Baby Sun Conure Feather Concern

[Paco_the_Amazon]

Hello, fellow Sun Conure owners. I would like to start off by saying that I recently purchased a baby Sun Conure, who the breeder told me was around 7 weeks of age. I’m not sure on the gender but that’s why I made an appointment for him or her next week at a local Avian vet to educate me on all things I should know. For now, I just call him or her Mango. Mango appears energetic, responsive, loud, and normal on all levels. My only concern is that Mango appears to have a bald spot on the crop area of the chest. Mango is filled with the baby, fluffy down feathers and pin feathers new feathers are coming out everyday, but the chest area seems bare. Will that fill in later on? I was thinking it could be due to Mango sleeping up against the side of the enclosure. Any advice would be appreciated. Mango will see an avian vet next week, but I am still somewhat worried.

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[RemiBird]

He is too cute!
Not sure about the bald patch but just curious why the breeder sold you such a young bird? Is he weaned yet?

 

[dhraiden]

In very young birds bald spots are not uncommon as their feathers grow in at different rates.


These forums themselves are an excellent source on the topic, found via Google:


https://www.google.com/search?q=parrot+"bald+spot"+site:www.parrotforums.com

 

[Paco_the_Amazon]

He is too cute!

Not sure about the bald patch but just curious why the breeder sold you such a young bird? Is he weaned yet?

He’s not weaned yet but I’ve hand fed several birds before. I think he lied on the age because this one looks very young.


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[YSGC]

Awww. Mango sure is a cutie-pie!

I agree that breeder doesn't seem to be the most competent.
So it's probably best Mango's in your hands since you have experience hand feeding chicks and have an avian vet.

I've no clue about the feathers.

 

[YSGC]

Oh, and please come back with pics, whether or not the feathers come in.
You'll be contributing to the knowledge base here.

 

[ParrotGenie]

He just looks younger then breeder stated, he looks good from what I can see, feathers grow in different spot so not uncommon for some bald spots when that young. Always good to get to avian vet to make sure, or in case he/she does have a infection.

 

[Paco_the_Amazon]

He has an appointment today at 3:40 PM. I’ll keep you all updated.


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[Skittys_Daddy]

Absolutely adorable! I think the bald patches are more due to age being so young. An avian vet can tell you for certain.


Given his/her age, I'd be more concerned about nutrition tbh. At least you've had some hand-feeding experience. Did the breeder tell you what they were feeding him/her?


I've never owned a bird that young, most of the birds I've gotten over the years were ones that had been re-homed prior. Skittles is the first bird I've actually had that I got from a pet store in nearly 20yrs.



I'd keep an eye on the feeding aspect of it.

 

[LordTriggs]

does look a bit younger than 7 weeks, I'd say maybe 4 or 5 weeks?

I'm not too sure on it but I think I've seen the feathers around the crop normally grow in a bit slower than the rest, but don't take my word for it. Hopefully the vet visit turns everything up okay

 

[EllenD]

He appears to be around 4-5 weeks old to me, because typically they don't start weaning until around 7 weeks of age, but by then they are usually fully-feathered and able to be kept in a cage instead of in a heated Brooder like this baby should still be in at around 80-85 degrees F until all his outer feathers come in...But the bald spot around his crop is completely normal, it doesn't get covered in any down-feathers at all in most species of parrots, and is usually one of the last places to be covered because the mature feathers have to fully grow-in and cover it first...He's pretty young...

Hopefully you know about Brooder ambient temperatures until he's fully-feathered and then also hand-feeding formula temperatures as well, so he doesn't develop a fungal infection in his Crop and get sick...

And you cannot visually sex a Sun Conure at that age, and even after puberty they are very tough to visually sex even though they are sexually monomorphic, the differences are very, very subtle. So you're best to have your Vet take a drop of blood from a toenail and send it out for DNA testing, or wait until he/she is old enough to do a regular blood-draw from the neck or to pluck some feathers from their chest and then have the DNA-test done...

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Great point Ellen, I wish I had thought of mentioning the temperature.


As for the feathers, I know when I give Skittles a bath, his head dries the quickest. His belly feathers and his wing feathers take the longest to dry.

 

[Paco_the_Amazon]

I wanted to update you all on the baby. Sadly, he had a crop infection when I took him to the vet but passed away last night due to complications. The breeder sold me him already sick, so he gave me an older, weaned Sun Conure for free.


