Kraken is changing color

[Tempest]

My little Sun Conure, Kraken, is coming up on her tenth Hatchday, and I am a bit concerned about her rather sudden change in feather coloring. Before Covid, she received annual vet visits, but since 2020 she has not been seen as our vet retired, and she has seemed fine. But, her wings, and now her tail, have started to turn yellow.

Her weight is fairly consistent at 3.84 oz and 109 g, although she can go a tiny bit up or down with molting and such. Her diet has also been pretty much the same: She gets a mix of Harrison's High Potency pellets (I am changing to Maintenace pellets) mixed with Tops pellets, with a smidgeon of Top's Napolean seed mix and various blends from Avian Organics. I also add some tried bird herbs and maybe a dried hot pepper. She gets about a tablespoon of this mix a day, of which 2/3 are pellets and 1/3 is composed of the seed types. She gets only this for about 12 hours while she is in her sleeping cage.

When she moves to her bigger daytime cage, she also gets a veggie chop, some mixed fruits both of which I thaw out from an ice cube tray, and some fresh fruits on spikes, such as a slice of apple, cherry, grapes, banana, orange or whatever. She has gotten this for many years.

So now pictures:
December 2014 (She hatched on 25 October 2014)

February 2017

April 2019

January 2024

August 2024


And now her tail feathers appear to be growing in yellow as well. Do you think this is normal or should I be worried?

 

[GaleriaGila]

I hope some sun conure folks will chime in... also, maybe check out a lot of photos online for comparsion.
Lastly...

Certified Avian Vets

Find an ABVP Specialist - American Board of Veterinary Practitioners

Find a Specialist ABVP Diplomates have proven knowledge and expertise above and beyond what is required to practice veterinary medicine. Beyond that, they have earned the privilege to specialize in the treatment of one or more categories of animals. Diplomates are in 49 of the 50 US states...

abvp.com

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.
If none are near you, maybe you could call and ask for a recommendation for somebody in your area.
And... sometimes, distant vets will offer brief thoughts or advice...

 

[Tempest]

Thank you for your response and the information... No veterinarians were listed in my state (Maine), so I think I will begin phoning local vets and see if they might know of any avian vets. My former vet would come to the house which was wonderful, as he could see her cages and situation, and also because Kraken is flighted and I worry about bringing her places. Thanks again for your response.

 

[Bird&Ant lover]

I wonder if i could just be due to molts.

 

[Tempest]

Kraken gets lighter and lighter with each molt... she now has an appointment with a vet for later this month. Unfortunately the vet doesn't travel to see animals, so I have to get Kraken to her. I have been spoiled in this regard, I admit. Kraken is not accustomed to any travel cage so this could be an issue, especially as she is fully flighted and the vet is an hour away. But we shall see how it goes.

 

[Tempest]

Kraken went to the vet today and came home with a clean bill of health. The vet did take a little blood to check for fatty liver, I think, but said her feathers were formed correctly and she showed no signs of beak and feather disease or anything like that. She said she wasn't fat and her heart and lungs sounded clear and strong. Her eyes, beak, tongue, and throat all looked good. So I guess her feather change is just a peculiarity.

 

[Macawdamia Nut]

I am a macaw owner, not a conure owner, but my 50-ish macaw has 3 blue feathers (2 wing and 1 tail) that started turning yellow about 20 years ago. I asked my avian vet and she said it is the avian equivalent of people getting gray hair. It happens with age. It can also happen if the follicle is damaged (the bird flying into a wall or piece of furniture, for example). She has a black palm cockatoo of a certain age and some of its black feathers are turning white. She did not seem concerned.

 

[Jexnell]

I would saynits an age thing as well. When very young, as in your first picture. Sunnies are mostly green, it's the I am a baby hide me colors. Then going thru the first few molts the colors will gradually change to the adult coloration.
Phoenix the day I got him.

After first molt

After second molt

And finally his adult coloration

And you can see the yellow in his tail as well.

 

[wrench13]

My yellow shoulder Amazon, now 9, has had the same head feathering for years, and I just noticed the green is creeping back around his temples. If the vet visit had no issues, chalk it up to just aging.

 

[Tempest]

It looks like Phoenix is doing what Kraken is doing. The deep yellow is one thing, but the very tip of his wing has the same pale yellow that Kraken's wings are turning. It is a very different yellow color that the rest of her feathers. Kraken will be ten years in October, and maybe this is just the way she's gonna go. Although I should be hearing soon about her bloodwork, the vet did not expect to find anything wrong and I guess I don't either...

 

[Tempest]

The vet got back to me today and said that Kraken looks pretty healthy. She said her diet was excellent, her weight is good and her bloodwork is generally fine, except for a bit of a high reading on fat in her liver. If Kraken hadn't been changing feather color, she would have passed it as normal, but since there are two factors, the slightly high reading and the loss of feather pigment, she thinks we should address it.

So, we are cutting down (but not out) some of the nuts in her diet, and will be adding a milk thistle/ ? supplement to her diet, and then check her again next year.