[rec.birds] Cockatiel Feather Problems

eileen@msinc.msi.com (Eileen Montoya) (10/10/90)

I have a 7 month old Cockatiel who is in the process of molting, and
is loosing his new tail and flight feathers.  Does anyone know if this
is common since he is in his first molting cycle.  I called the vet, and
she really couldn't give me a straight answer.  Any feedback would
greatly be appreciated.

Eileen
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rmura@world.std.com (Ron Mura) (10/11/90)

In article <126@.msinc.msi.com> eileen@msinc.msi.com (Eileen Montoya) writes:
> 
> I have a 7 month old Cockatiel who is in the process of molting, and
> is loosing his new tail and flight feathers.  Does anyone know if this
> is common since he is in his first molting cycle.  I called the vet, and
> she really couldn't give me a straight answer.  Any feedback would
> greatly be appreciated.
 

I tried to mail this response, but couldn't get it through:


From exprience with parakeets, it sounds pretty normal.  Our birds
generally lose only one or two big feathers (tail or flight) a day
while molting, along with lots of smaller ones, but I've heard it is
more drastic with some birds.  Some people give their birds extra
vitamins, etc., when they are molting.  We've never done that.  
Hope you hear from someone that has cockatiels.  Good luck.
Ron
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- Ron Mura, Boston, Mass.                   rmura@world.std.com