Posted May 31, 200717 yr Just a couple of questions about my new little one. He is beginning to like to be scratched by my finger and is regurgitating on me, which i believe is a compliment! My questions are related to his feathers, he seems to be missing a whole ring of feathers around his neck and still looks like baby skin showing through, is this normal for 8-9 weeks of age and how long will he take to fill out? The other question is when will the stripes on his head turn to white? (they are pretty much all the way up to his cere.) Another question is I have a toy with all sorts of different things for the beak and a bell, it also has knotted rope at the end, I have read that this can be dangerous as birds can digest it. Should I remove this toy or do you think it is safe? Billy doesnt chew it, he just climbs on it.Last one, should I be introducing pellets and what brand do you recommend? Sorry about all the questions, I have never owned a baby so young, so this is new to me, hope to hear from you soon. Sharyn :ausb:
May 31, 200717 yr Just a couple of questions about my new little one. He is beginning to like to be scratched by my finger and is regurgitating on me, which i believe is a compliment! My questions are related to his feathers, he seems to be missing a whole ring of feathers around his neck and still looks like baby skin showing through, is this normal for 8-9 weeks of age and how long will he take to fill out? The other question is when will the stripes on his head turn to white? (they are pretty much all the way up to his cere.) Another question is I have a toy with all sorts of different things for the beak and a bell, it also has knotted rope at the end, I have read that this can be dangerous as birds can digest it. Should I remove this toy or do you think it is safe? Billy doesnt chew it, he just climbs on it.Last one, should I be introducing pellets and what brand do you recommend? Sorry about all the questions, I have never owned a baby so young, so this is new to me, hope to hear from you soon. Sharyn My Budgie Love Me - Great Article to click on from BBC FAQ's If he is this young his feathers may yes still be coming in. Just make sure that he is adding more feathers and not loosing too many at this age if he really is 8-9 wks then it is too early for a molt and it could be a sign of sickness. When he has his first molt at 3-4 months his feathers on his head will turn white and a couple more moults they will only be seen more on the middle part back of the head. I have this for my birds it is a personal decision. They are called preening toys and I personally never had issues. There are always "freak" accidents that can occur though. Great article about diet yes you should be intro pellets but they should only be 30% of his diet or less. Harrison at the vets is good or Nutraphase. Use pellets without additive colors it is not necessary or good for them. Read this about Budgie's Diet and this about converting to pellets Pellet Diet these articles are from our FAQ section under Budgie Diets. Always ask that is what we are here for :ausb:
May 31, 200717 yr He should have ALL his feathers at this stage and no loss of feathers. He may have been plucked by his parent or parents. Check his wings and tail for signs of lost or missing feathers also, in case you have a french moult budgie. Edited May 31, 200717 yr by **KAZ**
May 31, 200717 yr Can you post another pics of him front and back without the cage bars? That would help. Kaz knows what she is talking about so if she can see a better picture that would help her out too :ausb:
May 31, 200717 yr Hi Sharyn, I have a huge assortment of toys for my birds and generally they aren't ever a problem, but not too long back I found a budgie in the aviary who was standing on the bottom of a spiral bungee toy and I stopped to say hi, how are you and have a bit of a chat. It is lucky I did as he had somehow managed to get one of the bits of strings from the bottom wrapped around a feather in his chest and he was trapped there. It looked just like an umbilical cord going into him. He wasn't showing any signs of distress and someone was feeding him because I saw him there the day before and I thought it was just his favourite spot. I cut him free and cut the strings short on all the toys that had them, and most rope toys do. But out of 60 budgies, once in a year, someone was going to have an accident. Now they have very short string the budgies can chew on, but none are long enough to wrap around a neck and it would be pretty hard to get a foot stuck. Feathers Edited May 31, 200717 yr by feathers
May 31, 200717 yr Author thanks everyone, he is not losing feathers, they just arent 'full'like an adult budgies. The tail and back are really healthy, its just around his neck that he has less feathers. I will take a photo of him without the cage, have to wait for hubby coz he has the camera. thanks for all the advice. Billy has just started dancing, he is a funny bugger. ill get the photo asap. thanks again sharyn
May 31, 200717 yr Billy has just started dancing, he is a funny bugger He sounds like quite a lovely little character Feathers.
May 31, 200717 yr Author okay, have had a busy day but have found a picture without the cage bars. He doesnt stay still long enough to catch a great photo. Havent bought any pellets yet, treated myself to a couple of indulgences today, new quilt cover, some pillow cases. Spent far too much money http://members.iinet.net.au/~adamf/billyboy.JPG Edited August 27, 200816 yr by **Liv** image changed to link becuase its over 480 x 640
May 31, 200717 yr He is such a cute little guy. Not sure why the feathers around his neck are missing. Try using a feather lice and mite spray to see if that helps. He isn't showing any signs of scaley face. Feathers.
May 31, 200717 yr Author thanks ill try that. am a bit worried that he will get sick after my last poor baby. might get him checked out with avian vet
May 31, 200717 yr Did you buy him from another person? I've seen people pluck the dirty feathers from around a hand reared birds face/neck because they didn't clean them as they fed them...
May 31, 200717 yr Author I got him from a bird shop, I just assumed that he still had some feathers to grow coz he was so little. He has been preening and is not pulling them out himself, he does a good job. Ive only had him under a week so ill keep an eye on how hes doing. He eats like a pig and is trying to talk.
May 31, 200717 yr I would probably get a check up at an Avian Vet anyway, but he sounds very happy! Unless more feathers start going missing I wouldn't be too concerned. Good luck, he is gorgeous Edited May 31, 200717 yr by ellulah
May 31, 200717 yr Author Thank-you I think hes a bit cute myself. Actually those photos were taken on day 1 last week, and now i'm looking at him, those feathers have all grown and he looks smooth unless youre scratching his neck. I think he might have been picked on by the other birds he was in the cage with. I think my weiros are thinking it might be time to breed, monty is singing SO MUCH and follows his girlfriend around with his wings out and actually shoves his face in front of hers to get her attntion and proceeds to sing funky town, she doesnt look impressed! Cant get the photo in damn! Sharyn :budgiedance:
June 1, 200717 yr Usually when they are picked on it is not around the neck but the back of the neck so I don't think so. Cute about the tiels :budgiedance:
June 1, 200717 yr Just double check it with the vet, the last thing you want is to lose another bird when it could be prevented, it way be nothing sounds more like a lice thing then anything Major, but still i am not qualified to say, BUt i am qualitfied to say WHAT A NICE looking bird...... he is cute... Like Elly said usually when birds are picked on it is their back that takes the brunt of it HOWEVER, my Starchky will go for anything when she is in a mood, she has hurt Wings, necks, so it could be a fight wound, still better safe then sorry...Good luck and lets us know
