear attack when I saw that. I packed him in his carry cage and called the nearby vet and thry told me they were too booked to see him and to wait till the morning!!

I watched him like a hawk and he got over it quickly enough but i took the pellets away. Now i only offer them to him after i have soaked them and when i can watch him eat them, but he usually just walks away from them.

I guess i am just worried because of his age that this indicates illness other than a molt. I am a constant worrier when it comes to my birds, probably over worry and stress myself out too much. Baby acts the same as always, he coos, he eats, he drinks, he sleeps in his favourite spot, goes on his patrol around the apartment. I juat want to see his pretty feathers all come in again nicely.


You can see how scruffy he looks around his neck in this picture and his weight.


Ideas?
Thanks!

Please forgive me in advance for this post. I may be wrong as I don't know what Europeans call sparrows.

That doesn't look like any sparrow I've ever seen.

That is a dove of some sort.

Or I'm wrong. (don't think I am) Please advise

OOPs just saw you are from Canada not from "across the pond"

Looks like a ringneck but smaller. They are an invasive animal in Texas.

I have 2 birds.

Baby is my 22 year old dove. I posted his pic in the last post.
I also have a 4yr old House Sparrow named Kiwi.

If it is a ringneck than it's mature growth will be similar(if not bigger than a whitewing, think pigeon).

What I can gather from the pics it can't be a morning dove as it is too light. Probably not a scaled dove as they are darker and small.

I had a morning dove for thirteen years. He was plucked from his nest by a cotton stripper. I found him in the cotton trailer when I was raking and packing(long before modules). He was nothing but a small ball of pin feathers when found. It was a very sad time when his was up.

Sorry

They are both beautiful.

Thank you for being tolerant of an old fool. And bless you for what you have done for both birds.

22 years is ancient indeed, you really take great care of your animals -but they are both elderly so a bit scruffy looking is to be expected.
Ageing= slowing down, so molting will be no exception.

As long as he had his grit there is nothing I can think of to add to all the care and love you already lavish on them.

TiredOldMan said:

If it is a ringneck than it's mature growth will be similar(if not bigger than a whitewing, think pigeon).

What I can gather from the pics it can't be a morning dove as it is too light. Probably not a scaled dove as they are darker and small.

I had a morning dove for thirteen years. He was plucked from his nest by a cotton stripper. I found him in the cotton trailer when I was raking and packing(long before modules). He was nothing but a small ball of pin feathers when found. It was a very sad time when his was up.

Click to expand...

Most people when looking at Baby automatically assume he is a morning dove. But you are right, he is a ringneck dove. I bought him from a local pet store before he was 1 year old. I dont think they sell doves in pet stores around here anymore.

He has changed homes within the family over the years (college/ when I was working extra jobs etc,) but I always missed him and wanted him home with me.

I've had the privilege of bringing him home again for the last 2 years and I spoil him every chance I get.

It must have been an amazing experience raising a morning dove and for 13 years is incredible!

My dove is quite the old age now, so I always over stress and worry. I try to make the most of every minute I have with him for fear it will one day be our last. I dont want to live with regret, so every moment with him, I do my best to put in 100% no matter how tired, or lazy, or busy life is.

Life is just way too short, there is no room for half percent when it comes to the things you love.

ChristaNL said:

22 years is ancient indeed, you really take great care of your animals -but they are both elderly so a bit scruffy looking is to be expected.
Ageing= slowing down, so molting will be no exception.

As long as he had his grit there is nothing I can think of to add to all the care and love you already lavish on them.

Click to expand...

I do offer him grit, but I think its my nature to worry. Lol

I really hope 4years of age is not considered old for a House Sparrow. Some blogs I have followed, had House Sparrows living up to 12-13 years in captivity.

I consider Kiwi to be very much a teenager, still going through puberty. He has his high hormonal episodes which I attempt to navigate with diet changes, daylight hour exposure changes, reducing nesting materials etc...

He gets moody if things wake him up at night too and he can be a terror the next day. He loves his sleep and he nèeds it.

I do believe that he is as smart and as complicated as any small parrot.
I guess thats why I am here, lol

TiredOldMan said:

Please forgive me in advance for this post. I may be wrong as I don't know what Europeans call sparrows.

That doesn't look like any sparrow I've ever seen.

That is a dove of some sort.

Or I'm wrong. (don't think I am) Please advise

OOPs just saw you are from Canada not from "across the pond"

Looks like a ringneck but smaller. They are an invasive animal in Texas.

Click to expand...

I cant believe ringneck doves are considered invasive in texas! They arr such simple minded birds. In fact, most articles i have read indicate ringneck doves have been bred exclusively for captivity to the point that they cant survive in the wild.

Which makes perfect sense to me, after watching my dove coo for 5 mins to a chair leg, a ball, a teddy bear, a mirror almost anything no matter how big or scary. Lol

You can probably beath the record for the oldest sparrow (19 years and 9 months), but outside the average is 10 y.
But you are correct with 4 years he is a strapping young lad still


(I somehow got stuck on 6 years- thats because the one I knew of never made its 7th birthday.)

So I adopted a juvenile Ringneck Dove about 4 months ago now, he's still not quite a year old (though I know someone who had a pair of Ringneck Doves that lived to be 27-28 years old if that helps you any, they can live to be ancient)...He is running my house, he scares the life out of my parrots, and he too Coo's at the damndest things, I often try to figure out what in the world he is Cooing at, but he's just sitting there like a Rooster, Cooing away. He's staring at me right now while I'm typing this...I know what he wants...He wants to peck at my laptop's keyboard, but I'm not moving...He'll start Cooing here in a minute and won't stop until I move...He's a little jerk-bird sometimes, but he's my jerkbird!

My CAV told me that Dylan was fat, lol, so I stopped feeding him Egg-Food, now he gets his Parakeet seed-mix, his grit, and his veggies, and he has lost weight, and I think he's too skinny now, I liked him better when he was round and fluffy and fat...But I too worry about his weight, diet, etc., because there isn't a whole lot they can eat besides seeds and such...

You might try some store-bought Egg-Food and give him a bowl of that, because Dylan devours it. That will put the weight back on him quickly. As far as pellets go, yeah, scares me too...The pet shop I saved Dylan from was feeding their Ringnecks a seed-mix that looked like it was meant for Conures or Senegals or something, it had pellets and legumes and corn in it, I'm surprised all of their Ringnecks don't choke to death...It's best to stick to seeds, Egg-Food, veggies, fruit, etc. I don't risk anything larger than the bits of Egg-Food...

Thanks for your input EllenD.

I am happy to hear to about your friends dove living almost 28 yrs, thats incredible! I hope Baby lives a good several more years. I guess I mourn the years I missed while he was with family and now I tend to over compensate and worry to the extreme. Its unhealthy, I know, lol.

I will look into this eggfood. I have seen it in my local petshop for canaries, is there a specific dove variety I should look for?

I also hate the standard dove seed mix most shops sell, and have wanted to find a more nutritious replacement.

Im glad to read your dove is doing so well and good on you for taking in a normally overlooked and underappreciated bird species. They really are quite special.