Ask Lafeber

Lutino cockatiel having lots of bald spots

My lutino cockatiel of 7 months has alot of baldness behind his neck and under his wings and a bald spot in his head , I’m worried he might be plucking his feathers

Hi Arthur,

It is very common for Lutino cockatiels to have bald spots or sparse feathers in those areas. The Lutino is a color mutation which is technically a genetic defect. In order to get more Lutinos, the birds were often bred to related birds, so many Lutinos are very inbred. The most common bald spot is the back of the head. Birds have feather tracts, which means some areas do not actually have feathers, but are covered by feathers growing in the closest tract. When a bird gets wet or hasn’t groomed itself properly, the areas without tracts will show as bald areas. You might try to google for images of bird feather tracts. It would be unusual for such a young bird to be plucking his feathers, and there is no way he can pluck the back of his head. If the feather loss gets worse, then you should take him to an Avian Vet to rule out a medical issue.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda