# feather problem/damage



## tallaria1 (Oct 16, 2002)

Hi! I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out whats wrong with Oden's feathers.

Oden was a 40 day old feral when the kids brought him to me. They were able to catch him because he couldn't fly up more than 2-3 feet off the ground. When I inspected him, I was surprised to not find a single flat fly, feather lice, or mite. His feathers were destroyed like he had been put in a washing machine. The little barbs that hold all the little strands together would not hold. It almost looks like fine hair instead of feathers. 

I took healthy feathers from my pet pigeon and subjected them to different tests. washing with dish soap seemed to replicate the damaged feather pattern on Oden. And I found his droppings runny as if he injested soap as well. I live across the street from a car wash that has pigeons all over. After a couple days on a healthy diet with vitamin supplements, his poop turned to perfectly normal little balls.

I figured he got doused or immersed some how with the soapy water at the car wash. I assumed that as he moulted, new feathers would replace the damaged ones. 

It's been 4 months now and he has lost some feathers but I cant find any new ones that look straight. A friend mentioned that it could be some genetic mutation that causes his feathers to grow out like that. Has anyone ever heard of this? Maybe from inbreeding?

I'm also looking for a home for him. Somewhere where he can grow out the rest of his feathers and be released or live permanently if they never correct themselves. I have one big cage that has my cock and hen and the cock bullies and tortures him. He is quite defenseless. So I moved him to his own cage but it is way too tiny for a pigeon.

So that's it for now. Any help or insight is greatly appreciated.
My email is [email protected]
Thanks again,
Nikola


----------



## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello,

This is very strange, I just caught a bird awhile back with greasy feathers, she always looked wet and the feathers looked so damaged that she couldn't take off in flight well either.

She is at the wildlife centre now and what they have to do is wash her with a soap then put her in an out door aviary with a pond so she can splash, she will also get foods which contain fats like Peanuts, corn, hemp ..etc to make her own oils then she will spread them into the feathers, that way she will be fully water proof feathers.

Maybe as you say because you have this car wash infront of where you live the pigeons bathe there and maybe it takes off all the natural oils which protect the feather. 

I washed a bird once and I know after washing the feathers are not as strong as they used to be and can get messed up quickly.

Let's see what other members have to say..

Mary


----------



## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Hello,
I don't have an answer to this problem even though I did some research and found nothing on this topic. My baby Angel has always had those greasy messed up feathers, she takes baths once in a while in her bird bath and after that she stays wet for hours, I always thought she is missing something, my other birds dry pretty fast, not Angel though. She gets her vitamins, also corn, peanuts, all the healthy stuff. My vet has no clue what it could be. So I thought it might be something genetic.
Maybe somebody knows more about this.
Reti

------------------


----------



## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello Reti

Have you tried washing her with a soap that will take off the oil? Maybe she has something on her feathers like the bird I posted about (car oil..etc)

Of course this could also be genetic as you say.. 

Mary


----------



## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Hi Mary,
I did wash her a couple of times with dawn for dishes,someone suggested it could help, it did not though. She has been indoors al her life so she could have not had come in contact from anything from the environment. She always had that. That's why I think it might be genetic.
She grew up on my lap so I thought at some point it might be from to much petting.
I really don't know, the only thing I am concerned about is that she stays wet for hours after bathing and she hates the hair dryer.

------------------


----------



## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

You might try feeding a higher percentage of the high oil seeds, like hemp and safflower, or adding garlic oil to the feed.
I had a dog that had a very dry coat and poor skin condition most of her life. In her old age, I took her to a holistic veterinarian who (among other things) suggested giving her a very high dose of fish oil (like 7 times normal). Within two months she had the softest, plushy coat. Evidently, her individual body chemistry did not process fats easily and she needed a higher intake to function normally.


----------



## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

My cat eats fish every night (it's a white fish from Alaska) and her coat is so shiny and beautiful.. She has been eating this ever since she was a little kitten, she hates meat or boiled chicken and will vomit if she did eat abit.

Fish oil is very good but I'm not sure if you can give it to birds









Mary 

[This message has been edited by maryco (edited December 05, 2003).]


----------



## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Oh I just remembered that we give our birds cod liver oil.. lol


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

While this may not be a cure for some of the feather problems, I'm (once again) going to recommend you all use Garlic oil gel caps for your birds. It not only cleanses the blood, but helps create beautiful thick healthy feathering, and builds the powdering the birds need to keep their feathers dry.

I cannot stress this enough, I have all my birds on it, and after long term use of garlic caps, they are healthier, their feathers are beautiful, and the powder that protects the feathers, is thick! It is not the same as putting them on garlic oil-that you get from the pigeon supply places.

