Can someone age these two for me please

[merefolly]

Hello everyone,

I was given these bird 6 days ago I haven't a clue how old they are but I would guess very young, the blue one doesn't seem to have any flight feathers, he can't fly yet, the white one can fly but not very far and soon tires and just drops, I'm new to birds and only know what I have picked up on the forums, can anyone age them for me please.

They eat seed fine but I can't get them to eat any fresh food, I also got some egg food but they won't eat that either, I'm just a little concerned about the blue one not having the flight feathers, will he eventually grow them ?.

Any feedback very much appreciated.

Jo

 

[MonicaMc]

I can't tell for sure, but they do look like older birds. Really can't age an albino bird as easily as some others, though.


This thread may be of help in getting them onto a healthier diet!

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html


As far as the blue male, his wings could be clipped, he could have had a flight or fight response and lost his wings, or there's a possibility that he could have french molt. The only other possibilities is that the feathers were plucked out or the feather follicles were so damaged that they wont grow in.



Birds Online - Health and diseases - Plumage defects - First moult

 

[merefolly]

Thank you very much for your suggestions, I have read your thread on nutrition, I find growing from seed very interesting, I will have to go around the health food shops to source the seeds, for now I will try a mash to see if they will eat that, I have two Kakarikis they eat anything I give them.

I'm not sure about age, I did ask the lady I got them off how old they were but she didn't answer me, what she did say was that they hadn't been in the flight yet they had only been in the bird shed, I assumed they were only young birds.
The blue male seems to have grown in the last week but the flight feathers are no different, looking at the pictures and reading from the second link you may be right about French Molt, I hope not though, he's a lovely boy and so cute.
Thanks again.
Jo

 

[Folkeye]

They look mature to me. Young budgies tend to have heavy striping on their head which grows into a white crown when they mature (for the blue one) for the most part. You can also see the grey in his eyes really well. Younger budgies tend to keep the beady black eyes for a long while. Either way, pretty budgies

 

[crimson]

your blue male is a regular budgie, the white one is a english budgie....they tend to be larger in size.

 

[merefolly]

Thank you everyone for your input, I know now they are not babies and the blue one (Sky) is not normal, the more I have read about French Moult the more I am convinced that is what he has.

I have a couple of questions about this, first of all will he suffer with this in any way other than he can't fly, my dog has already had him in his mouth, he had no intensions of hurting him and dropped him when told to, I think he just wanted to play with him, he takes his toys to the cages and offers them to the birds, I also have two Kakarikis could the French Moult carry over to them, they are in a different cage to the budgies, I was planning on breeding the budgies but obviously that is out of the question now.

I want to do my best for this little bird so would appreciate any suggestions anyone has.

TIA Jo.

 

[MonicaMc]

I've never had to deal with french molt, nor have I read up much about it... so I can't say for sure. These would be questions better asked by an avian vet.

I believe it is possible for him to regrow his feathers, but he could just as easily lose them again, too...




Mammal saliva can be quite dangerous to birds, so please try to be more careful!

 

[cassiepengo]

figured it out??