# Baby with a lack of feathers...



## im faster (Dec 23, 2010)

okay this is my third baby this year after some bad advise here i moved them from the seed they were on to pine needles the parents stopped taking care of them. and the died.. 

this time i didnt mess with them.. but he isny feathering right or is he? the others didnt make it this long


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Sure does not look right at all.

Don't understand what you mean by



> moved them from the seed they were on to pine needles


Have the parents had any health problems?

Seen something like this in Levi ... will try to find


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

OMG..you need to take him to a vet. I don't think the death of the other babies was caused by putting the babies on pine needles but rather, something is seriously wrong with your birds.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Something definately wrong there, from the pinkiness of the skin, it looks more like it has been plucked.
Cant think of anything that would allow some feathers to grow to such an extent and none elsewhere.


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## im faster (Dec 23, 2010)

After switching the others to the pine needles the parents ignored them and wouldnt feed them.

the parents are healthy.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Like John, I dont understand why they were nesting on seed ?
Did they lay the eggs in the seed bowl ?
If so,and that is the "seed bowl" in the cage, then the bowl is too big for feeding.
The reason for pine needles is so the young can get a grip with there feet, to avoid them getting splayed legs.
If you have "interupted" their nesting process & changed things round while they were raising the young, they may well have felt the nest was interfered with & thats why they stopped feeding, not because of the fact that it was pine needles.

Not relevant to problem (I dont think), but it also looks like the "water bowl" is directly under a perch, so would be a perfect catch for any poops, that certainly wont help health wise either.


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## im faster (Dec 23, 2010)

2 water bowls neither are under a perch.. 
they did lay in the sead bowl.. they have 3 in total the other 2 are small
I am a magician thats what the birds are used for my mentor who has had and been breeding doves for almost 2 decades.. has always allowed for them to be laid in food dishes.. and never had problems doing this..

and yeah they were about 2 weeks old when i switched them over..


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*On pages 410and 411 in the bookTHE PIGEON by LEVI. -I will not go into great detail but pigeons occasionally do pull out and eat the pin feathers of their own young, on page 411 are pictured 4 squarbs that look exactly like the one posted here. I feel that you are not feeding the right food and not enough.YOU BEST GET SOME GOOD PIGEON FEED* GEORGE


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## im faster (Dec 23, 2010)

Im using the same food i have for almost 10 years.. 

but ill give a differnt food a shot.. what do you suggest


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## im faster (Dec 23, 2010)

also i assumed that they were just preening i have seen the adults i guess plucking feathers now..


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*What are you using now? What is the protein percentage? Do you feed oyster shell and grit? Are these birds pigeons or doves (they look like white doves but I can't get a good look at the adult?*GEORGE


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## im faster (Dec 23, 2010)

doves
wild bird seed.
i dont have the bag anymore.. 
i give grit.. never used oyster shells


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

im faster said:


> doves
> wild bird seed.
> i dont have the bag anymore..
> i give grit.. never used oyster shells


*I have looked over some of your old posts and I feel that you have birds that are under great stress. as they seem to be confined to a small cages.
I am going off line as I have to feed my flock. * GEORGE


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## im faster (Dec 23, 2010)

i have 4 birds well 4 now in a Hugecage. 
when i first got them yes.. they spent a very short time in 2 smaller cages before i got rid off some and bought a bigger cage..


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

im faster said:


> also i assumed that they were just preening i have seen the adults i guess plucking feathers now..


I find it hard to believe that even a parent bird could pull out that many feathers without you noticing it doing so, or at least even get to that stage without you intervening to stop it.
They must be under a lot of stress of some sort.


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## im faster (Dec 23, 2010)

I dont know how they could be stressed. 
and he never started growing the feathers.. 
the wing feathers started coming in fine however i never saw the others start..


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## SamanthaBrooke (Jun 24, 2011)

Hmm, I'm no expert but I think the wise thing would be to just take the poor baby to a vet, if he catches the slightest draft with that baldness he/she will surly die!!
It looks like his/her feathers have been pulled, maybe they aren't getting enough to eat?

Do you have a avian vet to take him/her to? It probably would be wise to do that ASAP, for the birds sake please??

Keep us updated...


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