Extreme Abnormalities in Plumage Development

pterry97

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Hi all,

I wish I had better news to tell but unfortunately this is not the case. Even though behaviour wise Mofu, my red rumped parakeet, continues to be within her usual self, she continues to lose feathers at a break neck pace.

This has been an ongoing battle for almost 3 months now, since retrieving her Mofu has been "moulting" her coat which only seems to continue to not grow back. There is no plucking occurring, everything falls out naturally, but the growth in her next set of feathers are near to nonexistent.

We have changed her food entirely to pellets now, and she is offered fresh veg every day, but will hardly touch the veg. She gets a small pinch of seeds, cuttlebone fish, oyster shell shavings, and even wheatgerm oil supplements. I even bought baby food (vegetable puree) but no dice, Mofu is the literal worst eater in existence.

I'm certain the signs shown are from her not intaking enough additional nutrition to maintain plumage growth, but when it's all on hand and she won't even eat it, what else can I do? She gets a daily spray as asked by the vets to help along with the pin removals (which she still hates avidly) and yet she only seems to get worse and worse in coat condition.

I've taken her to 4 vets now, and it drives me mad that they all say that aside from her bedraggledness that she's in perfect shape. I can't wrap my head around it. How can a healthy bird look the way she does? She looks like a poodle.

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The only part of her plumage that has grown back fully is her bottom, as she lost those about 4 months ago back when she would always have faeces hanging from her vent (the situation hasn't reoccurred since fortunately).

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Her feathers on her head (originally from a head injury) was the first to fall out, and to this day she still has a very bald head. She has only recently grown a couple of new feathers on her head, but nothing compared to what she's lost. Currently her neck is moulting, and I've noticed that all of her primary feathers in only her right wing all fell out recently, which has put her off any attempts of flying.

I physically can't believe that she is healthy, all things considered. She was tested and cleared for mites, negative'd on Feather and Beak disease, but she's looking more strangled chicken than anything else. I have to be missing something. I've never experienced this extreme situation with a bird before. What should I be doing?
 

Scott

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I am at a loss to understand Mofu's situation, though it is clearly abnormal. Are any of the vets "certified avian," meaning specialized education and a practice with tailored equipment and meds? (I realize the term is essentially meaningless in various locales)

Have any of the vets performed complete blood and fecal panels?

Unfamiliar with parakeets, so cannot comment on specific diet. As far as fresh veggies/fruits is concerned, a technique is to prepare two identical bowls of "chop." Give one to Mofu, begin eating from the other. Make "mmmm" sounds, bob your head in delight. Birds are flock eaters and you are a member of the flock!
 
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pterry97

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Thanks for your response. We sadly donā€™t have a proper avian vet anywhere near me, I only have transport access via public transport, so travelling cross country to find one is impossible in my circumstance. All the vets Iā€™ve tried are ā€˜exoticsā€™ which I know isnā€™t the best, and the last two seemed to have much more facilities for bird equipment than the first 2 I tried. They however werenā€™t comfortable trying to take blood from Mofu because of how small she is, and how difficult it is to locate a vein. They took a cloaca swab and feather test from her which came back negative. Sadly Iā€™ve tried eating with her with new foods but itā€™s never worked or caught her interest. I find she only eats her food when Iā€™m not in the room, I donā€™t know if she now associates my presence with playtime instead of eat time.
 
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pterry97

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hmm- how did they test for pbfd?[/QUOTE

Yeah.....looks very classic for PBFD......sorry....I'm not sure if you had a false negative???

I know Iā€™ve been looking at everything I can find, it does seem to be the only thing that lines up. I didnā€™t think they could get a false read, Iā€™m still trying to find a vets comfortable enough to take bloods from such a tiny bird but itā€™s been a real struggle, weā€™re so limited on avian vets.
 

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Hey pterry97, I don't have any expertise to offer you unfortunately, I wish I did! Just want to say thank you for everything you are doing for Mofu, she looks like such a little sweetie!

I don't know which vets you have seen so far, but here's a link which may help if you want to try to find another avian vet to try......

https://theparrotsocietyuk.org/site/files/resources/avian-vets-2.pdf

It's a nationwide list but you may be able to find one close by - unless you've already seen them all!

Best of luck with precious little Mofu and please do keep us updated, we're all rooting for you!
 
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pterry97

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Hey pterry97, I don't have any expertise to offer you unfortunately, I wish I did! Just want to say thank you for everything you are doing for Mofu, she looks like such a little sweetie!

