Dealing with feather discoloration
I have a Green-cheeked conure for exactly two years now.
In the last year, a large number of feathers lost their green or blue color, and I thought it was because of a bad mistake of not buying new pellets ahead of time, which led to him eating only seeds for five days exactly at the time of motling.
After some reading I got to the conclusion I'll probably have to wait another year for the feathers to fall off and grow again, but the diet and environment conditions are satisfying.
However, I'm afraid other things aren't OK. He's diet is actually pellets-only and seeds once or twice a week (he doesn't like fruits & vegetables except apples), he has a very large cage compared to most green-cheeks, and he's always happy and playful.
Is there anything else I should look for or change in the treatment of him? In the first year his feathers were so colorful and bright and I just can't find any clue to something being inappropriate.
Thank you!
(1)1 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
You are correct--your conure's current feathers will remain until his next molt. I'm a little concerned that he is on a diet almost entirely of pellets. Conures like and need variety in their diets. My green-cheek get LaFeber's Nutriberries for conures (which are also fun foraging food), Ecotrition Essentials cockatiel food, and he loves red leaf lettuce, shredded carrots, and dark grapes (and he mutters nasty things at me if I give him the green seedless variety). When he molts again, you might also try adding an excellent vitamin supplement called Featherrific by Avitech.
What kind of light does he get? Full-spectrum light also helps in the creation and processing of vitamins, which is necessary to produce good feather color.
Be sure he gets a nice bath whenever he wants one, too. (We all get bath when Jerry, my conure takes a bath--he splashes water everywhere.)
It's good that he's playful and happy. He probably just needs a few adjustments to diet and perhaps lighting.
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2025 All Rights reserved.