r/Conures • u/ComfortableRest4957 • 1d ago
Health/Nutrition Discoloration of feathers
So my Ziggy is about maybe 5 or 6 months old and I've believe she is going through her first molt. I've been noticing that some of her feathers have started to grow a dark green/ brown outline, is this normal? I've also seen that it can happen from handling, which i do alot since she seems to like being held.
2
u/Jurassicjen_uk 1d ago
This is called bronzing and can lots of causes such as transfer of oils from human hands and faces (don’t pet them on the back), simple wear and tear if they play enthusiastically or rub against things in the cage etc, nutritional deficiencies from a poor all seed diet, malabsorption issues, lack of UV light, underlying illnesses etc.
As your baby is young and going through her first moult it could just be from that, see how her feathers are once they are replaced, and of course if any of the above apply then take action.
1
u/Corvus-- 1d ago
Looks like bronzing from cuddling. You handle her alot?
1
u/ComfortableRest4957 1d ago
Yes, quite alot. She really likes just sitting in my hands, and she literally just sleeps all cuddled up like that sometiems
1
u/Corvus-- 1d ago
Yeah the photos you provided don't show anything that would concern me. Just make sure they're getting a varied diet consisting of Chop, Pellets and Seeds as a treat/reward. Let me know if you have any questions regarding this but there's plenty of information readily available online, always happy to share though.
Looks just like bronzing to me, the first photo the feathers look ruffled just because i'm assuming they were just being cuddled/held on that side.
1
u/NessaDB122081 13h ago
Preening behavors poor diet and stress seek avain vet help also hormonal can be a factor it was with my 2 babies we swapped harrison and the bighting stop some birds may even need injections witch i as a trainer dont recommend
4
u/Comfortable-Okra3360 1d ago
I would not worry about it too much as she is very young. Expect to see more “adult” plumage at 1-3 years old. My female gcc went through a bad feather phase when she was between 6-24months where her entire tail feathers would fall out just from being a clumsy baby bird. The black lines could be from a similar cause - rough housing while in the cage or when with you. Wait until she molts a few more times to see everything clear up and her behavior will be more mature and she won’t be as rough on herself.
if you are still concerned, black lines in features can be caused by nutritional issues or stress in my experience. My young female cape parrot came from a bad environment where she was on a fatty diet. After she went through a couple molts in my care, being on a healthier diet, her black spots cleared up. So if you’re worried, i would monitor her diet and think about how much seed/nut/fruit she’s getting, what pellets she’s on, calcium/minerals, vegetables, etc.
My adult male crimson bellied conure is a bird very sensitive to stress. If he goes through a period of high stress, a few weeks/month later his newer feathers will have dark spots. Keeping his stress down, good diet, lots of sunlight, and he will molt and his feathers will clear up. You can monitor her stress and see if she’s prone to being more anxious as some conures are. She’s also still very young so i wouldn’t be as worried about stress right now.
My white bellied caique had dark spots in her feathers when she was a baby and they cleared up after she was about 1 year old. I wouldn’t worry too much. Here’s a pic of my adult (8 years old) conures when their feathers are nice and cleared up in the sun.