Amazon parrot feathers turning black

[Talon]

Good reminder! Thanks for the info.

[Jayd]

Renate, Talon and all the rest of you, Where's your pictures?

Hello, I thought I might mention a trait that Amazons are famous for "BAD ATTITUDE" [LOL] during mating season. All of us with youngsters don't have to worry for a while, they don't mature until sometime around 5 years to 12 years old. Some Amazons, especially males, become very hostile and territorial at this time. It's very important that we perch-train our birds so that if they become aggressive toward us during this stressful time, we have a way of safely handling them so we can clean and change their cages. Some owners leave the birds in their cages during this period. Please remember, if your bird is of this demeanor, it is NOT your fault. Be patient with them, they will be your little sweetheart again when season is over.

Remember the Golden Rules:

* Limit daylight hours to around 10 hours.

* No soft foods.

* Cut down on high-protein foods.

* Normal bathing with no increased or extra bathing or misting at this time.

* Limit touching to head and neck only.

* No hiding places that they might mistake for a nest.

Not all Amazons have this attitude and if they do, there may be varying degrees. Just bear with them, this too shall pass. As opposed to our Greys, you use verbal firmness in a direct approach and eye contact when correcting your Amazon and to set their limits. NO is a common word to use when working with your Amazon.

When Salsa gets too loud, Joey says curtly, "Salsa, BAD!" Lol :ohmy:

Renate, a karma for starting this post.....

 

Post edited by: Jayd, at: 2009/12/27 02:26<br><br>Post edited by: Jayd, at: 2009/12/27 02:40

[TPU]

Hello Sunybird,

 

Most likely you have a normal situation that occurs with all baby parrots, not just amazons.

 

When the feathers are growing so are the bones and the rest of the body so the integrity of the feathers is always poor on baby parrots.

 

If you take any baby parrot, especially as he nears the age of the first molt and apply some water to the feathers you will see that they soak up quite a bit of moisture compared to an adult of the same species. You need to compare species to species because parrots that are native to different environments have different amount of oil and water proofing.

 

On parrots with dark feathers it is much easier to see the poor quality. The surface of the feathers begin to wear off and if you look closely you will probably see little chips missing from the ends of the feathers. Tails on almost all babies show significant wear and tear. Part of the wear is due to the babies being hard on the feathers as they learn to move around and fly. Birds with clipped wings will look the worst because they crash land more often and are not able to balance as well.

 

If you check the new feathers coming in on the young bird you will see that they will absorb less water. They will also be more vibrant and longer. A significant amount of the increased length a parrot gets at about one year old is due to the new feathers growing longer because this time the bird is not growing his body at the same time. If you check the molting bird with a black light you will see just how much better quality the new feathers are.

There is very little you can do the preserve the quality of a babies feathers, so it is not worth trying.

 

You should never need to add vitamins to young parrots’ diet if you are feeding a high quality diet to begin with.

 

If this situation presents itself after the first molt there is likely a serious problem.

[Jayd]

WELCOME!!! Both to the "Amazon room" and

"grey forums". Karma to you and thank you for the informative post, hope there's more to come. Please tell us about your parrots and post some photos, we love them...

[Luvparrots]

All this great information about Amazons. I am loving learning about these little clowns. Thanks everyone!

[Jayd]

The post by "TPU" is really interesting, and helpful.

We all seem to worry when it concerns our feathered friends and try to do what we can at the time, "A ounce of prevention". The reason we would try to remedy a condition like this is to make sure it doesn't spread to the new healthy feathers.. Jay

[Jayd]

The vet name is Susan Clubb, her research into feather plucking/feather disorders have been extremely helpful. Nolbasan is the name ,of the animal product used, its for dogs, cats, horses etc, for our birds, it's mixed 1 to 10 with distilled water it's comes in gallon size which is expensive I contacted my vet and pharmacist, the informed me that Hibtane the same and could he used instead, just mix 1 to 10.

Of interest, over 50 percent of the non-professional photos of amazons on the net have some black feathers...[?]

[SunnyBird]

Hi!

 

I'm following up on this old post of mine with the happy news that my worries were groundless. Sunshine turned 1 year old on Sunday and has molted heavily three times since he's been with me (since the age of 4 months). This time around he's lost all his tail feathers (over a staggered period of about 2 months), just enough time to let the new ones grow in enough to give him flight control. He's also lost about 4 flight feathers so far, but most importantly, he's losing all those ugly black feathers he has on his shoulders. Looks like TPU was right and that the first feathers are not so strong. His new ones are all growing in beautifully. In this photo you will see new bright green feathers interspersed among the old worn blackish feathers.

 

 

I've posted more photos in the photography room if you are interested.

 

Cheers!

 

Renate and Sunshine

[Jayd]

That,s great, such a pretty baby......Thanks Jayd

[SunnyBird]

Thanks Jayd. I'm really glad that there was no health problem after all. I get so anxious, especially since we don't have real avian vets here in Greece. That is why I'm so glad to have found this forum and am able to communicate with people like you and others here who are willing and able to offer information and advice. Knowing that it may or may not have been a fungus, and just observing my bird very carefully, enabled me to be prepared to help should the need arise!