Pale headed Rosella

[jody]

I have been taking care of a wild pale headed rosella for a few weeks as some silly person caught it and thought they could keep it as a pet. When they realised it was a wild animal and it was'nt going to sit on their shoulder they did'nt want it. Just release it you say? well this stupid person not only cut it's flight feathers but somehow its tail feathers are missing too it is healthy and fine now with me but its the waiting game to regrow feathers to be able to release it. just recently another of its kind flew onto the cage and now there are 3 that hang around everyday. When it can eventually be released can it survive with just its wing feathers all grown back or will I have to wait until his tail feathers grow back too?

[Robyn]

Hi Jody,
Thank goodness you came along. You may have to hold on to the bird for some time until the flights are replaced. As for the tail if the feathers are all pulled out it will grow a new tail in 6 weeks. However hopefully it hasn't had a full moult yet & its cut flights are old feathers in which case they will be replaced sooner rather than later.

As soon as it can fly you can safely release it.

Good Luck

Robyn.

[avinet]

If it is an adult Rosella it will probably start moulting around now so by the end of summer it will have a full set of wing feathers. If it is a young bird, born this spring, then the time of moulting is a bit more uncertain and may not be until next spring.

With the tail feathers, has it completely lost all the feathers or have they broken off fairly short from panicking in a strange cage? If they have just broken then you will feel the stumps of the feathers if you feel around the rump. If there are no tail feathers at all then it is possible the bird could have beak and feather disease and should be checked out by an avian vet.

If you are keen to have the bird released asap since there are wild ones hanging around, then it can be speeded up by taking it to an avian vet who can pull the cut/broken feathers under anaesthetic and give the bird the necessary painkillers afterwards. That will mean the feathers will have regrown within 4 to 6 weeks enabling the bird to be released.

I guess you are in SE Qld since it is a Pale-head Rosella - if you let me know whereabouts I can see if there is a suitable vet near to you.

cheers,

Mike

[jody]

I live in Nth Qld and apparently this person which i honestly know nothing about they heard from a person of person (so on) that I am an animal person lol so they call me up oneday and bought it out. Apparently this person said a lady tryed to calm the bird under her shirt and it bit her so grabbed onto the tail feathers and they were all pulled out.. I know.. how disgusting are some ppl there is no sign of ANY tail feathers at all and only one side of the wings have been cut. it is great news to know that the tail feathers may not take as long as I thought I was thinking like 6 months.

[Robyn]

Hi Jody,

Are you on the Atherton Tablelands in which case your Rosella should be a Blue Cheek Rosella. There are heaps of them up that way.

[jody]

I just went out and tried to get a close look at it and I think there is a tail feather starting to grow I just took this pic and the other picture was of the 3 this morning

[avinet]

It's hard to be certain without a front-on photo but it looks like an adult male Blue-cheek Rosella, as you would expect in north Queensland.

Hopefully it will moult soon and replace the cut wing feathers, while the tail will take care of itself pretty quickly if it was pulled out - I hope the bite was in a very painful place It might teach her not try to tame wild birds.

cheers

Mike

[jody]

yeah I hope it got her good too hehe.. ahh so they are blue cheeked rosellas I just matched the bird with a picture on the net a few weeks ago and thats how I got the name. Should have probably read abit more.. thank yous for the info.

;D ;D