Ask Lafeber

Is my cockatiel molting or is there something wrong?

Hi! I’ve had my pet cockatiel for a few years now. His name is Koko and recently he has been losing a LOT of feathers. We put him outside during the Fourth of July to get some sun and after a little we went inside to go eat for a few minutes with Koko still outside. This is something that we’ve done in the past but when we came back outside, there was blood on the outside of his cage. After looking at Koko, it didn’t seem that it was his blood at all. His eating and drinking habits are still the same, his feces looks normal, he’s still singing and being lively like he normally is. Is there something wrong or is he simply molting due to the heat? I am more than happy to send a picture of the amount of feathers I’ve collected over the past few days if needed!

Hi Giovanni,

If Koko doesn’t have any bald spots, then he is just going through a heavy molt. Being outdoors probably triggered it. It may have been too hot, and any abrupt temperature change can have a negative effect on a pet bird. If he was starting to molt before he was taken outdoors, he might have been startled by something and broken a blood feathers. Or possible a wild bird landed on his cage and he managed to bite it. I would watch him closely and take him to an avian vet if there is any major change in droppings, appetite or behavior. He might be cranky during a heavy molt and might sleep more, but should overall be bright eyed with a good appetite. As far as taking him outdoors, we recently hosted a webinar about this that you might find interesting. The Vet discusses the pros and cons as well as safe ways to take your bird outside.

Webinar: “Indoors Or Outdoors: What Is Right For Your Parrot?”

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda