Grey's feather/molting???

[jaketheag]

I have a congo African Grey that has been molting forever....She began molting in Jan. and her feathers still are not smooth. She does not act sick or any different. She preens her feather but does not pick them. It seems every third day I will find around 10 of the down feathers around the cage. She is still dusty. I had gas heat through the winter, so I thought her feathers may be smooth due to the heat. I recently placed a humidifier in her room. I have also added liquid vitamins to her diet, I put them in her water. How long since these changes will I be looking at to see improvement?

Like I said, she has no change in potty/personality/talking, just her feathers in front are not smooth, there are no bald spots on her, her wing and head feathers are fine, just her belly and her neck.

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

Thank you in advance.

[Lisa B]

Sometimes they can go into a heavy moult, tho since January does seem to be a bit much.
The winter months take a toll on them. being dry in the house will make them drier and itchy. Try frequent baths or misting.
Watch the humidifier does not throw bacteria or mold spores into the air. you have to keep them VERY clean for grey are more suseptable to Aspergillosis because of the large intake of air from talking and vocalizing.

Vitamins in the water is not really a good idea. The vitamins cause bacteria to grow within 2 hours. What ya really have to do is start with her complete diet to see if she even needs suplimental vitamins.

seeing the downy feathers is pretty normal. With my cags I see about that many every few days as well. they are preening and the feathers moult naturally. they have ALOT of the downy ones so I wouldnt be overly worried about that aspect of the situation.

I suggest if you can, consult a board certified avian vet to discuss the issues you are conserned with to rule out ANYTHING medical. By lookin at her, feelin her and runnin a test or two and discussing her diet, you can assess just what the problem is, if indeed there is one.
If you need help finding a ABVP in your area, pm me your location and I will reseach it for you.

[Cindy215]

Yes I'd take her to a vet. And re-evaluate her diet. Usually a soft molt is from too much protein. If it IS a soft molt. Which would include pin feathers not just some down around.You need a thermometer with the temp and the humidity level in the room, too.

And for baths I'd only use distilled water it has all minerals and junk removed.