GCC wing feathers turning black

[Maxie]

Does anyone know why a GCC green wing feathers would be slowly turning black?

[linda040899]

Tell me more. What mutation of GCC? Any photos?

[Maxie]

She's an Instagram follower and has her account as private. I'll have to put it in a Flickr or shutterfly page and attach it.

[linda040899]

I looked at Zoey's flight feathering last night and his flights have black edging. Zoey is a Yellowside Green Cheek mutation and he's finally gotten all his adult feathering.

[Maxie]

For some reason, I can't download a print screen into Shutterfly so you can see.

She has a regular green cheek conure and it's not just the tips of the wing feathers, it's the full feather that's turning black.

[Maxie]

Here's a few pics!

Here's the link to Buttons IG account.

https://www.instagram.com/_button_01/

Click on each pic for a closer look.

Oh, he's a yellow sided GCC.

[linda040899]

Buttons is a Yellowsided Green Cheek mutation just like my Zoey. The black edging on the wing feathers is normal coloration. What ISN'T normal are the black feathers/patches on the rest of the body.

There could be a couple of reasons but first question. How old is Button? Feathers can take a beating if they are preened a lot of if they just get plain "old". Parrots usually molt twice/year to replace old feathers with new ones. My first inclination was stress bars but you are looking a full feathers so button may be preening and destroying the coating on the feathers that reflects light so the feathering appears to be black. I would probably make an appointment for Buttons with my avian vet to make sure there's no medical cause for what's happening.

[Maxie]

He just turned one and it started close to his birthday. She did take him to the vet and the vet said that he's healthy but to feed him more veggies.

Do you think it could be a deficiency in any particular nutrient that's causing the discolouration?

[linda040899]

Has he gone through a molt yet? Those feathers may molt out.

[Maxie]

No major moult, just a few feathers here and there.

[linda040899]

If there are only a few feathers molting out, all the black ones may be replaced by the color they really should be. If there is nothing medically wrong, chances are Buttons might be stressed by something (although stress usually shows as bars rather than entire feathers) or Buttons is overpreening the dark feathers so that their actual color is no longer visible.

Blue feather coloring in some parrots is an optical illusion (Peachie lovebirds in particular) and what you see is a reflection of color from the feathers. Damage the feather and it will appear dull and usually dark grey or black.

[Maxie]

Thanks for all the info Linda ❤️