Advice needed: Ducorps cockatoo feathers bad condition

[Gunthervatero]

Hi there, I have a 9 year old male ducorps cockatoo ive had for over a year now. He is wonderful i love him to pieces, but as of recent weeks his feathers are still the same ones as when I got him, and they have worn down to just a quill on this wings (the last 4 feathers each side).

He doesnt seem to be dropping them and cannot fly properly to his full potential. I got him a UV-b light of an adequate size as I realize for feathers to regrow they need UV-b and a good diet.

His tail feathers arent great either.

He eats the parrot delux mix which is dried fruit, and nuts mixed. I also give him monkey nuts in the shell. I try give him fruit and stuff but he doesnt eat it just chucks it aside. I do give him some potato and cheese every now and then as a treat he likes it.

Can anyone suggest what I can do to help him get back to shape and help him grow new feathers, thanks!

PS he is very happy and doesnt pluck his feathers, he is a free roaming bird free to come and go from his cage, just i think he was without the UV-b light for a year and maybe hasnt had enough nutrition essential to new feather growth.

 

[weco]

Hello, your "and they have worn down to just a quill on this wings (the last 4 feathers each side)." leads me to think those wings have been previously clipped, as the first 4-6 flight feathers are the ones chosen when restricting a bird's flying capabilities.

Although the article at the following link refers to soft-beaked birds, it offers an understandable explanation of moulting:

All About Birds : Molting

Here’s an article by Dr. Ron Hines, DVM, regarding parrot moults:

All About Your Parrot's Feathers - The Causes Of Molt, Feather Problems And What You Can Do About Them

As you will note, Dr. Hines article, simply having worn down or clipped feathers will not hurry feather replacement: “Do New Feathers Push The Old Feathers Out? It is not that simple. The key to new feather formation is the removal of the old feather. In some unclear way, the presence of a well-anchored feather prevents a new feather from forming. When that feather loosens or is plucked out, a new feather immediately begins to form.”

Also, as Dr. Hines article indicates, our keeping of companion birds may well have skewed a bird’s normal moult cycle.


Based on what you have said, and without indication of possible disease, I might be inclined to think that your feathered friend will be moulting in the near future, however, an examination by your veterinarian would be a good idea, just to preclude any problems not readily visible.

One thing I might add is to be sure that the potatoes you feed are cooked and not raw, as potatoes are a member of the night shade family and contain solanine, an alkaloidal glucoside (poison). While the alkaloid may be throughout a potato, the greatest danger is in the uncooked skin, just under the skin and the eyes, but skinned/peeled and cooked potatoes are safe.

 

[Gunthervatero]

no his wings have never been clipped, hes a free spirit and would never take that away form him! he lives with me like a person - I think its form flyign threough doorways they sometimes clip the sides and scrape the feathers slightly, so when the featheres are old / Mal-nutritioned then the feather matter might come off easy, now he cant fly with only 70% of his total feathers

I shall have a read - thanks

 

[MaraWentz]

Can you post a picture to explain better by what you mean when you say worn down or take an example one from google?

 

[Gunthervatero]

here: can you see this? https://www.dropbox.com/s/qz3vvjc2od11zf2/20130120_200903.jpg

 

[MonicaMc]

That actually looks like feather barbering... i.e. removing the feathers except for the quill.


Since he's not on a very healthy diet, I would recommend getting him onto a pelleted diet.


Does he have any opportunities to forage?

 

[Gunthervatero]

ahh right - yeah ok do you have any suggestions for pellets? I do try offering him some fruit etc but he doesnt eat it, and he always picks out monkey nuts and sunflower seeds form his feed, he flings the res around the place.

I kinda suspected it was a dietry issue, but only as this has happened recently, and hes been fine prior

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I feed my galah a mixture of totally organic pellets and harrison's fine sized pellets. I strongly believe those are the two best pellets, and harrison's is fantastic, most avian vets sell it at their clinic, it took Rosie 6 months until she was 100% off seeds.

Making a chop mix is a great way to include veggies as well, I used this recipe and made about 3 months worth of chop mix. I out it in week sized freezer bag and freeze them, it's a great back up plan if I run out of fresh produce.

When you get the chance get your bird to the good avian certified vet, they can tell you whats going on on the inside of your bird and give you the best advice.

 

[Thingamagigs]

Thanks for that copperarabian, I saved the link. I've recently been using frozen vegies because the quality of "fresh" hasnt been so good of late. Do you find that the vegies still taste good after freezing? I remember I tried to freeze my own vege a while back and when I defrosted it, it tasted horrible LOL How do you defrost your chop?

We still haven't switched Mana to pellets, she is eating a seed (small parrot seed, no sunflowers except for treats) and fruit & veg diet. Which isnt too bad, but a pellet diet would not only be better but would also reduce the mess, wastage and be more convenient with all the food prep I currently do. Good pellet brands are hard to come by, we do have an australian made brand available in most places and made especially for Aussie cockatoos who are prone to obesity... but I wanted to try all those ones the Americans recommend as well