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[RemiBird]

How awful. Sorry to hear that...

 

[YSGC]

Aww, poor thing.

I wish you great success with your new baby.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

My condolences, he looked like such a sweetie with a long life ahead of him. When I read the update last night, my heart sank and I had to sign out cause I was so angry. NOT at the OP, but at the breeder.

I've had a day to calm down, so I'll say this.

I understand that no one but the OP knows the entire situation and I acknowledge that. But there is a much larger issue here and its not just this breeder, but many others- I hear about them on Craigslist all the time. My friend tells me (I had to tell her to stop doing that cause I couldn't bear hearing it knowing I can't stop it).

But far too often breeders sell unweaned birds and birds that are too young to be sold. While MOST breeders are responsible and caring providers, to me one bird dying because of irresponsible breeder is one too many. In Maine, the rules regarding birds are VERY strict, Maine has some of the toughest animal welfare laws ESPECIALLY regarding birds (however, the penalties are a joke, IMO). They are required to provide access to food and water 24/7 which has to be changed every day, they are required to have their birds in a certain temperature range as well as having to provide at least a certain number of hours of light each day. While those laws do not apply to breeders, but rather retail sellers, I'd hope there are some regulations about that.

When I got Skittles, I received a certificate of health from the store which contained his birth information and his last vet checkup. Both required by law. I was provided his breeder information ONLY because the pet store offered it because the breeder requested it. I know for a fact that Skittles breeder was a VERY loving and caring provider. In fact, I still email her updates and new pics still. I did so just a month or two ago and she lets me know how healthy he looks and how much she appreciates the updates. Why can't all breeders be so nice?

I want to reiterate that my DEEPEST condolences go out to the OP and the poor bird as well. But I won't say what I think of the breeder (and other breeders who are like that one because that I KNOW would get me in trouble here, and I don't want that. I like it here). It was just seeing those adorable pics and knowing what happened broke my heart.

Okay, now that I've got that off my chest I feel better!

I wish the OP the very best with their new bird and many happy memories.

 

[noodles123]

I wanted to update you all on the baby. Sadly, he had a crop infection when I took him to the vet but passed away last night due to complications. The breeder sold me him already sick, so he gave me an older, weaned Sun Conure for free.


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I am so so sorry...That is so sad...

I would most definitely get your new bird tested for PDD and PBFD, along with polyoma and a CBC. It is so important, as birds can hide disease (and even carry/spread it without symptoms for many yours), so if your last baby was sick, you must ensure that your new baby isn't sick with the same thing....I am hoping you are using a new cage. Precautions are very important with all birds, especially when you know a sick bird already came from this breeder.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

That they do in fact quite well. Is there a separate test for those? When Skittles had his first check-up they did a full blood panel to rule out epilepsy as well as any genetic defects. But I wonder about those other ones you mentioned. Since he's now 9 y/o, I'm hoping anything that he could not acquire here with me is no longer an issue or possibility.

 

[Paco_the_Amazon]

I wanted to update you all on the baby. Sadly, he had a crop infection when I took him to the vet but passed away last night due to complications. The breeder sold me him already sick, so he gave me an older, weaned Sun Conure for free.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am so so sorry...That is so sad...

I would most definitely get your new bird tested for PDD and PBFD, along with polyoma and a CBC. It is so important, as birds can hide disease (and even carry/spread it without symptoms for many yours), so if your last baby was sick, you must ensure that your new baby isn't sick with the same thing....I am hoping you are using a new cage. Precautions are very important with all birds, especially when you know a sick bird already came from this breeder.

What exactly are each of the acronyms you’re telling me to get my bird tested for? Thanks.


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[noodles123]

That they do in fact quite well. Is there a separate test for those? When Skittles had his first check-up they did a full blood panel to rule out epilepsy as well as any genetic defects. But I wonder about those other ones you mentioned. Since he's now 9 y/o, I'm hoping anything that he could not acquire here with me is no longer an issue or possibility.

PDD- Proventricular dilation disease and PBFD psittacine beak and feather disease ----they are totally independent of a CBC (a bird can have them and "fly under the radar")..It can take many years before a test registers as positive, but if anything odd happens, keep that in mine, and in the meantime, reduce contact with other birds.