Freddie went to the vet. We discussed her going outside and he used an analogy to explain Freddie's going outside. Studies have shown that children that grow up in dirty households have built up immunities to their environment. Though birds are more fragile, he said he didnt see any sense in changing ways for her.

But we do have a problem though. Freddie's wing and tail feathers never molted so the trim that he did one year ago is still in effect. No new feathers grew. He blamed that on keeping my house at 72* year round. He told me to build a cage in the yard to keep Freddie in, day and night for several weeks while she gets coordinated with nature. He told me that we have to stimulate the glands.

Which brings us to the next discussion. I asked about laying eggs and he explained that there has to be sexual stimulation for the egg-laying process. This does not mean a male bird. He stated that changing foods, feeding sprouting seeds, changing their toys, warmer temps and nature syndrome can all lead to sexual arousal in our birds.

He said that our goal was to get her to molt the winter to the season...spring and summer and that this winter we should be on track.

What do you guys think?

Did you see an avian vet?

I have never heard of such a thing....... Was this an CERTIFIED AVIAN VET???? Your bird is now domesticated and in not in the wild anymore I would think that what your Vet is telling has to do with WILD BIRDS...Just my opinion....

I really think you need to find a new vet thats just my opinion. The more I think about it the more that vet does not sound informed at all.

I will try to find some articles later because I am finishing up work but there have even been reports caged birds on display in canada and the united states (a calif zoo was one who had some major loss in re to birds on display) who had parrot loss due to west nile infections. Birds have been the main reason that west nile has spread thru the united states since (it started on the east coast in 1999 and has moved west and finally reached calif).
My friend who is an avian vet was in a conference discussing west nile in calif a month ago so its become a pretty big topic among the avian fields.

West nile is only the tip of the iceburg in re to infectious diseases that birds can get.

The other thing that bothers me is the suggestion the vet made to leave your bird outside for a few days. 72 really should have no adverse effects on your quaker thats the temperature I keep my home at. What will have an effect on him is sudden temperature changes that can and will occur if you leave your bird outside for several days.

I dont really know what to say other than I hope that you get a second opinion.

Your vets explanation on outside excusions has failed to change my mind. For me there are still far too many negatives and too few positives in letting a companion parrot outdoors in anything but a bare minimum cage for protection, and that only because we have yet to see any sign of west nile in our area. Once it does appear, I will probably stop letting the fids out on the deck, unless I can come up with a simple mosquito netting to fit over cages.

As to the molting. I can say after 6 years of owning birds that none of my birds seem to molt out all there feathers at one time, or even in one year. The number of tail feathers I've collected from Maya and Loco over the years number less than 30. Roughly 10 tail feathers each(I've never even counted)multiplied by 5 years, I should have way more, but don't.

The only factor, aside from the presence of a male, in egg laying that I've ever heard about in companion parrots is length of light exposure. Days that get longer than 12 hours can trigger the egg laying process. The amount of daylight regulates the hormones that kick in the egg laying process. It would be news to me if simply changing food, toys or temperature could cause egg laying.

I am past trying to convince anyone of anything. In fact, I am quite concerned about Freddie. I am getting contradictory information and if I felt he was giving me information that I was comfortable with, I wouldnt have asked what you thought. I am really trying to get informed concerning Freddie and our habits.

There is no way in **** that I would leave Freddie in a cage outside. There is too much fowl eating wildlife in this area to leave her unguarded outside! No way! End of story!

I am glad to hear that other QPs dont molt all of those feathers either. Freddies wings were clipped at a couple months old and havent been clipped since. The new feathers at the back part of the wing came in but nothing on the front of the wing, or the tail. She also molted on top of her head and around her neck. But that was before winter.

According to the vet, she has not molted to get rid of the down. This confuses me because it just seems that she would not have to go through a molt if she needed to get rid of the down. She just needs to do some preening. But I clean up several down feathers everytime I clean her area so I do know that she's losing some.

Anyway, I did find another avian vet that has a great reputation so I will set the new appointment tomorrow.

I appreciate the information and encouragement that you give! Thanks!!

I am glad that you found another vet, the first one sounds suspect to say the least.

I have had Quincy for 4 years and he only has one big molt a year, usually starts in late August and goes well into November. In the spring, he mostly just loses down feathers. His wing and tail feathers are molted once a year only.

Nothing really to add except I'm so happy you have found another vet b/c that first one just doesn't sound right to me!