Hello From Lincolnshire

Unicornprincess

Regular Member
Hello Everyone
My names Diane and we have recently acquired our first parrot,an Amazonian called Tiago.We got him in August and I read up everything I could on care and cages etc before hand but I'm still learning daily.. He's a lovely boy who chats away happily,whistling and asking for "Tiago kisses" and cookies! He's not had his wings clipped so is able to fly freely around the house which he does and negotiates doors and corners very well! He's very slightly obsessed with my hubby and son and likes nothing more than to be sittling on my hubbys shoulder whilst he's cooking on working on the computer and sometimes walks down his arm to watch the screen and tap the keys!
He's got a lovely big open top cage in our lounge and is out most of the time apart from a few hrs in the morning if we are are at work.Ive got him lots of toys for play and foraging in his cage which I rotate regularly for him.Hes not a great forager though
He's eating well and preens himself a lot.Which leads me on to a question I hope you knowledgeable owners can help me with? How long do they moult for as he's lost nearly all of his chest feathers?There are no bald down to the skin patches just all soft grey down...should I be worried or is this moult normal? As you can see from the photos he's not losing any back feathers just the front ones.Ive read so much on this on the web regarding stress etc? But he's not actual pulling all the feathers out just preening all little white Downey bits.Hes eating normally and is happy...should I be concerned...
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Hi Diane and :welcome: to the forum....ooo another lovely Ammie :) he sounds like great company.

Well that does look a bit of an unusual moulting pattern.
A few questions for you, as the answers will help us understand what might be going on.

How old is Tiago, and is he DNA sexed as a male?
What sort of diet is he feed, and do you use a vitamin supplement?
Does he have regular baths /showers?
Does he have an Avian lamp, or does he get to spend anytime outside in sunshine?
Do you have a specialist Avian vet?
Has he been Health checked?
 
Hello
Ok well he's 3 yrs old and yes he has papers and has been sexed..He is very very fussy eater..I feed him the Amazon Parrot food and he has apple daily plus other treats He has a spoonful of parrot palm fruit extract with a bit of peanut butter mixed in it as that's what his last owners told us he liked.I don't give him an extra supplement,and we try to mist him every other day with water or I have some parrotmistst spray that smells like baby powder but he doesn't like being sprayed!
I've not t taken him to a vet as I don't think we have an avian vet near us...No he doesn't go outside in the cage but he is in front of our lounge window and no I haven't a lamp..sorry to sound thick what's one of those?
 
My ammie Tommy and all my parrots do have neutrobol vitamin once or twice a week sprinkled on their dish of fruit & veg. In fact Tommy loves sugar snap peas, grapes corn on the cob, pomegranate and so on so they all have a dish with a variety of fruits & veg in daily, what gets left goes out for the wild birds. Perhaps you can encourage him to eat more than apple?

Do you ever see him nibbling at those chest feathers?
 
Here's a link to the sort of lighting I'm talking about
http://www.northernparrots.com/parrot-and-bird-lights-dept168/

They are specialist bulbs which deliver the correct levels of UVA and UVB for birds, similar as to that they would receive in the shade outside. This helps general health and feather condition. He won't be getting them through window glass as it stops the UV.

Ammies especially need a good source of beta-carotene/Vitamin A - found in things like sweet potato, red pepper, carrot, cantaloupe melon, mango. Try introducing some of them, and feed first thing in the morning when at their most hungry, before he has his dry food.
Is his dry food a seed mix or pellet..and what brand?

Diana has pointed out some other good veggies to try too, and also a pinch of Nutrobal or similar supplement, will also help boost up the vitamins & minerals. It's good that he is having palm fruit extract as that is good for beak and feather condition, however I would ease off and not give peanut butter so often because of the high fat content.
 
Ok I'll have to try him on some different veggies and fruit,I've tried him on bits before but he's not interested Where will I get these vitamins from?
 
My ammie Tommy and all my parrots do have neutrobol vitamin once or twice a week sprinkled on their dish of fruit & veg. In fact Tommy loves sugar snap peas, grapes corn on the cob, pomegranate and so on so they all have a dish with a variety of fruits & veg in daily, what gets left goes out for the wild birds. Perhaps you can encourage him to eat more than apple?

