molting or ill?

[bllivingston]

Please help! We have six lovebirds. We have two large cages with three birds in each - in the same room. One bird (a male) in a cage with his mate and his sister, has lost the feathers feathers on his back. We haven't seen any other bird picking on him (they scream when they fight), and he doesn't seem to be distressed. But, he's lost a lot of feathers on a fairly large patch on his back. He's eating, drinking. Could he be molting? What does it look like when they molt? I really just noticed this today (and I feed them every morning and clean their water bowls). I'm trying to upload a picture showing what he looks like.

 

[Ann333]

When birds are molting they don't lose patches of feathers like what you have described. Watch closely to see if anyone is in fact plucking his feathers or it could be him plucking his own feathers. Either way a vet visit is a good idea.

 

[bllivingston]

Thanks, Pumpkin. I'm keeping a close watch on him. No one is "picking" on him. There's no blood. Just a large patch of missing feathers. He seems to be doing it to himself. I'll take him in to the vet on Monday. The other five birds are fine. Could he be trying to pull out fathers for nesting materials? He is part of a male/female bonded pair. I have no nesting box in the cage (I don't really want more birds). The birds have toys to chew and shred. But I don't give them paper. They're all happy, chirpy, loud birds and this is totally new.

 

[Ann333]

Sorry, I'm not sure about bonded pairs or nesting behavior. But I can't think plucking like that is normal either way. Hopefully a more experienced member or the vet can give you more thorough answers.