New to Board

lechevar · 05-20-2003, 10:17 AM

Hi, I'm new to the list. I have a question I hope you can help me with. I have been out of town for about a week for a family emergency. My husband and kids have been taking care of my birds. Mike about 3 years has a balding spot above his cerce. About the width of a pencil.. It looks like every other feather is out. He looks like Albert Einstein on a bad hair day. Does anyone know where I should start in finding the problem? He doesn't look like he is in pain or anything. Thanks for any help you can give me. I've never seen him look like this before.

Laura E

**lilangel5682** · 05-21-2003, 11:57 AM

Wow~! The exact same thing happened to me the other day. I was away from home, just coming in to check on the budgies, and my female has a balding spot above her cere. It is growing back now but she has been a bit sick otherwise unfortunately.

**Duddles** · 05-22-2003, 03:06 AM

Hi lechevar.

Welcome to the board.

lilangel describes a similar problem with her budgie. Here are the links.

pub98.ezboard.com/fthecoc...=163.topic

pub98.ezboard.com/fthecoc...=161.topic

I have heard of birds rubbing off the feathers above the cere, although I have never seen it happen myself, so I'm not sure how common it is. They hang onto the side of the cage, with their beak holding onto one bar, so that the area above the cere rests on the next bar up (above the one the beak is holding onto). They they rub the area by moving their head back and forth along the bar of the cage. This causes their feathers to be rubbed away. That being said, I have no idea if this is what is happening with your bird. I don't know what causes it, and therefore I can't tell you if it is cause for concern. If I had to guess, I would say that it was either caused by parasites (in which case they woudl need an avian vet ASAP), or possibly some cleaning poroduct or other chemical that has irritated their skin. But those are just my guesses, so don't take my word for it. Maybe someone else can shed some light on this. In the meantime, I would suggest that you call an avian vet and ask for their advice - see if they can tell you what can cause this, and whether or not your bird might be in trouble. Here's a link to help you find one if you don't have one already.
www.aav.org/activemembers.html

Watch your little one carefully for signs of illness. Watch for fluffed up feathers, runny or abnormal poop, a change in eating habits. Does your bird have a mate that could be pulling out these feathers? If so, watch to see if this is the case.

Let us know how it turns out. I hope everything gets sorted out.

**Pootspete** · 05-22-2003, 03:16 AM

Hi there lechevar and welcome to Tailfeathers!

ping

Moondust482 · 05-22-2003, 03:17 AM

Thanks for the heads up on the avian vet. She seems fine. She does have a mate. Sometimes they fuss, but I think it's more over food and behavior than anything. But for the most part they are very much in love and bonded. I'll keep a closer eye on them to make sure my male isn't pulling the feathers out.

Laura