Help LuLu looks awful!

[kathysmith38]

I am going through a lot of torture with LuLu. I think she is molting but not positive. She has bald spots around her neck and there are downy type feathers all over the house. I would find her pulling her feathers but all she gets is downy looking feathers not the whole thing and it had me so alarmed, I felt like I was failing her completely and had resolved myself to finding her a new home since she seemed to be unhappy here. I was misting her last week and became even more alarmed when I noticed that her entire body under the wings was almost completely gone and then a couple of days later the feathers covering her little legs were nearly bare. I had no idea what the heck was going on. Well Saturday was her long bath day and I notice that she had these dark needles everywhere around her neck where the bald spots are. Then I was running the shower spray under her feathers and notice that there were more little white needles starting to protrude through her skin. I thought at first she had plucked her entire back bald but then I researched it online and I will be darned if it doesn't appear like photos of molting! I still see where she was over agressive in her preening and has mutilated so many of her feathers but from what I read it isn't uncommon for them to be over agressive with their first molt. She is destroying all her toys on a weekly basis so I have started trying to purchase a few cheaper toys and even a feather duster to see if it helps. I rushed out today and bought her a gallon of aloe vera juice to start bathing & misting her with it. I even ran out to buy her a humidifier in case that is an issue. Tonight she ate like she was starving, she ate a good 4-6 oz.s if veggies and egg and she is finishing at least 1-2 cups of her pellets daily with red palm oil so I think this is all part of molting. I really need advice. I would take LuLu to the vet but I am still without a job and the cardiologist has now advised me that I am going to have to have pacemaker surgery soon. I am stilling trying to pay off all the darn test it took to come to the conclusion that the pacemaker is absolutely necessary. I am so nervous, right now LuLu looks a fright (all bald around her neck and looking like goosebumps under her wings!

I hate the idea of giving up LuLu because I love her more than I ever imagined possible but what do I do now? Advice is appreciated.

I have attached rather bad photos of the little needle feathers on LuLu's neck. The look like little black shoots with the feathers starting to protrude through the tips. The same under her wings but they aren't as bald because I don't think she reaches them as much. Also the feathers starting to come through on her neck are much darker than the feathers she presently has. LuLu is 8 months old and we live in South Texas were the winter has been unseasonably warm.

[kathysmith38]

This is the second photo of LuLu

[kathysmith38]

I should clarify that LuLu was not bald but rather thinned out under her wings. You couldn't see her skin under the wings rather just very fine feathers. She definitely has more feathers there then she did just a couple of weeks ago but that is what makes the needles so visible now!

[MazyAK]

kathysmith38: the pictures are really helpful and from the first on it looks like a normal molt with new pin feathers coming in. The second photo is a bit hard to see, but there does appear to be a bald spot which to me may or may not be a bit more than molting. It seems to me if Lulu was plucking she would be showing more balding spots in other areas. This isn't to say she isn't plucking but I'd say more of a molt. Has anything changed in her or your life lately? New people , scary ordeals? etc. etc. Her appetite seems great as well as her desire to chew up every toy in sight. These are all healthy behaviors. She may be eating a little more during molt. Also new pin feathers can really irritate some birds so it's like a mosquito bite to us. they're hard to stop scratching until it goes away. Let us know about any changes.

Bruce & Mazy

PS keep the toys coming and you can say money by making them yourself for almost nothing and usually from items just laying around your home.

Good Luck

Bruce & Mazy

[lovemyGreys]

Kathy i tend to agree with MazyAK from the photos it does look like a molt as opposed to plucking.The new pin feathers are definitely coming through.With the first molt it tends to be a big one with a large amount of downy feathers lost , subsequently future molts are in general no where as bad as a greys first.Just keep an eye on the little patch on her neck as it does appear a little bald.Frequent misting with the aloe vera will help her.

[Tari]

When was the last check up with an avian vet? Just to be safe I would make an appointment for a regular check up since your concerned and pictures don't always tell the whole story. A normal molt does not leave bare spots.<br><br>Post edited by: Tari, at: 2008/01/16 10:51

[danmcq]

Hello Kathy,

 

You are certainly going through a trial with the tests, surgery necessary and no employment. Then to top it off your now worried about Lulu. I feel for you and you hang in there and don't give up on Lulu, as it sounds like you have no intention of doing so.

