April 28, 2020
Odd feather
Does Athena have a medical or nutritional issue (the red feather on her chest is why I ask)?
Question:
Answer:
Hi Channin,
When she first became an adult, she got REALLY hormonal–pulled out all the feathers on her chest and started developing a brood patch. We took her to the vet to get shots to calm her hormones, but she continued to pluck that area for awhile and damaged the feather bed…grey parrots feathers turn red just as our hair turns gray for lack of pigment…so that’s why she has a few red feathers there.
Thank you,
Dr. Irene Pepperberg
