does your bird scratch its head?

[felisdomesticus]

Scarlett's feathers on her head have been molting over the past month or so.

An updated picture of around her eye:

[dyeman]

I would get her checked out, but I must compliment you on her diet. Eclectus show more than most parrots the quality of their diet through their feather health and coloration and your baby is beautiful. It breaks my heart sometimes to see how drab some of the female Ekkies I see in some pet stores look.

[felisdomesticus]

Originally Posted by dyeman

I would get her checked out, but I must compliment you on her diet. Eclectus show more than most parrots the quality of their diet through their feather health and coloration and your baby is beautiful. It breaks my heart sometimes to see how drab some of the female Ekkies I see in some pet stores look.

thank you. I do spend a lot of time and money on her foods!

If you compare this morning's picture with the one I posted a few months ago, you'll see that most of the feathers have come back in.

When I took her to the vet, she suggested that the feather loss was caused by a habit as opposed to an infection and that it didn't really seem to be anything to worry about.

A few months later, you almost can't even see the small spots where the feathers are still coming in.

[Lori L]

Funny my quaker scratches the side of his face but is not losing any feathers, he doesn't scratch really hard though, just kind of like opens and closes his feet around the side near his beak

[FeatherLover]

Togo (CAG) scratches when he wants me to scratch him, like an invitation.

I agree...Scarlett is beautiful.

[The Outlaw]

Yes. That is abnormal. The macaws have such large pins and will scratch on anything to break them, but not so the Ekkies. I would anticipate some kind of sinus problem.

[felisdomesticus]

when the feather loss was really bad--back at the time the 1st picture in the thread was posted--that was when she was seen by the vet and did not have any sinus issues.

Now the feathers have come in and aren't being scratched out anymore--so I'm not sure exactly what the cause was but it seems to have stopped.

[The Outlaw]

Hmmmmm. Well, its your bird and your call. She really does look great. See, once again a fresh diet and a beautiful ekkie. It always shows.

[felisdomesticus]

Originally Posted by The Outlaw

Hmmmmm. Well, its your bird and your call.

If it hadn't been steadily getting better, I probably would have had her back by now. Even where it looks "sparse" directly around her eyes, I can see teeny tiny pins.

She also looks a bit ratty b/c she's got lots of new feathers coming in all around her head.