Is this worse than it should be? Advice if you have a moment

[budgiebudgie]

As you can tell, Bimbo has just had her first proper, full-on moult.  She's lost tail feathers, wing feathers (not primaries) and soooo many small fluffy 'body' and underparts feathers.  This was at the same time as her cere going down brown and slightly after (although only by a day or so) she went KeRaZy regurgitating to me several times a day. I don't know if the timing of all these things happening more or less at the same time is important. 

It's her crown that now looks bad.  The last photo, although out-of-focus, is an attempt to show how kind of 'threadbare' it looks from the side.  She's still scratching quite a lot.  I presume the feathers with black dots at the top (looking like blackheads) were / or are going to be her pin feathers, but she was troubled with pin feathers about two months before this episode.  The photos don't really show how pink and raw her crown looks at the moment. 

I've been giving her millet (although not loads), bits of apples and spinach.  She loves the spinach. I give her three leaves folded up so that they stay in wrapped around the bars of her cage.  The effect of three leaves folded is that there's space between the leaves - a bit like a 'ripple' bar of chocolate.  She really does like this and eats loads of it (it's not on the floor).  Is this too much?

I tried the egg and carrot meal a while ago but she wouldn't touch it, and I figured that as spinach has some protein and vitamin C in it and because she likes it so much, I'd let her have that as an addition to seed.

But her crown looks bad. It must be uncomfortable.  Is it worse than it really should be?  What should I do?  Until now I've left it to see if it gets better on its own, but now think I'd better ask for advice.  Should I get Guardian Angel?

Thanks everyone (in advance),

[suesbird]

Pippins were like this a couple of weeks ago, so red and sore but once they have started to come through it has calmed down. I just gave him the tonic seed, egg food and lots of fresh herbs and fruit. Sorry I can't help anymore

[budgiebudgie]

suesbird, you are always helpful! What you've just written is very reassuring. Thank you. Were Pippins' as bad as this?

[suesbird]

Yep, they were, I thought Jo had attached him at first and they looked so sore, the little so and so carried on as though it was nothing. Misting helps. I have a very grubby, rough and tumble little man who is always in trouble one way or another

[budgiebudgie]

Thanks. I've added a bit of tonic to her water. She's a bit grumpier than normal. HOpefully it will pass in a couple of weeks then, as it did for Pippin.

[suesbird]

Jo is very stroppy and miserable when she moults, the last 2 weeks she has been a right miserable so and so, now she will not shut up and back to being a little Madam

[ffiscool]

Bailey's are often like this and not only at moult time.. must be so sore

[Budgies Retreat]

My albino recently moulted, and it looked like it had been snowing in my bird shed. She had a very red sore looking head but it has calmed down now thankfully. She lost tails and flights, but they've all started to come back.

[skysmum]

Bless her, all mine have had moults like that this year, funny how some are worse than others. A nice water spray helps

[starlingqueen]

I can't recommend Feather up enough. Non of mine have any problems with their moults, they don't seem to notice it's happening. www.birdcareco.com/English/TheBirdCareCompany/ProductInformation/Feather-Up

[Billy's Dad]

This was our little man last week,he's been very slightly less active than usual but doesn't seem to have bothered him a great deal.

[mintysowner]

Oh love her! Think it is quite normal, they can look a little balding with it but hopefully in a few weeks it would've sorted itself out. Sky has had two moults but it's only recently she's had a couple of very stubborn pin feathers, a couple that have bled a bit too. Must be so sore for them!

[ffiscool]

I realised after reading this post, Bailey is getting a lot less of the staining, blood above his cere, in general. He used to hardly have any gaps of non stained

[Hezz]

budgiebudgie, some moults seems to be worse than others, and often those first few can be doozies. One of my boys ends up with a bald spot somewhere every year; that just seems to be the way he is. The first time it was just like Bimbo's as it was growing out. If she won't eat egg, try her with eggfood, but don't overdo the spinach, much as she might enjoy it as it is a calcium binder, meaning that in the budgies' bodies the spinach actually take calcium out of the birds' food and makes it unavailable to their bodies.

[jellybean]

May 10, 2015 19:36:05 GMT starlingqueen said:

I can't recommend Feather up enough. Non of mine have any problems with their moults, they don't seem to notice it's happening. www.birdcareco.com/English/TheBirdCareCompany/ProductInformation/Feather-Up

I was going to buy this a while back, but now that you have recommended it starlingqueen I am going to order it, my 2 boys have just come through a moult, and now have new pinnies coming through. Do you use it on its own, because I have just had a look at their website and they recommend it be used with "Calcivet & Potent Brew" for best results.