Miserable moult? Or something else?

[Loz]

Mr Hibs has been under-going a moult the last three days and is displaying quite a few pinnies. He has had a pink patch above his left nostril, a bare patch that I initially put down to the moult.
Yesterday I saw signs of what I thought were replacement feathers coming through and I wasn't troubled. Today the bare patch looks to me more like a wound or a scab and it looks less healthy. Has anyone seen similar before? Any ideas?






If the pics are unclear, I will try to get better ones.

Many thanks.

[ladybird]

Oh poor mr Hibbs 😟….it doesn’t look like a moult problem but I am no expert….and yes the picture needs to be clearer I think.
Has he been fighting do you think?

[Loz]

I thought that fighting was a possibility. I've not witnessed any behaviour to suggest this is the cause, everyone is acting entirely normally - No elevated aggression or tension is apparent.
It's still a possibility though.

[Loz]

I hope that this is clearer!

[Loz]

Sometimes this forum makes me a little crazy when trying to insert images ...

[ladybird]

The experts might know, but looks like a wound to me….

[Loz]

That's the weird thing, Ladybird
It started off looking like bare skin but today it looks like it might be a wound.

[ladybird]

I wonder if one of the gang noticed the bald spot and pecked it?  Or has a tiny spot turned nasty?    When I expanded the picture, it looked like a scab.    I would be a bit worried about that…something isn’t right….

[Loz]

There looks to be a scab today, I agree with you. It wasn't there yesterday.

Hibs might have rubbed it against something sharp - he gets a bit rubby when moulting - or it could have been a peck that he failed to dodge.

His behaviour seems normal, including jumping on my phone to mess with this post. Poop and feeding normal. I'll work on the basis that this is a combination of a moult and a minor mishap of some sort.

[tweetiepiesmom]

loz - that was my thought also. It might have been a bare spot from the molt that he got a bit too aggressive rubbing it on a perch or something. I wonder if there is a salve or something you put on it to make sure it doesn't get infected.

[Marianne Marlow]

To me it looks like a small patch of pin feathers that he might have itched on something and it's bled.

If you can hold him I would clean it with some warm water on a cotton bud. Or mist him perhaps if he likes that.

If not then see how it is tomorrow.

[Loz]

Aug 10, 2022 15:52:37 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

To me it looks like a small patch of pin feathers that he might have itched on something and it's bled.

If you can hold him I would clean it with some warm water on a cotton bud. Or mist him perhaps if he likes that.

If not then see how it is tomorrow.

Misting is favourite, I reckon. I'll try it.

[Loz]

Thinking about it, I think he scratched the bald patch against something sharp. It accounts for what I've seen and also for what I haven't seen any evidence of.

Hibs did not appreciate the misting, not one bit but he's forgiven me.

[Marianne Marlow]

Hopefully it will look a bit clearer in a bit and it's just pin feathers.

I am glad he's forgiven you

[Hezz]

Agree that it looks to be a pile of itchy pin feathers that have been rubbed a bit too hard. A little savlon on the area may help and sooth the itch enough to allow the new feathers time to bust through properly.