.RonHines DVM PhDof my articles are plagiarized and altered on the web to market productsand services. There are never ads running or anything for salewith my real articles. Try to stay with the oneswith in the URL box or find all my articlesat.Feathersare a bird’s most precious possession - beautiful and complexstructures that give the gift of flight and insulate their bodies. However,after about a year, these delicate structures wear out.
- Asiatic Parrots And Their Mutations Pdf
- Asiatic Parrots And Their Mutations
- Asiatic Parrots And Their Mutations Pdf Online
Even with carefulpreening, the feathers get frazzled and crimped from the wear and tearof ordinary activity.Inthis article, I put detailed stuff that most bird owners probably don’tcare about in a smaller, italicized font.Even then, this article may be a yawn to most parrot owners - I gotdeeper into feathers than most veterinarians do during my days atIfocused this article on parrots. But since no scientific experimentsuse parrots as their subjects, I have had to use my personal observationsand to reach out for information to birds that have been studied. Fortunately,the basic mechanisms and life processes are very similar between birds.Current research on how feathers develop is centered at theSchool of Medicine of USC and Arizona State.The US NIH funds this research because of its interest in how humanbody organs might be regenerated. They have all told me that there arebig gaps in what we know about the molt process.WhatFeathers AreAlthoughfeathers start out alive as pinfeathers, when they are fully formed,like your hair, they are dead and cannot be repaired.
When the shaftof a feather on your bird is still alive, it will have a purple-bluecolor and it will bleed profusely if it gets injured.Scientistswho study feathers give different types of body feathers different names.The longest feathers of the wings are called primary feathers or flightfeathers, the shorter wing feathers, secondary feathers. Together, theyare called remiges. The base of these wing feathers are covered withshorter ones called coverts. Tail feathers are called retrices. Thefeathers that cover the bird’s body and give it its shape arecalled contour feathers.
Under the contour body feathers are the fluffydown feathers that provide insulation.Thecentral shaft of the feather is composed of a hollow base - called thequill or calamus and the remaining portion of the shaft called the rachis.The feathery sides or vane are composed of individual barbs, which are,themselves, covered with smaller barbules that keep them “zippered”together. The fluffy base portion is called the afterfeather.DoesMolt Occur In An Orderly Fashion?Yes.All birds loose their feathers symmetrically. That means that when oneor two feathers are lost and replaced on one wing, the same feathersare lost and replaced on the other. This allows birds to continue tofly balanced while they are molting. By only loosing a few body feathersat a time, the bird also stays protected from the chill of rain andcold air.WhatCauses Parrots To Molt?Whatcauses birds to molt has intrigued scientists for years. Parrots havethe same molt mechanisms that all birds share.
It is a very complexprocess that has been difficult to sort out and fully understand.Somebirds live in harsh climates or depend on food sources that are onlyavailable periodically. These birds have evolved to have their moltsat exactly to the right season - when food is plentiful, their babieshave flown away and the weather is mild. Parrots are less exacting becausethey come from areas where the temperature is tropical all year longand food is always available.
But the basic mechanism of parrot feathermolt remains the same.Ithas only been in the last few years that the process has begun to beunderstood. Normal molt has nothing to do with temperature or new featherspushing out old ones.
It has everything to do with a natural hormonalrhythm that all birds maintain.TheRhythms Of Life That Govern MoltItmay surprise you that deep inside your parrot there is a clock. Allbirds have one. It is called their diurnal, circadian or photoperiodicclock and it keeps track of the hours of the day. It is also a calendar(circannual) clock, in that it keeps very accurate track of the monthof the year.Theclock is like a personal secretary. It informs the bird when it is theright time to breed, the best time to change feathers (molt), and, insome bird species other than parrots, the best time to fly south forthe winter (no, birds don’t fly South like Daffy because theyare cold).Thebird’s circadian clock ticks from birth. But to remain accurateover time, it hands need to be fine-tuned from clues obtained from theenvironment around it. It receives thesein the form of sunlight and the length of the days.
The process of resettingthe clock to exact time is called entrainment.WhatWinds The Clock?Thecircadian clock responds best to certainof light and also, to some extent, to the light’s.But most important, it seems, is theof the light-length curve during the year.Ordinarywhite sunlight or ‘full spectrum light’ contains all thecolors of the rainbow. But within this rainbow of colors, the circadianclock responds best to (about 640nm).Manyparrot owners believe that parrots should shed a feather now and then.When I lived in San Antonio, TX, I had redheaded amazon parrots in myhome as pets. They did loose feathers now and then.
