urgent help

[tania]

HEY GUYS i need a little help. 2 questions to be answer
i have 2 ringnecks that are almost 8 months old they,ve got dirty feathers i dont know why however i`ve been keeping them and feeding them when they were 2 weeks old i didnt adobt them someone gave them to me OH but they`ve got dirty feathers why and 2 question my ringnecks(mishal and kili) were cliped when they were 3 months old do there wings and dirty feathers regrow plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me i am so afraid about it and i`ve tried to give them bath but no result its also winter any suggestion about winters bathe

 

[thekarens]

Bathe them inside the house and let them dry inside (assuming it's warm in the house)

 

[Kalidasa]

Yup just let them dry under a warm bright light if the house is drafty

 

[Betrisher]

Your ringnecks will eventually moult out the clippped feathers one by one and grow lovely new ones. Since they've been clipped so young, it might take them a while to learn to fly, but they will fly! You might need to teach them by offering treats so they have to fly short distances to get them. Just increase the distances and before long, your birds will be flying perfectly well.

My Alexandrines (related to ringnecks) will not allow me to put them in water. Instead, I have to shower them with a squirt bottle set to 'spray' (NOT 'jet'). Your birds should bathe at least once a week, but daily is better. Bathing not only keeps the bird clean, it also helps keep the skin moist and pliable and assists the feathers to grow out at moulting time.

Do you have access to a small cage? I'd put the birds in a little cage and shower them from above with a squirt bottle. In that way, they'll learn (eventually) to be wet and ought to come to like it. I found out by accident that my birds love being blow dried with hair blow dryer set on 'warm'. It takes just minutes to dry most of their feathers (never dry them to bone-dry - leave them a bit damp for preening) and is useful in winter when it's cold.

No bird should have dirty feathers. Do yours spend a lot of time on the floor of their cage? Or, are their perches arranged so they might poop on the lower ones? If so, move your perches around so the birds can't poop on any of them. That might fix the problem, although they still need a regular bath.

Please let us know how you get on! I hope your birds enjoy bathing for you and quickly learn to preen themselves well.