Is this moulting, or someting else?? (pic)

FrenchieFinch · Post by **FrenchieFinch** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:15 pm

Good evening everyone......question, when i got my fiches 3 weeks ago, the female had some whitish cream, small sots on her face...the owner told me she was just completing her moult...but, it seems to me the discoloured spots are getting bigger and more numerous, do i have cause for alarm? Hope you can see what I am talking about in this bad pic I just took...

you can kinda see it behind her eye in this picture...its like when bleah is accidently splashed on dark clothing and the the color is gone...Is this normal?

Thanks in advance for all your help...

Post by **Sally** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:35 pm

I couldn't tell anything from the photo. Do these spots look like feathers are missing? Even if she had just about finished her molt when you bought her, sometimes stress (such as moving) can throw them back into a molt.

FrenchieFinch · Post by **FrenchieFinch** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:39 pm

it looks as if the feathers in those areas are cream white instead of black, it is speckled on her face...in the picture it is right behind her eye, Sally....

Post by **Sally** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:59 pm

I can see the spot, but can't see it well enough to tell what it is. If her face looks all speckled, that could be molting.

cartel · Post by **cartel** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 8:18 am

I think what FrenchieFinch is saying is that that her head is turn into a pied look I think.To small of a pic to tell.But it sounds like she my just be losing feathers around her head FrenchieFinch, the cream colour your seeing is likely her skin.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 8:52 am

Here's my 2 cents: I think it may likely be those areas or spots are "stuck in moult" until her next full moult. I've bought a couple of hens (from different breeders) and their black heads had spots of beige. It's not their skin (skin would appear pink), just baby feathers not coloured up yet. I've never experienced these spots getting bigger. They stay the same size and will moult out the next time around. My finches that I bought that way were and are healthy in every aspect and I don't worry about that.

FrenchieFinch · Post by **FrenchieFinch** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 2:25 pm

Thanks L. My finch looks just like the pic you posted, only less. Should I buy any supplements other than the vitamin supplement I am adding 3x a week?

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 2:35 pm

There is nothing you can do to speed this up - the bird should moult out the next time they go through their annual moult.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 4:01 pm

Liz, I'll agree with you. I also had 2 hens that didn't quite get their head feathers completely. It wasn't all over like your hen, but just in a small area or two. She still looks like this, but I'm sure she'll be fine after her molt later this year.