But I also had aflock of breeding redheaded amazon parrots in outdoor flights. Theyall lost their feathers over the course of a month, shortly after theyraised their chicks. They bred at the same time, laid eggs at the sametime and molted at the same time.
The difference was the light the twodifferent groups received. My house pets had lights on until the familywent to bed. The lighting was ordinary lamp light – not full spectrumlight and its intensity was variable. So their circadian clocks became.The outdoor birds relied on natural sunlight so their clocks kept bettertime.Theannual cycle in birds begins with breeding.
Lengthening spring days– sensed by the clock -their annual reproductive and molt cycles. Once the process has started,the clock cannot be reset until a period of short, winter days, havepassed. Thecloser one gets to the equator, the less difference there is betweenthe length of summer and winter days.
Parrots are not as 'disciplined'in obeying their calendar clocks as some other bird species. That isprobably because they live in areas where food is usually plentifuland daylight hours do not vary as much by season.
But avian circadianclocks are very sensitive. Even a 30 minute difference in daylight hoursis noticeable tobirds. Even birds that live on theequator in South America or Africa experience seasonal variations inlight intensity that affect their reproductive and molt cycles - thereis less sunshine during their rainy season.Australiancockatoos time their reproductive subsequent molt cycles to lengtheningspring and summer days. Parrots of Mexico and Central America tend tomolt in long late summer days. Hyacinth macaws Brazil’s Pantanal,where 90% live, begin their breeding and subsequent molt in July throughDecember while African Gray parrots in the Congo river basin tend tobegin their annual reproductive and molt cycle at the beginning of thedry season (July - December) when more sunny days occur.WhereIs This Clock?
- The Pineal GlandThecircadian clock in birds resides in its. This is a small organ that sits near the front of its brain.Within the pineal gland is a that chemically oscillate, that is they “”and keep pace like a musical metronome. Even if these cells are removedfrom the bird and placed in a test tube, theyto pulse.Thepineal gland is “wired” to the eyes to “perceive”light and probably senses light inways as well. Humans also have a pineal gland.
But our pineal glandswork in a different manner - it is not as “' as thebirds have.The way I have explained this is an. Understanding molt is a bit like peeling an onion – remove onelayer and you find another. It is a much more complex process involvinglots of chemicals, many of them understood.Humansand other mammals also have a circadian clock. But it has moved to anotherin our brain.HowOften Do Parrots Normally Molt Their Feathers?Thatdepends. Indoor parrots that receive artificial light have extendedmolt periods and they may have several per year. They may also retaincertain feathers for over a year.
That is because their clock is free–runningand no longer precise.However,my double-yellow head and red headed amazons, blue and gold and greenwingmacaws, Quaker parrots and lovebirds that were exposed to natural sunlightin Texas molted one time, late in the summer. I cannot tell you aboutoutdoor cockatoos or other parrots because I have not personally ownedthem.Black cockatoos areto take two years to complete a molt. But I do not know if these wereindoor or outdoor birds. To accurately know when wild parrots drop feathersis an almost impossible task. I would love for anyone who might havethis information to share it with me.WildCockatiels are said to havemolts – one before breeding and one after fledging their young.Overthe year, sunlight slightly bleaches feathers, the color of the newones are more intense. This makes it easier to tell which feathers arethe newest.Becausebreeding and molt are intimately connected through the same hormonalcycles, it is my suspicion that small parrot that breed more than oncea year probably go through multiple molts as well.IsThere An Order In Which The Feathers Fall Out?Yes.When feathers are molted normally, an equal number are lost on bothsides of the body. There are no bald patches and the new pinfeathersappear quickly.
In that way, the bird continues to have the abilityto fly in balance, old feathers protect the new blood-filled pinfeathersfrom damage and the bird can maintain its body temperature. This ismost apparent with wing feathers and is the reason you need to examinede-flighted pets frequently to be sure the clipped feathers have notbeen replaced.
Primary wing feathers are often the first to fall outduring a molt. Usually, the inner ones fall first. Then the secondaryflight feathers and tail feathers start being lost and replaced, followedby the contour feathers.DoNew Feathers Push The Old Feathers Out?Itis not that simple. The key to new feather formation is the removalof the old feather. In some unclear way, the presence of a well-anchoredfeather prevents a new feather from forming. When that feather loosensor is plucked out, a new feather immediately begins to form.Priorto molting the blood vessels supporting feather growth dry up and featherattachment to the surrounding tissue becomes loosened.Whenyou pluck out a parrots feather, the process begins. But in a naturalmolt, at least inbird species, the feather bud or follicle begins producing the new featherthe old one is completely shed.
