Quaker's tail feathers... two toned now

tepeco · Dec 3, 2019

Our 4 month old Quaker has slowly lost the original long green tail feathers through the molting process, I assume. The newer feathers coming in are two-toned... white on one side of the quill, normal green on the other side. Also, they are not really reaching the length of the older ones they are replacing. Could it be diet? Possible health issues?

Owlet · Dec 3, 2019

feathers growing in weirdly colored or malformed usually points to something dietary, I definitely suggest bringing the bird to get a blood panel done to see where it's at nutrition wise. If that comes back relatively normal then probably talk to your vet about other possibilities.

tepeco · Dec 3, 2019

Owlet said:
feathers growing in weirdly colored or malformed usually points to something dietary, I definitely suggest bringing the bird to get a blood panel done to see where it's at nutrition wise. If that comes back relatively normal then probably talk to your vet about other possibilities.

Well, dietary is not something I wanted to hear, although we have allowed him to have crumbs from my Oats & Honey crunch bars in the morning. Or a piece of noodle, a piece of bread crust. Also, pumpkin seeds, sunflower too. He really enjoys mini shreaded wheat which I remove the topical sugar from before he gets it. It would be milk soaked to some degree. Of course, he eats his bird food as well. We are making sure he is not passing that up for the people food. Does this sound bad? Dietary wise?

GaleriaGila · Dec 3, 2019

If you decide to look into veterinary help...

Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.
International contacts, too.

Laurasea · Dec 3, 2019

.mine have two toned feathers. Not sure if it's a problem, and they take a while to reach full length. A picture would help.

Diet: get those veggies I to your bird!!! So important to long term health. Leafy greens, and every veggie on the safe parrot list ! Not all at once

but get him eating veggies and rotate what you offer.

An avain vet specialist visit is always a good idea. Good for base line even if healthy, good to get established before you are in an emergency

Get a digital kitchen gram scale and start the habit of tracking weights. This will pay off in early detection of disease or problems. A few gram fluctuating is ok, you are tracking trends. Like your bird is always between 107 grams and 11 grams. And then drops to 101 grams or something...

Quaker's tail feathers... two toned now

tepeco

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Owlet

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tepeco

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GaleriaGila

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Laurasea

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