Parrots are known to have very vibrant and beautiful feathers so, if your bird starts to develop feathers that are white, you’d be right to be confused.
This article is a look into why your parrot’s feathers are turning white.
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Parrot feathers turning white:
Bird feathers turning white is not all that uncommon and it can happen for a variety of reasons.
Here are possible reasons why your bird’s feathers may be turning white:
Vitiligo:
Vitiligo not only affects humans, but it affects animals as well, birds included.
Vitiligo in humans causes the skin to lose color in patches over time, this is similar to what happens in birds
When a bird develops vitiligo its feathers change from being one vibrant color to turning grey or white.
A bird with vitiligo likely has normal-looking feathers in the beginning, as the bird ages, its feathers will start to turn white or grey.
This happens because the bird’s body starts to produce fewer and fewer pigment cells as the bird ages.
What to do:
This is not something that needs to be worried about and isn’t harmful to the bird, it is simply something different in your bird.
This is more common in domestic birds as these types of birds in the wild would be singled out by predators, attacked, and killed keeping the trait from moving into the next generation.
In domestic settings, the feathers can change color and no predators will target and attack the bird because there are no predators around thus allowing this trait to be passed on to the next generation.
Leucism:
This is another normal and natural condition that your parrot may have, leucism may be what is causing your bird to develop white feathers over time.
This is a genetic condition that can affect a variety of birds, it is similar to vitiligo in that your bird’s feathers may start to turn white in patches. All the bird’s feathers may turn white eventually.
This condition will also cause your bird’s feathers to gradually turn white with age, or, the bird’s feathers may simply turn paler than normal.
What to do:
This condition is caused by a mutation in your bird and has nothing to do with its environment or its quality of life so you don’t have to worry that there is something wrong with the bird
You can simply let the bird be and you can simply enjoy how it looks as it changes throughout its life.
Molting:
Another reason why your parrot’s feathers may start to turn white is that the bird is about to molt.
Birds molt about once or twice a year. By the time the feathers are meant to molt, they are likely already quite old and raggedy.
The bird’s feathers may also start to lose color and turn white as they get older and may even turn white.
What to do:
This is a natural process and is not something that you should be concerned about. The feathers turning white is perfectly normal.
You don’t have to do anything for your parrot during molting time apart from giving your bird a balanced diet during the molting and feather regrowth stage.
It is recommended that you leave the bird alone and not pet it during the molting process because this process is uncomfortable for the bird.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Sun Conure Feathers Turning White, Why Do My Budgie’s Feathers Look Scruffy?, Why Does My Parrot Look Scruffy?, Brown Spot On Cockatiel Beak, Brown Spot On Parakeets Beak