Bald weiros

Question
Hi Sarah,

My lutiano and grey mated and produced a clutch of 3. 2 pearls and 1 lutanio. Mum has been missing feathers on her head and neck for sometime and I put it down to sexual behaviour of the male. The young all have bald heads where their crest should be. I have had a close look with a magnifying glass and do not see any mite day or night. They have been like this since birth. They are 5 weeks old. Any idea on whats happening? None of my other weiros have this problem.

Thanks
Renee

Answer
Hello Renee,

Did the mother ever have feathers on her head? If so, then I would say that her missing feathers are due to breeding season, the male will often pluck the hens feathers out. Now, at 5 weeks old, they should at least have some sort of feathers there even if it isn't a whole crest. Are there any feathers whatsoever where the crest should be. Now, a bald spot behind the crest is somewhat normal in quite a few 'tiels. Mainly due to inbreeding in the past. This is quite possible with your pair. The lutinos were inbred quite a lot in the past (meaning they paired a mother to a son, or father to a daughter, etc., or cousins, whatever). This produced smaller birds, and ones with genetic "defects" like bald spots. I did have a whiteface cockatiel who didn't really get a nice big crest until she was about 7 weeks old, but she did have some small feathers where her crest should be. I would just wait it out and see if the babies grow in some feathers. If not, its possible they might grow in after their first molt.

Is it possible the parents plucked the babies heads? The male or female might have done this while in the nest, and that's another reason why they are bald. Just wait it out. Are you handfeeding the babies? As soon as the babies are fully weaned, I would seperate them from the parents (if you're allowing the parents to raise the chicks that is). You should see regrowth of feathers if plucking was the case.

Now if it wasn't plucking, then likely, it is due to the genetics of the parents and this is something that you are going to get consistently with this pair. If you've had babies from them before that were fully feathered, then it's due to plucking.

Let me know in a few weeks how the babies look!

Take care, Hope I've helped.
Sarah