I found a cockatiel with missing feathers on it’s head, Is there something wrong with it?

This AM I took my caged cockatiel outside to get some fresh air. He started chirping (which is normal) & another bird replied. After a second or two, I realized he there was another bird near by. I thought it was the neighbor’s but theirs are about 30 yrds away, this one sounded closer. I looked around and saw one on the top of my tree. I have some binoculars, so I used them to take a closer look. I noticed there were missing feathers from it’s head, so this made me think it was a baby bird.

Around 2pm, my sister called me & said they found the bird on the floor so they caught it and put it in a travel cage I had for my bird. Now that I can get a closer look at the bird, Im no longer sure if it’s a baby. He looks small, but it could be that he is simply malnourished. His eyes look big and round. But the feathers around his neck & the top of his head are missing. He only has the orange feathers around his checks & his body. What could be wrong with this bird?

There’s no way to be sure without a vet exam, but the bird may be fine, except for the lack of feathers and some weight loss.

I have a lutino cockatiel who is bald on his head, and was completely bald on his neck, and a large area on his back. He was tested for illness, but as it turned out, his mate was plucking him. Once that stopped, most of his feathers returned, but the top of his head is still bald. When he didn’t have his feathers, he looked tiny compared to my other tiels.

Since the bird that you found it bald on the head, it’s safe to assume that the bird did not pluck itself. It was either plucked by something else, is suffering from an illness or parasite infestation (mites), or carries a genetic defect.

There is a possibility of illness or parasites. It’s very important that you do not expose your bird to the new bird. They should not be caged together, or share anything. You should wash yours hands thoroughly after handling the new bird or it’s cage.

Please try to locate it’s owner. Hopefully, they are looking for the bird. You may want to contact all of the vets in your area, especially any avian vets.

Here is a link to locate avian vets in the US:

http://www.aav.org/

Contact your local animal shelters, humane societies and bird rescues, and leave a found report.

In addition, check the lost and found in the classifieds of your local newspapers. Many are on-line, too.

These sites also have free on-line lost and found pet ads:

http://www.petfinder.com/

http://www.birdhotline.com/lostdir.htm

http://www.craigslist.org/

http://www.kijiji.com/

This link has a few more:

http://www.geocities.com/monicaarnouk/LostFoundBirds.html

Best of luck to you and the bird!

Ghost Adventures Bird Cage theater part 2 of 5