I have a 2/3 week old baby which is bald - all it's body feathers seem to be developing normally, however it has nothing from the neck up.

 

There are no signs of scabbing from where it may have been henpecked - no physical signs of illness either.

 

Any comments or answers would be greatfully appreciated

Bubbles is 05 weeks old and she is exactly the same, but it doesnt seem to bother her she keeps coming out the nest etc, so i think she is fine she has a great appetite and both parents feed her and she is a beautiful little bird, so i may just knit her a cap (Laughing out loud)

I have a 2/3 week old baby which is bald - all it's body feathers seem to be developing normally, however it has nothing from the neck up.

 

There are no signs of scabbing from where it may have been henpecked - no physical signs of illness either.

 

Any comments or answers would be greatfully appreciated

 

 

You are breeding Budgies and not small vultures

That is strange.

Edited October 2, 200519 yr by daz

I'm no expert but unless the baby has been plucked by its parents, it could be some sort of genetic defect. I know inbreeding led to a bald patch on the back of lutino cockatiels, it might be something along those lines.

 

Are you pretty clued up on the background of the parents? Are they pet store birds or were their parents?

Edited October 2, 200519 yr by eterri

I would guess the baby is being plucked. There will not necessarily be any blood or scabbing on the plucked area, and the back of the head and between the shoulders seem to be the most frequently plucked places. Telmadee, the baby in your picture looks plucked.

. Telmadee, the baby in your picture looks plucked.

Thanks Rainbow, she is here with me now sat on myshoulder, i had a look at her earlier, although she hasnt lost any on her neck though, but little pin and also fluffy white downy feathers are now starting to come back through on her head Meg did actually just say, that because she was the bird he helped save by piercing thebubble, he has a bond with her, and also his now excuse is that hes frightened she will get bullied by the other birds for being bald (Laughing out loud), so can we have her in the house too (Laughing out loud) :wine WHAT A GUY HUH ! AND when i came in earlier from the avairy, i did find Meg kissing Albert who was sat on his shoulder, he sort of grunted and said oh he just flew there............bless course he did meg and you just sat right there and let him.....NOT! (Laughing out loud).....he's getting a pappy just like the rest of us (Laughing out loud)

LOL I think I follow his logic! Any excuse will do, you know. I think it's wonderful he loves that little bird so much.

Good to hear Dawn!

looks and sounds plucked to me as well try and put some millet and or some soft wood for the hen to chew to try and make her stop this can turn quite nasty and the bird could die you can also buy in the uk some liquid from the shops that you apply and it is supposed to stop the offending bird from doing it normally the hen

looks and sounds plucked to me as well try and put some millet and or some soft wood for the hen to chew to try and make her stop this can turn quite nasty and the bird could die you can also buy in the uk some liquid from the shops that you apply and it is supposed to stop the offending bird from doing it normally the hen

thanks for that advise Hath, i will bear it in mind if it happens again, Bubbles actually left the nest properly 02 days ago, as soon as i put her back (which i did keep doing) she kept climbing straight back out, so i left her out as from 02 days ago, maybe thats why her feathers do look to have started coming back through, i shall wait and see, but in maybe a week or so she will be living in here with us hopefully

awww poor baldy - maybe he was in the nest for too long and his mummy wanted him out!

 

casper had a bald patch on the back of his head when we first got him as a baby - it grew back and you couldnt see the bald spot after about 3 weeks.

What causes hens to pluck anyway??

Oh Dawnie, you've got one big lump of a bloke haven't you? What a sweetie, tell him from me I think he's wonderful! :hap:

Hello all - firstly thanks for all your help and comments

 

Updon checking "baldy" today, I have found slight evidence of blood on crown and later found the chick on the bottom of the cage. I have therefore removed it and placed in with foster parents who currently have 4 chicks of their own and have proved to be excellent parents in the past. Their chicks are about 1 week older than 'baldy'. I have smeared him with dirt from the box of the foster family - is this the correct thing to do?

 

Thank you once again in advance

Stendorosa

How old is the baby? Keep an eye on the chick you have put with the foster parents, they may kill but if they are good he/she should be okay..

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

What causes hens to pluck anyway??

 

I don't know but I think stress has to be a factor. Rainbow plucked the second clutch and he plucked Skittles too. He was a good bird as far as feeding the other ones, but you could tell he was a bit rattled once the second clutch was underway. He kept wanting to mate, and I think he plucked to try to get the babies out of the nest so he could. They were too young though, and then Skittles began to have missing feathers on the back of her head too. I thought she was the one doing the plucking until I noticed they all had small bald patches except for Rainbow.

 

Stendorosa, how is that little chick doing with the foster parents so far?

Thank you for your interest

 

The chick has been accepted by the foster parents and is doing very well - new feathers are beginning to grow back - should be due to leave the box by the end of next week.

 

Just for the record, he/she is grey in colour and very lively.

Update on 'Baldy'

 

Thriving in the 'baby avairy' with other babies from the same time frame.

 

Thanks again for all your help

Thats great news stendorosa..

Yes, very good to hear!

 

Can we see a picture?

 

Hope this works and I am really sorry if it is too big - I am trying to work out how to make things smaller

Edited November 8, 200519 yr by stendorosa

I fixed it.

 

Thank you. She is very pretty. I love the grey.

Edited November 8, 200519 yr by Rainbow

What causes hens to pluck anyway??

 

Hi Bea - I dont think anyone knows for sure - some reasons Ive been told are:

Nutritional Deficiencies

Boredom :devil:

and then the old standby explaination - Stress :fear

 

I had a "Mother Plucker" (as I call them, hope no ones offended!) and tried an anti-pluck preparation-

she stopped plucking them alright - stopped feeding and sitting on them as well! So they were handreared-

I still have a few from that clutch - they have bare shoulders from the damage done - but I still love them and although they live in the aviary - are still very tame (if no other budgie is looking!)

 

Cheers,

Lavender