Do you ever see him nibbling at those chest feathers?
And yes sometimes whilst he's preening himself Diana
 
it is quite common for a Orange wing to pull out its chest feathers leaving the down grey feathers its not a moult my Charlie has often done this I have had all checks done and he is fully fit. I have come across other amazons that do the same. i have three OWA's and its only Charlie that will do this
 
:welcome: Diane and Tiago! Tiago is gorgeous - I have a soft spot for Orange-wings. Tiago is definitely engaging in feather destructive behaviour. First port of call is usually to an avian vet to rule out any physical problem. Keep persevering with brightly coloured beta carotene (precursor to Vit A) rich fruit and veggies. I see he's got a couple of unusual yellow feathers on the back of his neck. Ollie my Orange-wing has one yellow feather in his wing. Since it could be an indication of a liver problem I was hoping as Ollie began eating better it would disappear, but it's still there 6+ years later despite healthy eating, so I am assuming it's a quirk he was hatched with. Just something to be aware of.
 
Hi Diane, well it sounds like you have a wonderful natured bird there with Ammie and he's lovely! I agree with the other respondents - he is feather plucking and unfortunately it is frequently habitual (not unlike us biting our nails and indeed may be hereditary again like us - no one really know), that said it is not great visually and no owner wants to see their bird plucking. The UV lamp is a great idea and may help, a Sock Buddy worn for a few months may also break the habit as with it on he won't be able to pluck, but as the amount of feather loss is small this is probably overkill. How wet do you get him? Spraying every other day is great (or showering with him which is what Blue and I do for 12 - 14 minutes a day usually) but the key here is they get drenched, really drenched!! Not only does it quieten them down for a few hours :) but the idea is to completely get rid of any dust around them as this is an irritant to them (and us) - dust is often overlooked with Parrots as pests and it's bad news for everyone really. On another note, how often do you get to clean/hoover his cage/room and how moist is the house/his room? All these creatures (even if captive bred like yours and mine), still love a bit of humidity, the drenching above works wonders, but we also use Kiln dried sand at the bottom of Blue's cage (without a grate), and so after his shower he'll sit and drip into it making a nice moist environment above and below which sometimes he plays in :) We don't change the sand daily (too expensive - the 7ft cage uses half a sack of sand filled to abount 1" deep) and we use a dedicated Vegetable Collander to sift it each morning when he's in the Kitchen (wearing Goggles and a face mask) and then change it once a week or so. It's worked really well at every level but particularly at soaking up (and retaining) water and humidity - it's also quite natural as a base (see image) and getting rid of the grate such an improvement visually! Just a thought. Finally, is Ammie on his own much? He's at an age to breed now and if he's not going to have a little buddy is going to expect pretty much continuous people/entertainment around him! I work from home, so Blue is seldom alone and obviously he comes with me (it's non optional - can't leave the room without him attached :)) wherever I go from the toilet (very tricky) :) to the shower to the Kitchen and Lounge . . only the bedroom (well actually under the bed covers to be precise) is reserved solely for my wife and I :) however I must say on occasions he's even managed to get in the bed!! Crackers really but great fun. But really I suppose the main contribution I'd like to make is: Moist air, moist environment and exceedingly soggy Parrot - drenched is the word! God Bless
 

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Hello and welcome :welcome:, great you joined us.

From what I know Avian Vets are thin on the ground in Lincs unfortunately. You will probably have to check out your nearest neighbouring county. Just a word of caution with your open top cage, is it one that has a perch to keep it open? If it is this type please be extremely careful as there have been injuries caused from this collapsing.:)
 
Hello and welcome :welcome:, great you joined us.

From what I know Avian Vets are thin on the ground in Lincs unfortunately. You will probably have to check out your nearest neighbouring county. Just a word of caution with your open top cage, is it one that has a perch to keep it open? If it is this type please be extremely careful as there have been injuries caused from this collapsing.:)
Hi, probably your best vet in the area is Sarah from Animates - she specializes in Parrots and is good (if pricey), make sure you book an appointment though. Their number is: (017784) 420426 http://www.animates.org.uk/ Blue's been there once :) but nothing too serious God bless
 
Thankyou all so much for making me and Tiago so welcome! I will certainly take on board a lot of your advice..just an update,I managed to whatsapp Tiagos previous owner who has now moved out to Saudi...I told him everything as he had Tiago from a youngster plus a cockatoo called Lily who use to pluck Tiagos head feathers!! But ....apparently it is a moult! Tiago did exactly the same thing last year and looked the same and all feathers grew back beautifully! He sent me a picture of him with Lily last year and looks nearly identical as he does now bless him
As you can see in the first pic which was taken September 18th with feathers this year then the one he sent me...
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Sounds like that's Tiago's pattern then....our Red Lored used to drop all the feathers in a wing...and all his tail at the same time. It's great that you could liaise with his previous owner :thumbsup:
 
Well that is good news, and I bet you are relieved to have found that out.
 
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