Can someone check out these feathers please

[Pictaker]

All three of these photos are of Patience. She is looking pretty ragged this week. I am assuming by all the feathers flying out of her cage that she is having her first molt?

She seems in great health in general..but I just wanted to show you her feathers to see if it indeed does appear to be molt. She is only 4mos old and I read that 6mos is more the average age of the first senegal molt? It is very warm here where I live in the Valley, so maybe this is being brought on by extreme warm temperatures.

Which by the way brings me to another question I was thinking of. How much heat can a senegal take? I don't have central air, but we do have a cooler room upstairs that I could move them too. I don't want to however because then they would not be in site of the family activities.



Looking as ragged as her basket! See the feather loss on her head..(no bald spots that I can find).



See all the white baby down come through? Most feathers are white with a green tip that are falling out.

[Valo's Moirana]

looks like a molt to me - especially if there's no other signs that would indicate otherwise... they can look pretty crappy when molting, nino always looks like he got caught by an airplane engine

[Pictaker]

Thanks Bee, that makes me feel reassured. That made me laugh when you said that Nino looks like he has been caught by an airplane engine!! That is exactly what am starting to see in Patience!

I read the molt should only last a few months? I miss her smoother feathers and color.

[chapala]

she'll look more beautiful than ever when her new feathers come in! She's just going through that flea-bitten look right now :)

[jenniferag]

looks like a molt to me too... talk about a bad hair day! LOL

As for the heat... my rule of thumb is that if you're too hot in cool clothing then they're probably too hot to.

You do have cute baby!!! I love the basket too... good chew toy!

[BirdMommaAK]

Yep, I agree it looks like molting. My conure started molting at 4 months, so its definately possible....and unfortunatley it will probably get worse before it gets better, but he will look stunning when he is done!

[Pepper's Pa]

I agree with the other members that Patience appears to be undergoing a typical molt.

Molting is affected by the temperature, hours of daylight and available food. The warm temperature you’re experiencing may have affected the timing of her molt. We experienced three 90-degree Fahrenheit days in late March, Pepper began his molt two months earlier than normal and I believe it was in response to those three days.

As to your question about temperature, I find hot temperatures to cause more problems than cooler temperatures. Signs of problems with heat are when wings are held slightly away from the body and the bird may appear to be panting.
When the temperature is in the mid-80’s (Fahrenheit) or higher I place a small fan blowing on the low setting and aimed at Pepper’s cage. I’ve never seen a sign of overheating by doing this.
It also helps to keep cold water in the bowl . . . some people add ice cubes to it to keep it cold longer.

Are you familiar with pinfeathers? These are the feathers that are growing in to replace the molted feathers. You’ll soon see and feel these on her head, cheeks and around her neck and upper back. If you give her a scritch they will feel hard, similar to short, narrow toothpicks growing out of her. Touching these the wrong way will be painful for her, but gently trying to help her loosen them will be greatly appreciated, especially those in the areas she can’t easily reach. I find that gently rubbing a fingernail down their length helps to loosen them.
When you are doing it correctly, Patience may perch peacefully and turn to the area she wants you to work on. If you do it wrong she may give a screech or nip to let you know it’s the wrong way.

I hope this is of some help to you and Patience.

[sjivani]

Maya is around 4 months old and is starting to look like that too. We have had a dozen 100+ days so that explains the early molt...

[chapala]

Birds are pretty adaptable with temperature changes, but if you do see the wings held away from the body and panting, that bird is getting overheated. Two of our birds are outdoors year round, and the three others go out in their cages regularly on a covered terrace. Our high temperatures reach the low 90's but low humidity then, and the birds always have been fine, no problems. I've never felt the need to turn a fan on them, because they never look uncomfortable.

[Pictaker]

Thank you so much for all the responses. I feel very confident that Patience is in the throws of her first real molt. She has pin feathers sticking out everywhere! With how many feathers are flying and all the scratchy pin feathers, I am surprised she is keeping in the good mood that she is. She lets me scratch her gently all over and I am very careful not to pinch any feathers that are not ready to come out. Once or twice I got to close and the second she stirs or turns her head let go so as not to hurt her.

I am giving her a bath just about every day. She loves the water...her eating is going well, so they only thing we are having to suffer through is the normal "flea bitten", "bad hair day" look. I love those descriptions! *lol*

I appreciate the thoughts on the hot weather too. I am watching for them to raise their wings or seem uncomfortable, but so far so good.