I don't know which vets you have seen so far, but here's a link which may help if you want to try to find another avian vet to try......

https://theparrotsocietyuk.org/site/files/resources/avian-vets-2.pdf

It's a nationwide list but you may be able to find one close by - unless you've already seen them all!

Best of luck with precious little Mofu and please do keep us updated, we're all rooting for you!

Thank you very much! Despite our setbacks she's still being a little bean, I just wish I could make sure she was in the best of health. That link seems extremely useful! Sadly though the closest location on there is one of the few listed with no available vets, and without travel access I can't venture further out around the country to search for the others. Thank you very much for the resource however!
 

Laurasea

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I know budgies can't manage better with PBFD than other species, so hopefully red rumor can fo better too.

Since there us no treatment for PBFD , im not sure a confirmed test is that important. Many parrots can live a long time with it as well. Most importantly for you to not expose other parrots.

I hope with your tender care and attention, he can continue to enjoy life.

Often hanging a whole leaf of romaine or Swiss chard or weaving in cage bars encourages nibbles. And the leafy greens have lots of vitamins they really add to the diet. Sprouting seeds also activate and change the nutrients makes great snack. You can add egg food or molting mix to their feed to. Warmth is always helpful.
 
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pterry97

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I know budgies can't manage better with PBFD than other species, so hopefully red rumps can do better too.

Since there us no treatment for PBFD , I'm not sure a confirmed test is that important. Many parrots can live a long time with it as well. Most importantly for you to not expose other parrots.

I hope with your tender care and attention, he can continue to enjoy life.

Often hanging a whole leaf of romaine or Swiss chard or weaving in cage bars encourages nibbles. And the leafy greens have lots of vitamins they really add to the diet. Sprouting seeds also activate and change the nutrients makes great snack. You can add egg food or molting mix to their feed to. Warmth is always helpful.

Many thanks to your continuous responses. If it truly is PDFB I'm assuming it'd be chronic instead of acute since its been taking so long, and health wise Mofu hasn't been showing any signs of ill health since when I first got her (hence why all the vets keep trying to reassure me she's "fit as a fiddle"). I FINALLY managed to find a vets (not avian specialised but with avian equipment) who is willing to get Mofu's bloods for a test. I imagine the experience isn't going to be pleasant, Mofu's not going to be happy for a while...
Meanwhile I've been doing everything I can to keep Mofu as healthy as can be, her room is always warm and she continues to be offered veg daily. On pellets now but gets seeds as a treat in the evening on her last venture out of the cage before bed. Still hates her baths, even brought her with me to the shower the other day and she gave me the look of death throughout the whole event haha. Still doing training with her, she has a couple of tricks down now.
We always leave a cabbage leaf for her which she will nibble, and some days but not every day she might favour some pea sprouts or basil leaves, but its very hit and miss. Still the fussiest eater alive haha. I've recently ordered some egg food and some raw seeds specifically for red rumps to mix up myself and see if she'll take a fancy to them to replace with her cockatiel seed mix treats she usually gets. Really been spending my worth on this little girl. Always been joking that she needs a little woolly hat but am at the point where I wonder if she truly DOES need one if she's going to continue getting balder aha. So much to do... I'll post an update when the results come back.
 

Laurasea

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Caution, on non avian vets doing a blood draw on such a small bird. If this was my bird, im not sure i would do this... risk/reward is getting confirmation that important? Will it change what you do? If you are going to risk blood draw are they able to do an avain CBC, and chemistry panel?
Be cautious
 
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pterry97

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Caution, on non avian vets doing a blood draw on such a small bird. If this was my bird, im not sure i would do this... risk/reward is getting confirmation that important? Will it change what you do? If you are going to risk blood draw are they able to do an avain CBC, and chemistry panel?
Be cautious

I'd rather have accurate confirmation than not. She's already been given a negative on the non-invasive test, so if she does have it I think it's important to have an accurate response. If it isn't PBFD, the blood samples can be used to identify any other possible illnesses Mofu could be carrying. I want to know exactly what she has so that I can take appropriate action. If I just assume it's PBFD, but it turns out it truly isn't, what if it were something regarding her liver? Internal problems? Severe feather loss doesn't just happen, birds hide illness as best they can, so for it to be so obvious should be a warning sign in and of itself. If she does have PBFD, at least then I know why what's happening is happening and can expect what to expect. If I just presume it's PBFD and it isn't and she drops dead out of the blue one day, how am I supposed to feel? I'd feel guilt wishing I did more.
 

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