#feather loss

My frustration and anxiety about this has reached its limit.

I have two female ringneck doves, a white pied (Ambie), and a tangerine (Orion). I rescued both back in July 2015. They’ve bonded to one another, and are still together now. 

In November 2018, I began to notice Ambie losing feathers right below her beak/neck area. She’s had molts like that before, so I wasn’t concerned. Into the next year (2019), I noticed the patch growing bigger. Nothing was growing back, so I did some research, and read that the feathers sometimes take a while to grow back in. I gave it more time. 

What tipped me towards assuming something was wrong was when Ori started forming a bald spot on the back of her head. I reached out to their vet. And the vet said “it happens, and sometimes, there is no reason.” There were no bugs, or mites, and the fecal samples came back clear of parasites, ringworm was a primary concern. They never showed sickness symptoms, and were lively and well. 

I was frustrated with that answer, reluctant to believe there was simply “no reason”. So I reached out to another vet, in late 2019 who had known the birds well from when I first got them. Also, a specialist in columbidae... I was hopeful. They both had thorough examinations, fecal samples tested, and some extra nutritional supplements to potentially cover any essentials they weren’t getting enough of. 

Tests? Negative. Examination? Nothing noteworthy. Overall? Happy, healthy, pest free, parasite free, but getting more patchy. Ori’s head patch has grown, and Ambie’s neck patch has remained at large with little to no signs of regrowth. The vet didn’t seem terribly concerned, since they were doing just fine otherwise. But I mean... my birds are balding.......

Time to seek specialist number three! July 2019, I sent a message to the Ramsey Loft (theramseyloft(dot)tumblr(dot)com.) She’s wonderful. But even she wasn’t sure what it could possibly be, mentioning she hadn’t had experience with something of that sort.

She was the last one I mentioned it to. I was too frustrated to see or ask anyone else, and just gave up. They flap and fly, and perch, eat, drink, run around, take naps... there is just NOTHING out of the ordinary aside from the patches! 

So, I had a new thought... They’d been patch free three years into living together... it started so late. But what if they are over preening? Or plucking one another?

Ori always preens around Ambie’s neck, and Ambie always preen around Ori’s head. 

I started putting that in my head as the justification as to why they are looking the way they are. And I sat with it for a good while, a good year.

But I just let them out, watched them relax, and just... lost it. I’m losing my mind.

I started thinking about their ages. Ambie is about six now, and Orion maybe around eight. But even that research didn’t come up with feather loss being a thing in aging doves. I just... am running out of personal options, before I go to another vet.

They say don’t ask the internet for opinions. I’m just so tired of re-reading the same articles that say “it’s a molt!” “cocks pluck hens sometimes!” “parasites, or mites!” No. It’s not any of that! And I have tried separating them already, and all they did was panic when they couldn’t see each other. I can’t do that to them, they’re getting too old for that kind of stress.

So, Tumblr... anyone who may be able to give me another possibility that hasn’t crossed my mind... can you please tell me what I’m missing? There are no mites, no bugs, no parasites, no signs of illness. They have hard-shelled eggs, good droppings, high energy, alertness, and a good appetite.

This was April 2018.

This is Ori just this evening, March 2021.

This is Ambie, March 2021.

Our hens have been losing feathers. At first, we thought it was just molting, but after a little research, we discovered the truth: our roosters were overzealous. Overbred, to be exact. Now, don’t get me wrong—our roosters are total sweethearts. I couldn’t bring myself to cull them—they didn’t deserve that. So instead, I convinced Ryan to build them their very own bachelor pad. He got creative.…

Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a viral disease affecting all Old World and New World parrots. It attacks the feather follicles and the beak and claw matrices of the bird, causing progressive feather, claw and beak malformation and necrosis. In later stages of the disease, feather shaft constriction occurs, hampering development until eventually all feather growth stops. Cracking and peeling of the outer layers of the claws and beak make tissues vulnerable to secondary infection. Immunosuppression also occurs and the bird becomes more vulnerable to secondary infections. Beak fractures and necrosis of the hard palate can prevent the bird from eating. It occurs in both an acutely fatal form and a chronic form.

My mother in law is passionate about penguins. She has a large collection of plush and decorative tuxedo-wearing birds. I don’t think any of them are wearing a wetsuit. Along the years I have learned a few facts here and there but I mostly thought they were cute and enjoy watching these flightless birds. Penguin’s feathers aren’t for flying; they are to keep them warm in cold weather and water.…

(2) it’s literally all skin with no feather growth or anything. I don’t know how this came about as he couldn’t have possibly done this to himself due to placement and I don’t think he’ll ever grow the feathers back either. Any advice? Thanks <3

Moulting can appear to be just skin with no feathers coming in for a little while, kind of like how when losing a tooth the new tooth doesn’t show up through the gums right away.  If it’s moulted the patch should be fairly symmetrical but it can be hard to tell sometimes.

There’s a few things it could be, it’s possible his siblings or parents plucked the back of  his head, when birds’ feathers are ripped out too frequently they can just stop growing back.  He also could have lost his feathers by getting them stuck in something, getting in to a fight, or excessively rubbing his head on something.  It could also be random feather loss which is typically a bad sign for a variety of illnesses and diseases.

I would consult an avian veterinarian to ensure this isn’t the start of pbfd or other serious health concerns which often don’t display other symptoms until the illness is too far along.

When birds molt they are removing any damaged or old feathers. It is healthy to be losing feathers all throughout the year as to maintain good health.

Along with their main yearly molts where the hormone levels are high and they need to attract mates with their new feathers. Baby birds will also go through a different molt where they rid of their baby feathers and grow in adult ones.

If your cockatiel were to be losing huge amounts of feathers randomly then I would become concerned. What you are deacribing sounds conpletely normal to me.

however I do not have personal experience with many cockatiels anyone with cockatiel experience want to add?

It sounds like your hen might be going through a "hard molt", as is talked about here. And because she is separated, I figure the best you can do is try to work with her food:

For hens going through hard molts, it might be helpful to amp up the protein in their feed to 20 or 22 percent. If you’re mixing your own feed, you can do this by adding more servings of high-protein grains and seeds, like triticale and sesame. Legumes like split peas and lentils are also excellent sources of protein, and can be served cooked for a hot treat on a cold day.