normal or no?

[bookworm0550]

joey is a seagreen who all of a sudden has two yellow feathers on his head. is this normal? i took photos of it, but haven't uploaded them to my laptop yet. but it's seriously just two yellow feathers on his head like as if he went and got highlights.

[linda040899]

How old is Joey?

[bookworm0550]

he will be 3 sometime this month. why?

[bookworm0550]

since photobucket is so slow, i'm using my facebook. hopefully the links work for you.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32885335&l=b17c951de0&id=1303906223
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32885336&l=88fd66b1a7&id=1303906223
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32885337&l=e52980fafd&id=1303906223
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32885338&l=04dc58e557&id=1303906223

[linda040899]

The reason I asked about age is because I've had older lovebirds 7-8+ develop yellow feathers and it's simply ageing. Are all of Joey's nails the same color? Sometimes a bird can be Pied but not show any light feathering, yet as little as 1 nail will show it by being a different color.

Light colored feathers on a darker bird can sometimes, and I repeat sometimes, be an early indicator of possible liver problems. Personatus has had lovebirds that have developed major color changes with no explanation at all.

[bookworm0550]

i hope it's not liver problems. i've seen him before w/ these yellow feathers, but they usually just molt away, and it's never really that many feathers. he's pretty healthy, not fat, weighs like 51 grams or something like that, very active, eats pellets during the day and seeds at night for dinner.

[linda040899]

If this has happened before and the feathers molted out, I would not worry about it. It sounds like it might be normal for Joey.

Liver disease sounds very frightening but it's not hard to treat at all. Ginger (CAG) was diagnosed with the beginnings of liver disease probably 10 yrs. ago. My vet treated her holistically and she's been fine ever since.

[bookworm0550]

i'll keep an eye on him though. thanks.

[bookworm0550]

The reason I asked about age is because I've had older lovebirds 7-8+ develop yellow feathers and it's simply ageing. Are all of Joey's nails the same color? Sometimes a bird can be Pied but not show any light feathering, yet as little as 1 nail will show it by being a different color.

Light colored feathers on a darker bird can sometimes, and I repeat sometimes, be an early indicator of possible liver problems. Personatus has had lovebirds that have developed major color changes with no explanation at all.

i'll double check his toes. i feel like they're all the same color though. my bf was saying that he's getting older, but he's only turning 3 next week so i dont think that's it. like i said, i'll keep careful eye on him and keep you posted.

[linda040899]

3 is not old for a lovebird! Not by a long shot! I think just watching is the best game plan.

[Pips mom]

Wow, that is so strange! Those are great shots you got of it too! When I see photos of Joey, I often wonder if Pip is also seagreen because everything about Joey looks exactly like Pip........well.......except for those yellow feathers! :rotfl How do I know for sure that Pip is a dutch blue when they look so much alike?

[Bubblelady]

Buddy was a pied who had NO yellow until she was 3. I remember clearly cause I was so suprized. It started with a few scattered yellow feathers on her head. Then, each molt for another 3 years she got more & more yellow. Finally her head was half yellow & she had scattered yellow feathers on her chest that reminded me of sunlight shining through the trees. :) Then at about 10 her yellow began "shrinking" again so that by the time she died (at almost 15) she had no yellow left at all. I still miss her so...it will be two years in a couple of week...sigh....

[Chickobee]

I have noticed that my pied lovies become even more pied with each molt. Do you know the genetics of Joey's parents? Possibly he is very lightly pied and it is starting to show more as he gets older.

I have wondered if my Quigley is pied because he has two white flight feathers. His mom was pied, but he's never had any pied babies.

Kim;

You can tell the difference in an aqua or seagreen lovebird by the beak coloring. A seagreen will have pink at the top and horn color at the bottom of the beak. An aqua (Dutch blue) will have a horn colored beak.

Gus is a seagreen
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj106/Chickobee/Gus%20and%20Marley/GusMarliea.jpg

[bookworm0550]

i don't know if joey has pied in his family, but his parents didn't look like pieds. they looked pretty solid to me. none of their offsprings had pied. he looks like he's getting more yellow. it looks like the feather is green and turning yellow rather than growing out yellow. i tried to look more carefully today, but he's too hyper right now.

[thebubbleking]

Also i have noticed the older a lovebird gets the more yellow you see, yellow feathers is like lovebird grey hair lol

[bookworm0550]

joey's only turning 3 next weekend.

[linda040899]

I'd ask your vet to do a blood test to check liver values, just to be on the safe side. If that returns OK, it could be just another case such as the ones Personatus has had where the feathering changes color and there's no explanation. Liver problems is the most logical suspect and that's treatable. Three is not old for a lovebird.

[bookworm0550]

i'll ask my vet about it as well when i take evie in next week.

[Pips mom]

Buddy was a pied who had NO yellow until she was 3. I remember clearly cause I was so suprized. It started with a few scattered yellow feathers on her head. Then, each molt for another 3 years she got more & more yellow. Finally her head was half yellow & she had scattered yellow feathers on her chest that reminded me of sunlight shining through the trees. :) Then at about 10 her yellow began "shrinking" again so that by the time she died (at almost 15) she had no yellow left at all. I still miss her so...it will be two years in a couple of week...sigh....

Wow.......two years already? seems like just yesterday when you first joined here with your poems.
and as far as Pip goes.......I do believe that his beak is exactly like this.....I can try to get a good shot of his beak.......this would mean that all this time I thought he was dutch blue and he's seagreen? I'll get a close up pic of him tomorrow so you all can tell me what you think.

[bookworm0550]

and as far as Pip goes.......I do believe that his beak is exactly like this.....I can try to get a good shot of his beak.......this would mean that all this time I thought he was dutch blue and he's seagreen? I'll get a close up pic of him tomorrow so you all can tell me what you think.

i know, i think dutch blues and seagreens look really familiar. i wish i had a dutch blue to just see the difference between the two.

[personatus]

It could be a progressive pied (mottle), but I don't think so. That normally begins after the first moult and each moult the mottling increases.

If the feathers are changing colour rather than moulting out into new colour, then it's not pied or any other mutation.

With my bird that changed colour I have various theories. After having a chat with Dirk v/d Abeele, he informed me of unheard of diseases out there that can possibly effect the eumelanin in the feathers, some viral too. I believe my bird's problem was related to moult stress. Environmental factors changed quite a few times in a short period of time, and it only takes one change to trigger a moult.

I would get some bloodwork done to test for liver/kidney misfunction, and if he isn't already tested for the usual polyoma/PBFD etc then I would get them done too just to ease your mind. I wouldn't worry about it though, these tests really are for your peace of mind, it's most likely nothing. If they are ruled out, then put it down to a random genetic modification, which happens with no explination most of the time :)

However, it could be the beginning of a moult and these feathers could well drop soon. I have lots of pure green birds who get the odd yellow feather in the green, and they stay that way. It's just one of them things.

[PurpleLovinRN]

OMG! I just asked this question! I should have read this thread first! Peaches is getting a few yellow patches..he will be 8 in November. Guess I can call him an "old man" now that he is getting in birdie grey hairs! LOLOL :)

HUGS!

[bookworm0550]

OMG! I just asked this question! I should have read this thread first! Peaches is getting a few yellow patches..he will be 8 in November. Guess I can call him an "old man" now that he is getting in birdie grey hairs! LOLOL :)

HUGS!

I was gonna tell you to find my thread here :)