I have a bird under 3 months (hasn't quite reached her moult yet) that I've been hand taming for a birthday present for my grandmother.

Well, I took her out of the cage today and she attempted to fly, but she cannot because she is just growing back her flight and tail feathers (I suspected the parents of pulling them off at fledging time)

 

So she fell a few feet to the floor and I picked her up. She tried again and as she flapped she sprayed blood on my arm. I looked her over and her flights were bleeding.

 

She had not injured herself on the first fall as it wasn't far enough.

But I'm thinking maybe there is something wrong with her feather growth or shafts. It might be the cause of her initial loss of primaries in the first place.

 

However I looked though my 'Basic Health & Disease in birds' book and can't find anything that has symptoms of bloody wings.

The only thing I found that was close was PBFD (or french moult) but she doesn't show all of the signs, just the flights and tails.

 

Its my grandmothers birthday in 2 days and I don't want to give her an unwell bird that bleeds everywhere.

It doesn't seem to be causing the bird any discomfort as I can see, she is still eating and perching fine and her poops are normal.

 

If anyone has any ideas of what this could be, please let me know. I'm worried for her.

She is a french moult budgie. What made you think at fledging that it was the parents that made her drop her flights and tail. Dropping them is the sign of a french moult budgie especially at that time. Also when a lot of them try to grow new ones in they break off and bleed..

You have a french moult budgie. You had best choose another to tame.

I suspected the parents because one day she had them, the next she didn't and there was blood everywhere. The hen had also started to lay again.

 

So is her fate sealed? She cannot be a pet?

She can be a pet of course but if she cant grow flights and tail she may die by jumping off a lap or person and landing badly as they do. They dont seem to know they cant fly or save themselves sometimes.

Parents seem to have attacked baby in the nest to be rid of it for laying again but babies who suffer french moult will drop flights an tail overnight in the box too. Hard to know in your case which happened first. Chicks can lose flights and tail due to stress, but the fact its bleeding when new flights are trying to grow in says to me...french moult in my experience.

If it was me giving a gift of a bird to someone, I wouldnt give a bird with issues.

Well the feathers don't bleed when they come in, they only started to bleed when she tried to fly.

I have a suspicion that it may be damaged at the base from when the parents pulled them out. Because she is extremely active (she's jumping around the cage like a lunatic right now)

and everything else about her seems normal.

 

There is a disease on the opposite page of PBFD that is Psittacine Pruritic Polyfolliculosis aka Budgerigar Short Tail Disease.

Pairing with what happened when she fledged, I'm thinking that this is closer to what she might have, where the follicle is damaged and it growing deformed feathers.

It also says it can be confused with PBFD (may i just say that this book is awesome lol)

Well the feathers don't bleed when they come in, they only started to bleed when she tried to fly. The feathers on a french moult budgie dont bleed coming in, they break off and bleed after.

I have a suspicion that it may be damaged at the base from when the parents pulled them out.

A damaged feather follicle will result is weird shaped feathers but more often a feather cyst will grow there so it isnt that .

Because she is extremely active (she's jumping around the cage like a lunatic right now)

and everything else about her seems normal.

 

There is a disease on the opposite page of PBFD that is Psittacine Pruritic Polyfolliculosis aka Budgerigar Short Tail Disease.

Pairing with what happened when she fledged, I'm thinking that this is closer to what she might have, where the follicle is damaged and it growing deformed feathers.

It also says it can be confused with PBFD (may i just say that this book is awesome lol)

I still think she has french moult.

Edited August 20, 201113 yr by **KAZ**

It sounds very typical of french moult to me too

Well ****

 

I guess this is going to put a serious dent in my breeding plans then

Luckily, I have a bottle of pump hand sanitizer in the aviary, so hopefully I didn't pass it to the other chick.

It does sound like french moult Maddy, sorry. You need to clean and disinfect the infected cages and keep the dust at bay and because french is an air born virus spread by dust in the air. Before long it can go through the whole breeding room. I had never had it before but last year it went through my whole breed room nearly every nest got it , I had to cull heavily.

