molting or something else?

[marceldacs]

My almost 1 year old green cheek's chest is unusual. It is grey and it looks like it is just down. There aren't really any real feathers. Ive noticed this for about a week or so. Is there anything wrong??

 

[riddick07]

Can you post pictures so we can see?

What area do you live in? If it is cold and you have the heat on making the air dry he could be plucking his chest feathers out of irritation from the dry air.

 

[marceldacs]

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a picture. you can see some grey on his chest. its his down feather. I don't really see pieces of feathers on the ground.

 

[Frumpydumple]

If you see no feathers on the ground then he is chewing them, not plucking them.

 

[marceldacs]

yeah i think he is chewing them. What does this mean? how bad is this? Will it stop? is the solution just to get a bunch of toys?

 

[Frumpydumple]

Check these out. Treating and Preventing Feather Picking The Complexity and Frustration of Pet Bird Feather Picking

 

[MonicaMc]

More bathes. A change in diet. Full spectrum lighting. More bathes. Foraging opportunities. Trick training. More toys. More foraging opportunities. Have I mentioned bathes?


Birds typically don't pluck when they are soaking wet and if his feathers are bothering him, it may help to give him more frequent bathes.

If he's not on a healthy diet, it could lead to dry, itchy skin. A healthy diet may help that.

Foraging is a great way to keep a bird busy. Birds don't have food bowls out in the wild. They have to forage for their food and it can take hours to get enough food to satisfy them until the next time they go out to eat. Our pet birds can spend 5 minutes at the food dish and be done. They are now finished eating for a bit, so what are they supposed to do next?


Is your conure flighted? Flying could also be another great way to stimulate your bird! Teach him to fly to various stations around the house, then recall him back to you!