So, in a sense, the new feather doesgive the final push-out to the old one. RefDoWe Know What Hormones and Chemical Factors Are Involved In Molt?Weknow what hormones are in play when molt occurs. But we do not knowthe process by which they cause old feathers to fall and new feathersto replace them.Cytokine(chemokines)Cytokines are messenger proteins that carry signals locally betweencells. These signaling molecules used extensively by birds in cellularcommunication.
Unlike hormones – they concentrate locally andare active in lower concentration. These signaling chemicals have beenfound to increase when molt begins – just like they do when hairisand regrown. Whether they function to dislodge the old feather or growa new feather or If they are the actual cause of the molting processremains.nd ref. Similarfactors are involved in the growth of.MelatoninMelatonintells the bird when to molt. But it does not cause feathers to fallout or regrow.
It is the primary hormone produced by the pineal gland.It is also called the time keeper hormone because oscillations its productionand secretion that are timed to the amount of light that is presentare the body’s central. Its presence or absence controls the production of all other hormonesinvolved in reproduction and molt as well as all differences betweenday and night time activities. Melatonin is secreted when it is. Daily melatonin production is longest in the winter when nights arelong and shortest in summer when nights are short. But blood melatoninreaches its highest dailyin the spring and summer when days are lengthening and its lowest peaksin the fall and winter.Melatoninrhythm and amplitude govern the production of many hormones producedin the bird’s pituitary gland. These include,and, whichare involved in nesting and reproduction,which controls adrenal gland hormone production,which controls thyroid hormone production andwhich controls growth.LH(Luteinizing Hormone aka Interstitial Cell Stimulating Hormone or ICSH)Infemale birds, this hormone stimulates ovulation. In male birds, it stimulatestestosterone production.
In response to lowering levels of pineal-producedmelatonin in the lengthening springtime days, blood levels of LH inbirds increase and trigger their reproductive cycle.As their reproductive cycle ends the LH levels of birds decline. Thisdecline occurswith their molt.Prolactin(PRL) or Luteotropic hormone (LTH)dProlactinis another hormone produced by the bird’s pituitary gland underthe control of the pineal gland.
Some studies indicate that prolactinlevels arein the period that birds begin their molt while others have reachedtheconclusion.ProgesteroneProgesterone is produced by the ovaries of birds as they their reproductive period.When I worked with penguins, one of my biggest problem was failure ofthe birds to molt. Birds that did not molt also did not reproduce, soI suspected that their problem was due to the way the artificial lightthey received affected their circadian rhythms. I found that the onlyhormone that would cause these birds to go through a normal molt wasa long-acting form of progesterone called.This may have occurred because progesterone is knownthe blood LH level of birds.Thyroxin(thyroid hormone)Ido not believe that thyroid hormone causes molt. Some veterinariansassociate molt problems with thyroid problems. This is because birdsthat have had their thyroid glands removed have a number of problems– including theto molt normally.Thyroidhormone level goes up when feathers are being formed. But this hormonerises whenever the body must synthesize proteins.
Asiatic Parrots And Their Mutations Pdf
Another reason itis associated with molt is that giving high levels of thyroxin causeschickens to molt. Chicken growers call thyroxin“the natural ” - but this is not so.To get the chickens to molt, they must feed, near-toxic levels of thyroxin.Natural high-end blood levelscause molt. Just about anything, given at toxic levels, will cause abird to molt.
This includes,meal containing). How to stop excessive sweating in 14 days or less. Thyroxin also goes up when birds aredue to their lost feathers.WillMy Parrot’s Personality Change While It Molts?Ifyour parrot lives indoors in artificial light and molts only an occasionalfeather, its personality will not change. If your parrot has gone througha normal summer breeding cycle during which its sexual hormones surged,it will quiet down and become less aggressive during its subsequentmolting period.Manyparrots become less active and moody while molting. Your pet may notbe as affectionate with you as it normally is.