Edited August 21, 201113 yr by splat

Well, at the moment my other nest doesn't have it. But it means I'm not letting them go another round

I'll have to remove all pairs, clean everything and wait a while before pairing up again.

 

With all this bad luck I'm getting, it is seriously on the brink of not being fun anymore.

Well, at the moment my other nest doesn't have it. But it means I'm not letting them go another round

I'll have to remove all pairs, clean everything and wait a while before pairing up again.

 

With all this bad luck I'm getting, it is seriously on the brink of not being fun anymore.

 

Good idea Maddy. Pull your birds, sanitize your cabinets and Breeding Room and consider giving breeding a break for 6 months.

 

Don't give up!!!! Just have a break for a while

Welcome to the breeding world of exhibition budgerigars Maddy. lol

Please don't quit and I know it is very depressing when things go wrong, especially time after time.

What Renee said is great advice.

If your cages are wooded and painted , once you clean them and disinfect them , also give them a good coat of paint.

That will help to kill the virus also. Nest boxes need to be disinfected too and placed out in the sunlight, Sunlight will kill germs.

I am in the mist of breaking my birds down because of the problems I have been having and I have only been breeding since Start of June.

Maddy , I personally wouldnt stop breeding . Now is the best time to breed here in our climate. This may just be an isolated case.

Problem is if it is FM , you may buy another bird that is a carrier and next breeding season have it all again.

So , Buy some F10 Spray everything , get the dust level down , split the pair that has Suspect FM up. Worm, Treat for Lice and Mites to increase natural immunity of the body, Keep breeding , Look out for your strongest birds you will know them when you see them , they will breed with no problems. These will be you best birds to continue with.

Goodluck. Matt.

Maddy , I personally wouldnt stop breeding . Now is the best time to breed here in our climate. This may just be an isolated case.

Problem is if it is FM , you may buy another bird that is a carrier and next breeding season have it all again.

So , Buy some F10 Spray everything , get the dust level down , split the pair that has Suspect FM up. Worm, Treat for Lice and Mites to increase natural immunity of the body, Keep breeding , Look out for your strongest birds you will know them when you see them , they will breed with no problems. These will be you best birds to continue with.

Goodluck. Matt.

 

But Matt she's a beginner!!!! French Moult is depressing and taxing even for the most seasoned breeder. Once it spreads (and it always does) you get nest after nest of flightless, bald chickies that need to be sent to God .... it's a heartbreak and a half.

 

Look Maddy, in all fairness Matt makes a valuable case about the weather and what you can do to try and mitigate the effects of French Moult. Plus it is true that invariably it is imported through a carrier and even after shutting the breeding down for 6 months that same bird (in my case it was a hen) can spark another outbreak.

 

The second year it hit me I did contain it in the way Matt has described. But I culled all birds associated with the outbreak and once again did an extensive clean out out/disinfectant and waited another 6 months before breeding again.

 

If you possess remarkable fortitude then give it a go at containing French Moult.

 

But I were in your shoes I wouldn't.

Maddy , I personally wouldnt stop breeding . Now is the best time to breed here in our climate. This may just be an isolated case.

Problem is if it is FM , you may buy another bird that is a carrier and next breeding season have it all again.

So , Buy some F10 Spray everything , get the dust level down , split the pair that has Suspect FM up. Worm, Treat for Lice and Mites to increase natural immunity of the body, Keep breeding , Look out for your strongest birds you will know them when you see them , they will breed with no problems. These will be you best birds to continue with.

Goodluck. Matt.

 

But Matt she's a beginner!!!! French Moult is depressing and taxing even for the most seasoned breeder. Once it spreads (and it always does) you get nest after nest of flightless, bald chickies that need to be sent to God .... it's a heartbreak and a half.

 

Look Maddy, in all fairness Matt makes a valuable case about the weather and what you can do to try and mitigate the effects of French Moult. Plus it is true that invariably it is imported through a carrier and even after shutting the breeding down for 6 months that same bird (in my case it was a hen) can spark another outbreak.

