Missing Belly Feathers

[Meesha]

I have a parrotlette. About a year ago I changed it's seeds and it's feathers got all messy looking and his beak grew excessively long. I thought that maybe it was allergic to the seeds and changed back to what I was originally feeding him, but nothing changed. I do also feed him fresh veggies, fruit, egg, etc on a daily basis. I took him to the vet and she said the birds should not be given seeds (never heard of that before) and that I should give him only pellets, protein and the fresh fruits and vegetables I was originally giving him. His feathers started looking a bit better, but they never went back to what they were. Over the last week I have noticed it has started up again, and now there are no feathers left on his belly. He is still acting the same. He is playful and still talks and sings. Does anyone have any ideas of what might be going on? I don't feel like the vet I took him too had much experience, and she is the only Avian vet in my area.

 

[Loko]

Feeding a bird seeds only is like feeding a human the fattiest mcdonalds food items all day. A bird on an all seed diet will probably die way before it should from heart disease or fatty liver, or whatever else complications. Pellrts, veggies, fruit, and some proteins is a good diet. I use seeds as a very special treat only - some species need more than others but for you just use as a treat or very little (tsp).
He could be plucking his feathers. Bad feather quality is a aign of poor diet, like all seeds, but the change to pellets and veggies should eventually fix this. If theres no feathers on his belly, he may be plucking - are you giving him enough love, care, attention, out of cage time? Something else could be going on if it is not behavioral, like skin issues. Could yyou post a picture?

 

[EllenD]

Meesha pretty much said it all! After many decades of research done in the field of avian diets in captivity, it's been well established that feeding a seed-only diet to a pet parrot will drastically shorten the bird's life for a number of reasons, and will also cause many health issues that manifest themselves in the outward appearance of the bird. The days of going out and buying a big bag of "Cockatiel Food" or "Large Hookbill Food" that consists of a bunch of different types of seeds with small amounts of other fillers is over, or should be.

How old is your Parrotlet? And how long have you had him, his entire life, or has he lived with other families? The reason I ask is that an overgrown beak (especially in a bird as small as a Parrotlet) is very indicative of fatty liver disease. The progression of fatty liver disease can be stopped by a diet change, but he needs to see an experienced avian vet that knows how to treat the damage that is already done. It's the same situation with his feathers, this is very indicative of a bad diet and malnutrition, and can be stopped and reversed to a point, unless he is plucking and has damaged his follicles. Have you ever seen him plucking? If he is plucking it could be because he is sick and malnourished, i.e. a physical problem, or it could be because of an emotional issue such as a traumatic incident, moving and changing environments, changing owners, etc.

Again, it would be useful to know your bird's age and background, and you definitely want to do a lot of research online about a proper diet for a Parrotlet. There is ample information not only in forums like this one (the best one in my opinion) but also on many websites that actually have tons of recipes for bird mash, chops, salads, etc. The basic skeleton to a captive bird's diet is the same between breeds, and consists of a percentage of pellets, fresh veggies, fresh fruit, whole grains, nuts, and then seeds as a treat. However, keep in mind that this is only a general outline for all captive birds and each individual species has their own unique requirements. I'm not very familiar with parrotlets and have never owned one or cooked for one, so I can't help much with that.

I think the bottom line here is that you need to find an experienced avian vet, hopefully a certified avian vet, though an avian qualified vet can be very good as well depending on how much experience they have. It sounds like the vet you saw I'd not familiar with what is going on with your bird except that it's diet related. That being said, I would find a new vet asap and give them a call to set up a full intake exam with fecal smears, blood work, and possibly even x-rays. This will give your avian vet a pretty inclusive picture of what's going on and how to treat him.

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[GaleriaGila]

Please heed the good advice and change to a better diet. It wasn't hard, with my bird, at least. I feed Harrison's pellets, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 30-ish years ago, Harrison's was still a small company. My vet was actually able to talk to Dr. Harrison about my bird's species and status, and they decided on the High Potency. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff. My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic.