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Hi I've got two kakarikis, a male and female. I bought them 3 months ago and they were in perfect health. One month after the male started to lose slight feather around his neck, then the female started losing feather around the same area just few weeks ago. Recently, they started losing feather mostly everywhere and especially at the chest area, which makes looks like a bold patch. They still active, jump and fly everywhere in my flat but recently the male started to sneeze. It begun with few sneezes every day but today he sneezes too much, but only when he fluffs his feather. I believe they are moulting
Optional Information: Pet's Gender: Male Pet's Age: 1 Type of Animal: Kakariki
- I believe you're right about the moult; however, let me go over a few things about Kaks just in case you don't know (and if you do know, it's never a bad idea to have an info refresher right?) --- Kakariki’s are parrots native to New Zealand. In fact, the word Kakariki translates to “little parrot”. The most commonly kept domesticated Kakariki’s are the Red-fronted and the Yellow-fronted. --- All Kakariki’s are very energetic birds, needing an enclosure that allows for plenty of activity and exploration. The more time they can spend safely out of a cage, the better for their overall health and behavior. When happy and well cared for they are pretty quiet for a parrot and gentle. *********************************************************One of the best pages I’ve seen on Kaks is right here--- www.takaki1.freeserve.co.uk/kakarikipet.htm --- Another very good page is --- http://www.exoticbird.com/gillian/kakarikis.html ********************************************************** For feeding, as with most birds not in their natural habitat, a pellet diet is strongly suggested as an 80% base. A quality seed mix (preferably excluding sunflower seeds which are too high in fat) is also important, along with plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and grains. There’s a lot more about feeding parrots here (copy and paste it into your address bar) www.4AnimalCare.org/birds--- Now and then get some mealworms for a treat. I prefer buying them from reputable pet stores or suppliers that guarantee them free from any pesticide or other chemical exposure which worms caught naturally these days may harbor. --- Kaks have a “playing opossum” state that can be induced by severe fear or stress. They may spasm and then become apparently dead or near it, complete with a fixed stare, no response or movement. If this ever happens, put the bird in a quiet, safe place with subdued light. A hospital cage or incubator box would be a good idea. --- Now, as for the moult - keep an eye on them just like you are and be sure that you see new feathers coming in. Boosting their diet with the recommendations made above should help a great deal. --- Regular misting with plain, clean water as long as it isn't stressful is also good. Sometimes just bringing them into the shower with you is beneficial. Not a direct stream of water, but the warm, steamy mist just from being nearby is enjoyable. --- If they don't like 'misting' initially, don't quit. Give it a try every day, approaching from beneath and only lightly spraying at their feet to begin with is non threatening. Slowly bring it upward until their whole body is misted and stop if they don't seem to be enjoying it or cooperating. They will eventually. It wouldn't be normal if they wanted to shower or bathe everyday.--- If you see feather loss continue and bald spots without any feather re growth at all, please check back and let me know. We'll explore the possibilities from there. --- Enjoy your new companions and I wish you a long life together,
So if it is moulting, it's been since about 3 months for the male and just a few weeks for the female, how long does the moulting process usually take? Should I totally avoid the sunflower seeds?They are not tamed and keep avoiding us. By the way, the female's droppings are so often in the cage and out. The droppings are kind of runny and green. Is this part of moulting? They haven't been mating for awhile now.
-- The moult can last another couple months. I have one bird who agonizingly goes through her moult as slowly as I've ever seen any bird. Another bird seems to do it without any problem, holding on to her feathers until the new ones are ALL in then drops the old. Both birds are in the exact same environment, on the same food and with the same bathing options - so it's clearly an individual thing. --- I would at least limit sunflower seeds and make sure they are 100% organic, natural, no pesticides. I prefer to keep them away from my on site birds, but they can be given as a 'treat' maybe a teaspoon amount (or 4-5 whole, unshelled) per day. --- Droppings should not change during a molt. If you're seeing NO formed centers at all - you could be dealing with true diarrhea and this is serious enough to warrant a vet visit to evaluate it. There are so many possible causes I can't begin to go over them all here.--- If it's just watery droppings it would likely be a fungal infection and you can begin curbing high sugar foods (most fruits), add about 1/2 teaspoon of natural lemon juice to the water and change it twice a day. Keep in mind that this is not adding anything from a pet store or the internet to the water. Never, ever put that stuff in a bird's water no matter what they promise. Without your vet's specific recommendation, nothing goes into a bird's water. Obviously a bit of lemon juice is not a foreign or processed product.
Experience: Cert. Avian Specialist; Int. Assoc.Animal Behavior Consult; Pet Ind. Joint Advisory Council; author
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