Molting, Plucking or something else?

[Queen_Bee]

When I got my Masked Grass Finches I was told that they were molting. I certainly believe it - there are little feathers everywhere. However, one of them seems to have some flight issues and I'm not sure if this is a result of it's molt or if there is something else going on. It cannot fly, although it desperately wants to. It hops, perches, looks bright and healthy, and seems otherwise OK. I have attached pics of the wings - there are some big feathers missing and it has been bleeding a bit. The tops of the legs are also bare, but there does not seem to be any injury there. The only other thing is its legs seem quite splayed, especially when it is on the ground - a balance issue perhaps? I have not noticed any aggression or plucking by any of the other birds and several of the others are definitely molting as well, as they look a bit scraggy. Since it is both wings that are affected I'm hoping it is molt.

It can access the water and food dishes and I have also placed food (egg, green and seed), with added vitamins on the floor, along with grit. Anything else I should or should not do?

[Finchgirl]

I don't know about the plucked feathers, but if your bird is resting on its stomach, has balance problems, and has trouble or cannot fly, it may have staggers. I dont think thats what your finch has but you can read this link just to be safe. (http://books.google.com/books?id=E7IKX2 ... es&f=false) Mites are a cause of feather plucking, so you might want to check for that as well.If your finch has plucked its flight feathers then thats why he can't fly.This link tells a bit about the mites that cause feather plucking.(http://books.google.com/books?id=PPStHf ... es&f=false)

[L in Ontario]

Did you Scatt all the birds when you brought them into the house (or otherwise treat for ASM). What is your quarantine routine, so we know what they've been given so far.

[Queen_Bee]

Thanks for that info. I don't think it is the staggers, but I will do some more investigating into the mites. They came from a large aviary with lots of birds, so that is a possibility for sure.

[Queen_Bee]

I don't have any Scatt. I keep them separated from the other birds and that is it I'm afraid.

[Finchgirl]

Hope for a speedy recovery I'm glad it's not the staggers!

[ac12]

I would get a mite/lice spray from PetSmart and spray the birds. Read the direction on how to spray, keep the spray away from their eyes. That would then eliminate that as a problem.

Then I would separate the bird with the feather problem. This would allow you to deal with that bird w/o complications from the other birds. I would give that bird LOTS of egg food, to help regrow the feathers.

For the cage floor, that is a hard one. Newspaper is slippery. One option is to crumple the newspaper then flatten it out. The idea is the crumpled surface will give its feet something to get traction on.
Perches should be tree branches, not wood dowels. The reason for this is the branches will give traction to the feet so they won't slide apart.

[Queen_Bee]

I was able to track down some mite spray, but Scat is not available anywhere in my area. I'll have to go much further afield to find it. The perches are tree branches, so that's not a problem. I'll try scrumpling the newspaper after I clean up after the mite spray. Thanks for the advice!

I was also able to purchase a broad spectrum antibiotic, Ornacyn-Plus (erythromycin) with added vitamins and amino acids. Not sure if I should dose them or not.

[nixity]

SCATT won't help with feather mites/lice anyway that I know of.
What kind of cage are the birds in now?
That happened to one of my birds when I had him in a galvanized cage and he kept landing on the sides. Because the wire wasn't coated, it basically destroyed his feathers.

Might not be a mite problem at all but either a factor of the material of cage they were housed in before or currently, depending on what the situation is.

[Queen_Bee]

SCATT won't help with feather mites/lice anyway that I know of.
What kind of cage are the birds in now?
That happened to one of my birds when I had him in a galvanized cage and he kept landing on the sides. Because the wire wasn't coated, it basically destroyed his feathers.

Might not be a mite problem at all but either a factor of the material of cage they were housed in before or currently, depending on what the situation is.

Right now they are in a large coated wire cage. The were kept in steel mesh cages where they came from. I'm wondering now if this is a prior injury that may have been exacerbated by transportation/stress. He's eating well, drinking, perching, etc... The other 5 birds look great (apart from molting) and are very active. Everyone of them is eating and drinking. I'm going to continue to observe. I decided overnight to hold off on the mite spray because I don't want to distress them any further if it isn't necessary. Since Scatt seemed to me to primarily be a problem in Gouldians (which I don't keep) I haven't felt it necessary to get any - these birds are also not experiencing any respiratory symptoms whatsoever. I really don't like to medicate anything unless it is necessary as parasites, and bacteria do develop resistance to meds.

[L in Ontario]

What kind of cage are the birds in now?
That happened to one of my birds when I had him in a galvanized cage and he kept landing on the sides. Because the wire wasn't coated, it basically destroyed his feathers.

Might not be a mite problem at all but either a factor of the material of cage they were housed in before or currently, depending on what the situation is.

I did not know that was even possible.

[nixity]

Yeah, I had horrible horrible issues with mine - I don't have the pictures uploaded to Photobucket it seems, but I have them at home, so I can upload later this evening if I remember.

I had two non-coated galvanized cages - one was a smaller one from Corners LTD and from the bird flying and landing on the sides it would tear up their flight and tail feathers and in the case of my blue male Coby it caused so much damage I had contacted Laraine because I had no idea what in the heck was going on. Finally Winnie or Lainey or Misty or someone asked me what type of cage he was in, and I put the connection together.. as soon as I pulled him from that breeding cage and put him in the flight cage the feathers grew back and he was fine.

If the birds are not flighty it's probably not an issue, but Coby was SUPER flighty in the breeding cage and would flip out anytime I opened the door to service it or check the nest, so he was always damaged in that cage even though my hen was fine.

[MLaRue]

I remember that Tiffany -

I just had a Parrot Finch loose all the flight feathers during molting and it left him so that all he could do was hop. As he finished the molt the feathers came in like brand new but until that he was a hopper for what seemed like a few months!

[Queen_Bee]

I just had a Parrot Finch loose all the flight feathers during molting and it left him so that all he could do was hop. As he finished the molt the feathers came in like brand new but until that he was a hopper for what seemed like a few months!

Lucky for our wee birds we mollycoddle them through things like this. If that happened in the wild the poor bird would be history.

[Queen_Bee]

Well the MGFs are all doing well. The wing feathers are growing back in on the bird that had me so concerned. It still can't fly, but is getting around quite well. I gave them a graduated set of perches so that it can get up high with the others by hopping from branch to branch. Seems to work!

I have ordered SCATT and some other meds online, so will give them a SCATT dose, as well as some worm meds followed by probiotics when they arrive. Easier and cheaper to order online from the U.S. than to try to track down all this stuff close to home!