nhrh Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I started to notice that my baby grey (4months old CAG) has 2 bare patches on his neck and breast the one on the neck is quite visible the one on the breast is only visible when his feathers are wet. He is such a baby and i dunno if they would pluck at this age! at the same time it cant be a molt coz he's too young. In reference to the previous topic i posted about him screaming, he could have started plucking when he was frustrated and i didnt know that he needed a warm nutritous meal. I notice a lot of white fluffy feathers in the cage and even when he is preening a few come out but they dont look like they were plucked but then again im so new at this so i dunno. I called the pet store today and asked them what was his exact age because i thought that it might be a molt. He said that he is 4months or 4 and a half. One more thing he also started baby talk. i can hear him mumbling and making new sounds no words except for hello which i heard him say in a very cute low baby voice. Could he be older than i think he is?? If i take him to the vet could he/she tell me the exact age?? Please help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casper Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 What colour are his eyes? That is normally how to tell how old the baby could be. Are they still black? The small downy feathers you are finding in the cage are quite normal, dont worry about this. Have you found any larger feathers or is it only the small ones you are worried about? Try and post a picture if you can, it helps for us to see, we could also look at the babies eyes as well. They are normally black then will change to a silvery grey colour when they get to about 6-7 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casper Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 This is my baby Jasper, this picture was taken when he was about 6 months old, his eyes had just changed to the silvery colour. Hope the picture helps as a guide! Caroline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhrh Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 ok so his eyes are silver grey just like your baby's eyes! he isnt 4 months old after all so how come they told me so???!! i cant believe it... this is very strange.... Well,the feathers are all fluffy white ones no big feathers so it could probably be just a molt right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhrh Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 oops the pic was too large i will try and resize again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhrh Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 here it is <br><br>Post edited by: nhrh, at: 2008/12/11 12:05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casper Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 He could still be 4 months, its hard to say for sure though! If he is just losing the white fluffy feathers, greys can lose these all the time. My baby is always losing them and you will find them on the cage bottom or on the side of the cage. Greys normally start their first molt from about 8 months onwards, they are all different. My middle grey has just started his molt and he is 9 months. Sometimes they can molt for a few months others it can be a continuous molt. Its always worrying when you find feathers and you are unsure but the baby feathers are normal and I dont think you have anything to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane08 Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Here are some pictures of our little guy who was only 5 months when he first started his molt. http://www.greyforums.net/component/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,27/func,view/catid,5/id,44845/ As you can see he also had bald patches on the back of his neck which freaked me out. They got worse than that as well and I ended up calling him turkey neck. It did turn out to be a molt that went on for months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 All Greys lose white downy feathers if that is all your seeing is these feathwes I wouldn't worry to much. Most Greys don't start to pluck if they do start to pluck until they are at least a year or 2 old baby's will sometimes pull feathers but it usually isn't a permanent thing its usually just s short phase that the grow out of very quickly so don't worry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhrh Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Hello everyone thank you for your replies, i have been giving it some time to notice the changes and it seems like its a molt because everytime he fluffs his feathers or flutters his wings there is tiny little white feathers that spread all over. I also havent noticed any plucked grey feathers except for 2 small ones which i dunno if they have been plucked or fallen out. How long does a molt usually last? does he lose everything all together or its gradual? Jane & Caroline thanks for helping me with the pics Thanks, Noor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 The first molt is the biggest. Your baby will lose tons of those baby downy feathers and some of the smaller feathers like around his neck, head and chest. Around spring time he will probably start molting out large feathers medium in size and towards fall/winter he will molt out the secondaries and primaries. This is just a ball park though, they each molt a little differently depending on climate and if they are a CAG or a TAG. Mist the bottom of your cage pan before removing it for cleaning. It will keep all those downy feathers from flying all over your house. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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