I put my "Bear" on it after my rehabber fixed his broken leg, to help build his immune system and to deal with stress. He moulted during this period of and you should see his new feathers! He's a gorgious redhead! 

I also use it for two days every two weeks for one month as a natural preventative from worms. Treesa


----------



## Tallaria (Jul 10, 2001)

Thank you everyone for replying! I've had Oden on all the regular 'oil seeds' but to no avail. I will try the garlic though because it is something I have in the house to give to my husband and it has cured his dandruff.
I also have cod liver oil and am curious as to if it is safe to give to birds. Anyone know?...Maryco, you said you give it to your birds, do you notice a difference in feather condition?

[This message has been edited by Tallaria (edited December 06, 2003).]


----------



## pigeon george (Aug 7, 2003)

hey you guys are probly done looking here but where i get my feed this guy has these tiny capsuls for pigeons with garlic oil there so small you give one right in the beak thought it was a gimmick but i guess hes got something


----------



## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Hi,
I give all my three birds cod liver oil capsules once a week. The vet said it's ok. I have not noticed any change in Angel's feathers though, they are still greasy.
Reti

------------------


----------



## kayzee123 (Nov 15, 2003)

Hi Nikola,

There are many reasons a bird can have poor feather development and unless you get the feathers tested, have blood tests, etc. it's hard to pinpoint the cause.

But you can at least use a process of elimination that may help point to the source of the problem.

First, even though you aren't seeing any little bugs, I would still spray the bird for them. It's rare for a feral not to have some kind of mite or lice. If you have done this, and also sprayed the cage area, then you can be sure it's not an external parasite.

Also, really check out the skin. Does it look inflamed, scaly?

The other thing to watch for is preening and bathing behavior. After handling the bird, does it ruffle it's feathers, pick at them? Does it take a bath during the seek? 

Some birds will do self-mutilation and that can be caused by, again, many factors both physical as well as emotional and psychological.
If the bird doesn't preen, then there is a problem, for preening is an important aspect to a bird's health and welfare. As a feral, it would have to have preened itself in order to make it thus far.

If the bird is stressed by being in a too-small enclosure, that can also cause psychological trauma (and feather picking). A feral bird needs space to fly! Getting the bird to a place that can provide that would be important.

Where do you live? Perhaps a rehabber in your area would respond. I live in Ontario.

Keep us informed...Kaaryn


----------



## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello,

Yes of course you can give your bird cod liver oil capsuls, not too much though I think I heard too much vitamin A can be toxic so just give one every few weeks.

I gave my birds capsuls twice in the last year (I've only had them for a year) but when Pearl first came she had these strange feathers on her wing (the area where a black bar would be on a blue bar pigeon's wing) my pigeon was white though, pure white but she had these ugly yellow, stiff, crunchy feathers in that area, and all the feathers were cream not white, also I noticed how stiff the feathers were on her head and neck, not soft like her husband Dotty with a lovely shine.

Anyway I kept her for a year and with the vitamins in her water, the flax seeds and all the good stuff she is looking 100% better after her molt, she is now white not cream, and all those crunchy feathers are gone, she has soft feathrs all over and a lovely purple green shine on her neck even though it's not very visible because she is white but when she turns I can see it slightly.

I heard flax seeds are good, they contain Omega 3 fatty acids like the fish so it's also healthy for hair/feathers and skin.

Mary



[This message has been edited by maryco (edited December 19, 2003).]


----------



## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Mary, I had no idea that the cod liver oil might be that toxic. I gave it to them once a week, but only three times. 
Angel gets everything mentioned above, all kinds of seeds, also corn, peanuts as treats, split peas 9the vet recommended more vegetables. She flies around the house, she preens. All her tests are normal, so I have no clue what she could be missing. Beth and Tiny look great, it's only Angel with the feather problem, also her ceres is still pink.I do start believing that she might have some congenital metabolic deficit. The vet said it might be possible, but he has no clue what to start looking for. So I guess we will never know.
I was wondering if it has anything to do with the fact that she never had any crop milk?
Reti

------------------


----------



## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

It could, my previous pet was raised by me since he was 4 days old and he didn't have such a good immune system so when he got sick and broke his toe he couldn't stand the meds very well, later on he passed away









Mary




> Originally posted by Reti:
> *
> I was wondering if it has anything to do with the fact that she never had any crop milk?
> 
> *


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I guess, baby pigeons not getting crop milk, is like a human baby not getting breast milk. They do acuire certain immunities from the mothers milk,- in the collostrum.
Skye got a minimum of crop milk from his mother when she abandoned him and his sister at 4 days old, but he is in great shape. I still give him the garlic oil once in a while, and that does help with feathering and the white wattle. Garlic also gives them the nice white powder that keeps them from looking like drown rats. 

Reti, do you give them the dry split peas, or frozen?
Treesa


----------

