B&G Macaw Feather Problem

[Mammad]

Hello,
my 11 months old B&G macaw have some feather issue, i'm not sure if its normal or not so i need your advice on this,
general information:
his daily food is 60-70% Zupreem. 30-40% fruits and nuts
get plenty of daily sun light.
used to get 1-2 time showers in a week in the summer, no showers in the winter like these days "Jan".
he has a huge cage only for night sleep, normally in the living room doing his job "destroying".
still training him on free flight and its looking good.

about his feathers, i realized he started molting for a month or so, i saw some of his wing feather turning to black color and new tail feather are not what it should look like, cant explain it so please refer to attached pictures

 

[Zoruace]

Hello,
my 11 months old B&G macaw have some feather issue, i'm not sure if its normal or not so i need your advice on this,
general information:
his daily food is 60-70% Zupreem. 30-40% fruits and nuts
get plenty of daily sun light.
used to get 1-2 time showers in a week in the summer, no showers in the winter like these days "Jan".
he has a huge cage only for night sleep, normally in the living room doing his job "destroying".
still training him on free flight and its looking good.

about his feathers, i realized he started molting for a month or so, i saw some of his wing feather turning to black color and new tail feather are not what it should look like, cant explain it so please refer to attached pictures

It seems like he us being a little rough with his tail feathers which is normal bor baby birds
Just mkae sure he doesnt start over-preening..
The diet seems like WAYYYY too much suger
Zupreem is filled with fillers (soybeans,Sugers,etc)
I would recommend making veggies/chop his base diet with about 50-40% harrsions, TOPs, Roundybush pellets nuts and seeds should be limited
I give my bird fruits once or twice a week..

 

[Laurasea]

Hi,
He seems to be over preening and possibly starting to plucking a little.

As above, too much fruit, lots more veggies and leafy lettuce needed.
During molt it helps to bump up the protein a little, some boiled egg with shell, a thumb size piece if boiled or well cooked chicken no skin. Some soaked rinsed and cooked legume.

Tail feathers can get beaten up, but I'm seeing more than that. I'm unsure what is cause the white powder like rings seen in some if the feathers...

Its not normal to have missing down, or bald areas.

This is a reasonable article on molt

All About Your Parrot’s Feathers, Feather Loss And Molt – Ron Hines' Vetspace – 2nd Chance – The Animal Health Website

vetspace.2ndchance.info

Its always a good idea for a check up with vet. Especially as hidden issues can rear up during the stress of molt.

I see he gets sun exposure , that realy great.

In a healthy diet , with sunlight, and a healthy bird, birds never look scruffy during a molt. Mine all look just as plush and lush as normal, just that you find feathers that have shed and they have some pins.
Think of all the wild birds you have seen all the nature documentary. You never see scruffy patchy birds.

Other members if you have scruffy molt or patchy burds , there are probably changes you need to making in diet and environments. Just because this has been what you normally see, does not make it normal.

 

[Zoruace]

This chart is good
But ill change grains to pellets and make grains something that will go with the veggies so instead of fruits and veggies it will be grains and veggies
I would give a bit fruits weekly

 

[Scott]

Welcome, thanks for sharing gorgeous pics of your B&G! Agree with superb advice above, diet and juvenile behavior likely cause - though well check with avian vet beneficial. Not going to dis Zupreem but other pellets perceived healthier.

 

[Mammad]

thank you all for the nice replies
additional information:
I barley see him preening its like he doesn't have time for that, when i got him 5 months ago he had 3 tail feather broken, if you look closely in the pictures you can see it, this was during shipping, i think the cage was small.
about his diet i will sure add grains and cut some of his fruit portion , attached is Zupreem mix i give him he really loves the PastaBlend.
he gets fresh carrot, corn 3-4 times a week.

 

[Mammad]

I'm unsure what is cause the white powder like rings seen in some if the feathers.

can you please point it on the picture since i never saw white powder on him, or maybe its some picture effect like sunlight reflection or so, really getting worried now :s

 

[Laurasea]

can you please point it on the picture since i never saw white powder on him, or maybe its some picture effect like sunlight reflection or so, really getting worried now :s

Its the 4th picture, on the blue feathers on his back. But since you said he doesn't know how to preen , and this looks like a pattern, probably brushed up against something.

These macaws would stay with parents for a year or longer learning. So he is of an age were he still needs lots of guidance. They learn so much from the flock and parents. Feather care , that was an issue for my young quaker as well. But I have other birds and she learned and improve . So if you can find feather preening parrots on you tube , nature show, or video some at a zoo,, rescue,, or have freinds share or something. Have him watch with you. Mine are fascinated by parrot videos. Its possible, and id try , that this could help him learn. I'd play it every day and if he started to do feather maintenance I'd play it. I'd try to preen on him and zip his feathers too.

We will do anything for our feathered kids right! And macaws have higher tendency to pluck ..

Its fantastic thst you have him eating pellets, great job. I feed zooprem and lots of other brands. I didn't want picky parrots . My current and my parrots current favorite is oven bscked bites by all Living Things . I'm very happy with ingredients listed, parrots all really like them and eat . They are a big chunk they can hold in their foot to eat, which they enjoy .

Fresh veggies and romaine lettuce ( high in vitamins like vitamin A) are very important! You are going to need to expand the veggies and leafy lettuce he eats. Veggies are also great for foraging and destruction an enrichment. Gives him a chance to use that big beak! Serve up large chunks, use bird skewers amd those stainless steel veggies cages. They seem to enjoy them more if they have to work at it.

Try some whole leaves of Swiss chard, big hunk of broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, cucumber, fresh whole green beans, snow peas, radish. Mine love squash but only if cooked. He is young and should be willing to try new veggies.

I feed about 4- 6 different types twice daily. It is my parrots favorite time if day they come running to see what I have and how I offer. There is going to be a lot wasted , but we'll worth it!!!

 

[Mammad]

Try some whole leaves of Swiss chard, big hunk of broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, cucumber, fresh whole green beans, snow peas, radish. Mine love squash but only if cooked. He is young and should be willing to try new veggies.

He really loves the new mix, thanks alot...
Is it ok to give him a shower in winter? Maybe it will fix the feather issue

 

[Kentuckienne]

Our B&G gets mangy looking feathers because he doesn’t like to bathe. We kind of have to just put him in the tub and spray him to get him wet. He likes it, he hates it…but once he gets really wet and dries off with a bit of preening, he looks like a new bird.

 

[Laurasea]

A light mist even very very light can encourage preening.

I have a radiant heat panel called sweeter heater, you can find on Amazon. Now a days they market it for chickens, but avi tech originally designed for parrots. The smallest size is more than enough radiant heat and needs to be set back from the cage. I have used it for 20 years, is excellent for them to choose to be by after a bath. In fact mine all choose to sit by it till dry. But its really important for sick birds or a drafty chilly home. Having a radiant heat available has played a critical role in saving my parrots when sick. Ofcourse I get immediate avian vet and needed antibiotics. I had a critical ill parrot from chlamydia, vet agreed it played a huge roll in saving her plus the life saving antibiotics and support feeding baby burd formula.

I recommend all parrot owners have a radiant heat option on hand. Even if its mostly u see d to warm them up after a bath any prevent chills. Parrots in the wild bath then sit in the sun, and their native range is much warmer anyway.

 

[Laurasea]

Hope this helps

Misting & Preening Education - Hari

Without misting your parrot regularly, flight feathers may quickly become compromised.

hari.ca