Does your Green Cheek Conure have this too???

[rainbowfeathers77]

Hi
I have a tame, male, green cheek conure, which I bought in October last year, he was only few weeks old at the time..not sure how old excactly he was, but deffinatelly younger than 6 months.
He's on a pellet diet. He gets fresh veriety of veggies every day, he gets time out of his cage, he gets clean water every day etc.
I don't know if I'm just being paranoid or if he's staring to show signs of PBFD or liver disease because , his under wings, the blue ones (which have been clipped) have black tips/edges...I don't know if this is normal in GCC or not? I never bothered to take notice whether the black has always been there or not.
Also, the top sides of his upper wings, (the sides of the wings that sit on his rump) are showing approx 2-3 feathers on each side, wich are slightly yellowish/pale brown in colour but definatelly not his green colour. I think it may have been increasing over time because I originally just used to over look it, thinking it was plumage under his wings showing, that hasn't resettled itself in it's right spot but now I realize, it's the actual upper feathers.
Could this perhaps just be a vitamin defficiency?? He hasn't really been getting too much of sunlight but I have started doing that now for the last couple of days.

Any idea what this could be or is this normal for green cheeks??

I'm freaking out....again...I'm always freaking out...I don't think I should keep birds anymore coz the slightest thing out of the norm and I'm already beggining my grieving process....aaaargh...not good...me need help

[just4birds]

can you take some photos??? and to be honest if you are really that worried about him ... you should see an avian vet ...

But i would be very surprised if its PBFD ... that is really most common in the cockatoo and lorikeet family ...

He could be lacking in something ... i cant really help you tho with feather colours ... cause my green cheek is a cinnamon ... so she will have different colouring ...

I dont wanna be one of these people who are always saying "see an avian vet" but i feel if it really is something that is bothering you and doesnt look normal ... its the only way you'll truel find out ..

[rainbowfeathers77]

Ok..I'll try and take some pics tomorow...he's asleep now ...my little monkey

[rainbowfeathers77]

Actually, I do have a few very recent picks I could put up in the mean time...they're not the best but might offer some clue till I get better pics (hopefully)...anyway, hope this helps...cheers

[just4birds]

he looks pretty normal to me .... i know my little cinnamon is moulting .... so if he is pretty young ... all those feathers will be his first baby feathers .... soo they'll probably moult out ...

but i'm no avian vet .... just a someone who owns a crazy amount of parrots

[farseeker]

Hmm yeah, he looks to me like he's going through a bit of a moult. Both Jedi and Trouble got the 'black tips' you're talking about if you mean just a thin line on the tip, usually before they moulted. No idea why but it's always happened and to me it's become a signal that 'Oh great, moody bird here we come!'.

I'm not really sure what you mean by the yellowy tinge - he does look like he's lost a few feathers on his wings here and there but it's not something I'd be too concerned about personally.

Also, with PBFD (or at least in Squee's case) the feather loss started from around his tail/lower legs, and it wasn't until we'd had him over a year that we started seeing any loss on his wings. So I don't think it's PBFD.

If you're worried about it though, take him to an avian vet. It's always good to get a general check up done to see how their vitamin levels are going anyway, so it wouldn't be a waste if everything turned out to be fine.

[abby-oldaccount]

He looks fine to me. That first moult with conures and quakers is a nasty one. They tend to look like absolute crap and it feels like it goes on forever. It wouldn't hurt to get him checked though. Will give you some peace of mind and if there is a problem at least it can be picked up quickly.
PBFD in the conure family is extremely uncommon. As Lisa said it is more likely to affect the 'toos, greys and lorikeets. I can understand your worry though.

[farseeker]

Yeah Trouble is in the middle of his first moult at the moment. He's extremely grouchy cause he's covered in pin feathers the poor thing, his head is so spiky he looks like a dinosaur haha.

[courtzrocks]

Looks like a moult to me. If it really bothers you I would suggest seeing a vet but from those pics it looks like a moult. Beetle actually has a feather that is half bright yellow on her back. Can't see it in the photo's but when she is playing you can see it. It will probably go in her moult though.

[rainbowfeathers77]

Thankyou every one for your responses!! Yes he is or has just gone thru a molt...I'm not sure how long they're meant to last. Thankyou for your reassuarnces...I've posted another few pics that I took this morning, see what you think?? I am starting to feel that maybe he might be ok then?? I had no idea these molts are so terrible!!!


In this pic, you can see the black outlining the ends of his wings....


In these two, you can see the faded yellow/brown on the wing feathers closest to his body/rump.....

[courtzrocks]

Looks like the end or start of a moult...that doesnt look bad..Matches looks feral at the moment its disgusting, she's so daggy lol, my green cheek has had one, she has pin feathers so I got her after she had her moult.

[rainbowfeathers77]

I feel like such an idiot...last night I thought my bird was going to die on me and all my other birds too because they woud've been infected....and today everything seems so much more clearer, the molt suggestion makes sense...gosh I'm an idiot....yeah I know, I panick too much ....so thankyou everyone for your help and for my sanity!!

[pinkdevil]

Awww not an idiot, just a loving and caring birdie owner Which is very good to see might I add I would rather ask so called "silly" questions and have my mind put to ease rather then a "wait'n'see" approach and have something happen.




Psst...your not blonde by any chance are you??? Coz us blondes gotta stick together

Tasha

[courtzrocks]

Nah it's ok, if I didn't know what green cheeks looked like during a molt I would have freaked out too.

[rainbowfeathers77]

<<<< HUGS >>>> ...thanks

[courtzrocks]

No problem. If pauline didnt tell me Alexandrines go through a mini molt I would have freaked out about Matches lol. She looks like she's been attacked by a cat or something lol but i think it is finishing..she doesnt look as bad now lol. And I have seen some green cheeks through a molt too. If I hadn't I would have thought they were dying or something LOL.

[rainbowfeathers77]

LOL Matches sounds very cheeky and cute!!
Poor little monkeys...having to go through all that...I had no idea molts were so serious...I too would've had a heart attack if I didn't know about the molts!! Have you got any more pics of matches or where can I go to check her out ??

[courtzrocks]

I think she is in the bird photo section under pictures of matches...she's a character lol. Or you can find stuff about her in the ringneck forum. There are pics of Beetle my green cheek conure there too, she wasnt handreared so getting her to step up is difficult but once she is out she is so sweet.

[vankarhi]

I am by no means an expert, but I thought PFBD showed up in "deformed" shaped feathers after a moult and eventually losing feathers that don't get replaced and the beak slowly disintrigrating......this can all take many many years.

I had a look at your bird and he/she looks fine and healthy to me. I don't know exactly what a GC is supposed to like, but yours looks like a GC to me ;D I also thought the GC had black on their feathers???

[just4birds]

Yeahhh Tracey .... you can normally tell something is up after there first moult ... not that i'm a pro ... just what i've read and heard