 

The second year it hit me I did contain it in the way Matt has described. But I culled all birds associated with the outbreak and once again did an extensive clean out out/disinfectant and waited another 6 months before breeding again.

 

If you possess remarkable fortitude then give it a go at containing French Moult.

 

But I were in your shoes I wouldn't.

 

Renee , I know she is a beginner, Thats why im Going to drop around to her place and check the birds out for her. That is if she deletes some messages from her in box so I can send one.!!!!!!!!

maddy i have a few little molters right now inside im taming you can give away as pets you just need to explain their extra needs

i tame all my frenchies as pets and then gift them to loving homes most grow flights all way back and become most adorable pets so tame this way as they start of floor dwellers and depend on you to carry them here their sit them her n their and then when flights grow in the trust you so fully they come to you without issues bond is always good with molters they love snuggles

most you can tell if they are beond growing flights back by 2 weeks as they start to grow in quiet fast

but regardless of if they do or dont

if the birds healthy in every other way i see no reason it can not be a great companion

just write a special needs certificate of adoption to go with it

some the little ones ive gifted had become very loved and all now fly freely in their new homes one took 6 months before flights grew in i told them he would never actually get any he was that bad and id had him 4 months myself first as pet but he did just took a while

as for your breeding

i would take matts advice and if this made no change then stop breeding

it could be a case of dehydration in the chick dehydration causes feathers to drop out over few days after leaving nest if chick does not get enough water fed to it from mum n dad

 

but does sound like fm

either way

just any you rehome make clear that they can never be breed inside pet only even if they recover

Edited August 21, 201113 yr by GenericBlue

Renee , I know she is a beginner, Thats why im Going to drop around to her place and check the birds out for her. That is if she deletes some messages from her in box so I can send one.!!!!!!!!

 

 

Aha!!!!! Well lucky you Maddy to have Matt close by!!! I'll leave you in his capable hands

Haha I've been meaning to do that Matt. I know it is prime season that's why its such a downer to get it now. WHY NOW!?!

At the moment it IS isolated to one nest, I'm trying to keep it that way. The other nest with a solo chick is growing all her feathers at a remarkable rate which gives me a bit of confidence.

 

But the nest this hen came from, her sister, has a case of FM. A little more noticeable :/ Especially when compared to the other chick.

 

However, it makes me feel heaps better knowing they make good pets as thats exactly where this one is going. Her sister has plans to replace the one I'm giving away (because my mother has bonded with this one lol)

put a drop of ivomectom on bum end of the not affected chick and back neck for some reason i believe this helps prevent it i do it to all chicks in nest when i see fm as a issue and sometimes it stops it why dont know i was told this and i do it with good results

oh when their around two weeks not before okay

Edited August 21, 201113 yr by GenericBlue

I'm not sure how old this unaffected chick is, but I'm positive its over 2 weeks

 

I would love for that pair to go again, so being able to keep breeding and go on with my plans would be awesome

Update.

 

The young hen happily went to her new home. I'm sure she will be loved

 

Her sister however, is sooooo naked lol She's really cute though. I keep changing my mind however between plucking and FM because she has blood on her tail feathers and no where else, just bald spots.

And I can't see many (if any) of those little deformed pins that are usually in place of fluffy down.

So to eliminate plucking, I mixed up a bit of baby oil and detol (I can't remember who's recipe this is, its not mine though) and rubbed it on her bare skin.

I figured it couldn't hurt, and in fact the chick seemed to really enjoy it. She fell asleep in my hand while I was doing it which made it really easy.

 

I've also split up the hen from her and the cock so that he can finish the job. The hen was right for breeding again, but if it is FM I don't want to breed more naked chicks.

I bought a little bit of F10 as well so next on my agenda is to ivomec everyone and spray the cages. Once the F10 is dry I will be spray them with a avian insecticide.

The other chick which is a bit younger than this one seems totally unaffected and is close to fledging