Parrots will scratchthemselves more as the new contour and head feathers sprout.PinFeathersImmaturefeathers are called pin feathers or blood feathers because they arestill living tissue. Because they are growing so fast, pin featherscontain a great deal of blood, which gives them their dark, bluish color.HowShould I Deal With A Bleeding Pin Feather?Pinfeathers bleed when they are damaged. This occurs, most often when newfeathers replaced clipped ones of the bird’s wing. In a naturalmolt, mature feathers protect the erupting pin feather from damage asthe bird flaps its wings. But when the wing is clipped, the new featheris unprotected and often becomes crimped or damaged. Bleeding feathersalso occur when the parrots chews on their feathers as a way of relievingstress and boredom.Damagedpin feathers will not heal on their own.
They will continue to bleedwhen they are moved or disturbed. So you need to pulled or plucked outthe damaged pin feather or bring it to a veterinarian or experiencedaviculturalist if the task is beyond your abilities. Removing the damagedfeather can be quite painful to the bird if it is not done quickly andpurposefully. If you are squeamish about it, let someone with more experiencedo it.Hereis what you should do or have done. 1)Your parrot needs to be restrained in such a way that it cannotbite or claw you but in a way that allows it to breath freely.2) With forceps (hemostats) or some other grasping instrument,the feather needs to be grasped as close to the bird’sskin as possible and then plucked out.
Tweezers are unsuitableexcept for the smallest birds.3) Hold pressure on the area for a minute or two after extractingthe damaged feather shaft to allow time for clotting to occur.Ifa damaged pin feather is allowed to remain, it will, at best, maturedistorted. A worse development is when the bird chews on the stump sufficientlyto cause an ingrown feather. These must be removed surgically and oftenthe feather follicle is lost or must be removed in the process.Before a parrot’s wings are clipped, each feather needs to beexamined to be sure an immature pin feather is not going to be cut.If one is found, delay clipping the wing until the feather is fullymature and the quill has lightened to the color of the adjoining feathers.If a parrot continues to damage erupting wing feathers, I sometimes“imp” the birds. This is a falconry technique in which Iplace old mature feathers in the remaining cut quills that surroundthe blood feather.
Elmer’s glue holds them in place long enoughfor the blood feather to mature and harden.PowderDownTheordinary downy feathers of parrots insulate them from cold and heat.But cockatoos, cockatiels and African gray parrots, in particular,have a specialized down that naturally disintegrates to form fine lubricatingand waterproofing dust. These feathers grow and regenerate continuouslyand their powder is spread over all the feathers as the bird preens.Does My Parrot Require Special Care During Molt?Feathersmake up a considerable portion of your birds weight and take lots ofenergy to regenerate during molt. So, next to the rearing of young,your pet’s nutritional and metabolic needs are greatest duringa full molt. Molt is also a period when stress to the bird’s bodyis increased.Yourparrot should have no problem undergoing a normal molt if it is feda balanced diet. Molt is often the time when large parrots feed unbalanced,sun flower and safflower seed diets or small parrots fed primarily millet, run into trouble. That is why I suggest you feed a name brand pelletedparrot diet.Besure your pet’s environment is not excessively hot or cold.Mostparrots enjoy being misted off with a spray bottle all year long.
Asiatic Parrots And Their Mutations
Butthey seem to especially enjoy it during molt. Be sure your pets toenailsare not over grown because the bird will be scratching itself as theitchy pin feathers begin to mature.Normally,mature parrots are pair-bonded to a mate who helps groom and removethe feather sheaths from new feathers the bird can not reach. You cangently roll these new head and neck feathers with your fingers to accomplishthe same thing.Therewill be a lot of extra dander and scale that you will need to vacuumup. It is also helpful to install an HVAC (AC/Heating filter) with anMERV 11 rating or better.PreeningFeathersare complex structures that require constant care called preening. Preeningremoves dirt, spreads the bird’s body oils and realigns the feather’sstructure. It is also a social activity between birds and their matesand owners.
Asiatic Parrots And Their Mutations Pdf Online
Most parrots have an oil or preen gland (uropygial gland)situated at the base of their tail which is the source of most of theirfeather oil. 1)Feed a name brand, pelleted diet.2) Spend more time interacting with your pet.3) If you would become bored sitting all day in a cage similarto your pet’s, the parrot will become just as bored andfrustrated.4) Expose it to more natural sunlight or Grow lights (Full-spectrumlamps, UVA & UVB) that are set to be on in sync with naturalday length.5) Be sure room temperature is neither too warm, too cold ortoo dry.Keep a non-toxic potted plant growing in the room. If the plantis not thriving, your parrot won’t either.