 

You have taken all the right steps with the Aloe, Red Palm Oil and frequent mistings. It will help in alleviating the discomfort Lulu is feeling from all those little pin feathers coming in and dry skin.

 

The way she is eating, tearing up toys etc. sounds like she has plenty to do and is not bored.

 

Just keep up the good care you have been providing and Lulu should do just fine. Keep an eye on her as you have been, but don't let it stress you out and cause you arrhythmia problems, which is why I assume you need a pace-maker.

 

Take care and don't be a stranger. There is always someone here online for you to talk to and a ton of knowledge with all the combined owners here.

[Jane08]

Really, a normal molt does not leave bare spots. I am sure our bird just molted and the back of his neck had a completely bald spot just like the photo of lulu shows in the 2nd picture. We made sure we misted/bathed him alot and I rubbed aloe gel on it. Now the feathers are growing back no problem.

[judygram]

It looks like a molt to me too but the bare spots are a concern but the aloe vera juice should help, give her a bath twice a week with it.

 

Please don't give Lulu up, I know you love her and that love is returned even though she may appear that it isn't and I understand money is a problem now but I find that life has a way of working out for the best and I feel that you should not give up on her, not now you need her as much as she needs you.

 

Keep us informed Kathy and let us hear from you more often.

[kathysmith38]

Ok so today LuLu's neck looks a little better. She still seems to have mutilated a few of the feathers as they are ragged on the edges. I ran out today and purchased another cage for my home office so she can be in the same room with me even when I am upstairs and of course she got a new toy and a peacock feather to tear up. Now she has a large macaw cage for outdoors, a medium size one for the family room downstairs, a playstand in the kitchen and a sleeping cage for my upstairs home office. I think Little LuLu may be a little spoiled!

We haved tried just about every pellet available on the market but the only one she likes is the Pretty Bird Species Specific African formula. We put a little red palm oil in there and mix it up and we warm all her veggies with the red palm as well.

Her personality is so silly. This morning I took her into the shower with me and she just kept talking to herself in the shower mirror! She kept saying "Hiya Baby!" When we were drying up, I said "Brrr Baby" and she started in on "Brr Baby."

I looked her over again while I was drying her and there are so many little needles all over her...I feel so sorry for her. No wonder she was being such a grump!

I was going to say that the last time she was at the vet was 4 months ago when I first purchased her.

When I first purchased LuLu I was cautioned not to spend over amounts of time if I wasn't going to be able to be consistent on the together time so she wouldn't develop seperation anxiety. I have been cautious to spend some time together at breakfast, lunch and dinner and then to spend about another 2 hours in the evening just having playtime or cuddletime. Then I put LuLu in her cage and say prayers with her before I cover her cage. Lately with all the doctors appoointments and test I feel as though I haven't had that amount of time available so I am concerned that she may feel neglected. She is spending about 3+ hours out of her cage and the time inside her cage is spent with a new toy weekly and either the tv or radio on with me and the kids in the room. Outdoor time is spent about 4 hours on Saturdays and Sundays while I clean her playstand and cage and have breakfast & lunch on the patio with LuLu, weather permitting. Whenever I walk in the door from the doctor she starts in on "Uhoh Momma's home!" I feel so exhausted that I lay down on the sofa next to her cage, but I end up telling her that"Momma's tired, we will play after nap LuLu." I would love to have her cuddle up with me for nap but I am so petrified that someone will forget and let the dogs in with LuLu loose!

She is still acting like her silly self. She is even playing batman more often but she isn't talking as much as she was just before the holidays. Silly sounds yes but words are a bit more limited and now the tattered feathers. I know that alot of the feather issues are molting but what do I do about the ones she has tattered? Has anyone tried the "Pluck No More"? I have a friend with a Conure that said she has had great success with it and I am considering buying it at least once for a try. Anything that makes LuLu happy makes me happy!

[judygram]

You hang in there Kathy, it will all work out for the best and I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

[RadarHayes]

Sorry to hear your dilema..but your plight sounds familiar. I think birds are like children and we don't give em enough credit when it comes to whats going on around them. My dad's bird JoJo started making bald patches on her back and neck when he got sick. Everything else was normal, eating, talking, playtime. Yet, we think she was concerned and worried about him. As he got better so did she. I would take it as a sign that your lil LuLu loves you and is very i n tune with whats going on. Hang in there.