Normal feather for 1yo molt?

[charmedbyekkie]

Hi guys! Cairo has been dropping feathers like mad - every time he preened today, one green feather came out. So far they look fine - no barbering, no plucking, etc. Just some stress bars and damaged tips on his wing and tail feathers.

Now, his neck area is getting a bit bare. It's not showing his skin, but definitely the grey is showing through. And today I noticed one of his feathers from that area looks a bit off.

Is this a normal looking feather for his first big molt? I'm also surprised at how long his neck has been sparse (I thought mojo molts are for older ekkies). Is it a sign of mites or skin issues? He doesn't seem to be scratching that area more than any other - it just shows a lot of his grey roots.

 

[HEEDLESS]

Even though I have an Eclectus, but I can't help you...


I have never seen that grey looking color on Kise. I think Kise and Cairo are the same age.



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[noodles123]

I'm not an Eclectus owner (nor have I ever been) but as far as I know, but that particular feather looks normal. The tip of the feather shaft is rounded and not jagged, which is good. It looks like it came out cleanly and there is no blood...Molts are usually symmetrical and gradual (so as to preserve flight etc), but there can be hard molts in which more feathers are lost. That having been said, bald spots are usually a sign of feather destructive behavior or illness.

Is he over-preening or plucking? If you don't see him pulling them out and are still concerned, watch to see how they grow back in over the next few molts. If they re-grow with irregularities, then that is a cause for concern if it is getting worse over time and impacting more than one feather.

 

[Owlet]

normal I believe. Babies from what I've seen tend to have ugly baby feathers. Not uncommon for birds to look scruffy during a molt and maybe some down showing through. Honestly I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[ParrotGenie]

That feather looks normal to me.

If you have bare spot he could be over-preening or plucking?. We would have to see a picture, or you see him chewing a feather, or feather in mouth, is dead giveaway.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Nope, no overpreening or plucking - as an ekkie parront, I've been examining every feather that drops. For his neck, I know lately male ekkies are getting their Mojo molts younger and younger, so while I didn't expect to see it in his first big molt, I'm also not surprised if it is a Mojo molt.

I was just concerned about this feather because it's missing quite a bit of... barb (?) in the middle of the shaft area. I'm used to seeing parts missing where there were stress bars or where he was likely to have crash-landed during his fledgling time. But was a bit concern about this neck feather since he doesn't have any stress bars in that area and it wouldn't have been damaged from crash-landing.

But I do realise as babies they sometimes grow some wonky feathers (he's got some blue and red on his chest). So I guess it makes sense that maybe this grew in with some bare spots on the feather itself. Add in the Mojo molt and it just made me a bit concerned about the possibility of a skin problem.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Yup, looks like it's just a baby molt thing. I just saw signs of the new sprouts little green buds on his neck finally! It took them a couple of months to come in, but I'm so excited for his brand new feathers (even if they make him grumpy).

To other first-time parronts of young ekkies: don't panic.

 

[Anansi]

Looks like all is well, there. On the matter of Mojo molt, Bixby got it for his first molt, so definitely not just for older ekkies. You think Cairo has Mojo molt?

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Looks like all is well, there. On the matter of Mojo molt, Bixby got it for his first molt, so definitely not just for older ekkies. You think Cairo has Mojo molt?

This image I took a week ago kinda shows it:

It started with one small bald patch on the back-right side of his neck, then it started expanding. I was a bit concerned because there was no hint of any new growth there for about a month or two (he's our first bird, so I had no clue how long a molt might last for different types of feathers). He hadn't been scratching the area any more than usual and his skin looked fine, so I figured it might be ok despite no sign of pin feathers. I told myself we'd go see the vet about it if it started to affect him or if it went on longer than him molting his main body feathers.

Though the Mojo molts that I've seen images of online look to be more severe than his current state.

 

[picklesandjesse]

Yup, looks like it's just a baby molt thing. I just saw signs of the new sprouts little green buds on his neck finally! It took them a couple of months to come in, but I'm so excited for his brand new feathers (even if they make him grumpy).

To other first-time parronts of young ekkies: don't panic.

Sonny is just over 10 mths old. trying not to panic when it happens.