Feathering

I have three Gouldians, all about the same age, all male. The red face isn't puffy but his back feathers seem to be in disarray more often than not. He always smooths out when we approach the cage and does not act sick.

One of my 4 Ringnecks has a large bald patch around his left ear. I am assuming this is mites. I have read many of your responses stating to use S76. I am wondering if you ever recommend Diatomaceous Earth as treatment. I use this on my chickens outside and they do very well. I have also used Frontline on them and it works too! 1 drop on a bantam.

Hello Doctor Rob! I am a birdkeeper living in Suffolk, England. I have two budgies, seven red factor canaries and two Gouldian Finches, all kept indoors in separate cages. We've had the Gouldians since last year and they are about three years old.

I wrote to you last year about my female Gouldian going bald on the top of her head. Over the summer she grew her feathers back and looked really good. However she is beginning to show signs of loosing them again. She has begun to loose feathers around her beak and eyes. Is there a way of preventing this from happening again?

We have a pair of Gouldian finches that are going through their first molt. They are both puffed up but the male is really puffed up. He acts fine, he's eating and active. Is this a normal part of molting? We just started giving them Feather Up.

Hello Dr. Rob, I recently acquired some finches. I observe that there seems to be some problems with them. My birds are shedding a lot of feathers lately and it isn't just one that is shedding, its like most of them. They are currently breeding, so I doubt this is a great time for molting. What may be the problem? Please teach me what to do. Thank you! Leo

I have a canary that has been molting for about five months nonstop. It does sing, but weakly. I do not have it in a draft, and I feed it plenty of vitamins and make sure that it is getting all its needs, but I can't figure out why it is still molting. I have several other birds in the same place and they get the same treatment, yet they seem fine.

I have a new Cordon Bleu male that is about 9 months old. I have had the female for almost a year. Her last mate died recently, they never "mated". It appears that she is pecking, not aggressively, at the back of his head. He has a bald spot now. This just started and we've had him for about 2 weeks. Three questions: Will the feathers grow back and what to do about the pecking?

My baby Gouldians are now 8 months old. One of them is still green and the other one has almost changed completely except the black head is spotted. Three weeks ago I started them on vitamins program of yours. Will this help them change colors. They both sing and seem very healthy. We live in the midwest and I keep the temperature at 74 degrees and the humidity of 40%.

Our male Eclectus is plucking his feathers. The owner of the store where we bought him three years ago recommended acquiring a small bird--perhaps a finch--to keep in a separate cage in our parrot's room. She thinks the diversion might improve our parrot's mental health and reduce his plucking. What do you think?