I know that all birds molt but are they supposed to loose this many?? She looses a little over 15 feathers a day practically...I dont see any bare spots but could she be plucking? What should I do?
Answers:
Well, it sounds like she's just preening herself; some birds like to be cleaner than others! But, if it isn't preening, you had better make sure that your bird has plenty of things in her cage to keep her mentally stimulated like brightly colored toys and different perches. You should probably give her a small bath to help her finish molting if that's what she's going through, and make sure that she has enough essential vitamins in her daily diet. Watch her carefully; make a point of giving her her time of alloted affection - I don't think that she's doing anything really serious to herself, but just watch and do some of those simple things to ensure that she really is just molting. Good luck with your birdie!
Ahhh!!! Spring and summer and love and molting are in the air!!! Yes, it's normal. Cockatiels have what is called a "constant" molt. They are constantly growing new feathers, hence, constantly lose feathers. Unless you see her pulling them out or notice bald spots you have nothing to worry about. To make your little girl happy though, she will need you to help her out with those pesky back of the neck feathers (unless she has a feathered friend to do it). When you go to scratch or rub her neck, use two fingers (thumb and first work for us) and if you feel a new feather (pin) gently rub it between your thumb and finger and it will pfftt! break open. If you see her scratching her neck alot with with her foot, that is what she is trying to do-break the keratin off those new feathers. Be careful though. If you hit on the wrong way or it's not ready to open, she will screech at you and try to nip you. Her way of letting you that it HURTS. Good luck. Oh, and if you want to know what to do with all those lovely feathers, go to www.kentuckianafeatheredfriend... and read aobut our feather distribution project!
Spray her with a spray bottle held up over the body and let the water drift down onto her. This should give her some relief.
Make sure she is actually eating a healthy avain diet and gets clean and cool ( not cold) water several times daily in hot weather.
Watch her and you will know if, or not she's plucking.
if you are getting warmer weather its most likely just the molting.If you think its more than that it is probably bored so put some toys in the cage and change them often.Also cockatiels like to stay very clean so place a dish of water in the bottom of the cage so it can bathe.I take my cage out side and give a misting over the birds in warm weather they love it.If all this fails to help you might need to go to the vet and buy a spray that kills any parasites it might have which also could be a reason for plucking out its feathers.Try to google feather loss in cockatiels and see what comes up as well.
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