Introduction
Balding can be observed in many birds bred in captivity, but is not exclusive to captive bred birds. Some birds will never experience balding, whereas others may be prone to it. There are many factors to take into account when you discover one of your birds is balding, the cause is not always obvious. Obviously, we can not give you every reason on this page, but we can do our best to give some insights as to possible causes & solutions. Almost on a daily basis, I see posts referring to balding with their pet birds on social media, not always is a solution found.
Sudden Balding
To see that your bird has balding all of a sudden usually means something has changed. It can depend on where the balding has appeared, such as on the back of the neck, abdomen, back, wing feathers... Usually when we see balding, we think of pecking from another bird, but what if the bird was housed alone with nobody else to peck at it? Cases like that are not un-heard of.
Usually in the scenario like above, I would be thinking on the lines of a predator, such as a mouse, rat, cat, snake, lizard... Maybe there was no predator, it could be that the bird was super stressed and all of a sudden started self pecking. A bird with a genetic issue, or an underlying issue could spontansously start balding for what appears to be no reason at all.
Birds kept on a poor nutritional diet or/and deprived of minerals may all of a sudden start balding as their bodies become depleated of nutrition. Birds require a lot of nutrition and minerals as they will burn it off very fast. You would expect a bird who was deprived of a nutritional diet for a long period of time to start balding gradually (if it was going to bald at all), but it usually happens like a flick of a switch.
Balding vs Moulting
Although balding and moulting both involve losing feathers, they are not the same at all, not even close. Balding will usually involved visually seeing bald patches where you can see the skin. Moulting is a more bodily controlled form of losing feathers with some kind of order to it. There is almost rarely any signs of balding when the bird moults unless the bird was already bald prior to moulting.
The moult usually involves the removal of old or damaged feathers so new ones can replace them. Every year birds moult out old spring/summer feathers only to replace them with autum/winter feathers much like someone changing their coat to match the weather. Some birds moult several times a year depending on the species.
Balding has nothing to do with replacing feathers, it means feathers were pulled out, damaged in some way, failed to grow in the first place or eaten. When balding occurs, it always means something is wrong.
Dangers of Balding
The seriousness of balding really depends on the reason for it. The balding itself is not dangerous at all, but the cause might be. Birds with balding on the wings where many flight feathers may be missing would likely pose a life and death threat, because the loss of feathers will impact their flight ability. Bald patches offer poor insulation against the cold, lacks protection from parasites, lacks protection from the hot sun.
In captive bred birds, balding should be addressed right away to find the root cause especially during the colder months, where they will struggle to conserve body heat. If there is a parasite infestation, or a skin infection, it could spread rapidly to other birds.
Hyperkeratosis, which is a skin disease caused by a lack of vitamin A, can easily cause balding anywhere on the body. Burrowing mites, feather lice are also likely culprits and should be checked for on a regular basis.
Diet vs Balding
What your birds consume will have a huge impact on the condition of their skin, as well as their feathers. Birds living on a poor diet will often have poor plumage, bald patches, crusty skin, dull looking feathers, may scratch a lot, and generally look tatty. Some birds may go as far as not looking very well at all, and even look sick.
What ever species of birds you have, it is always best to fully understand what they would normally eat in the wild. Understanding the bird's diet, and providing all that they require for a healthy life will grately improve their quality of life, make them look better, fix many health issues, also making them feel a whole lot better.
Throughout the site I talk about diet, nutrition and supplements, but it is for a good reason. Very often I see people keeping birds on the wrong diet, keeping them on seed alone, never providing any minerals, never supplementing with any liquid calcium and never offering any form of supplemental vitamins in their water.
Parasites & Lice
The presence of parasites or lice are usually visual, you will often see your birds scratching frequently. As the bird scratches the same spot over and over, feathers will eventually fall out, causing bald spots. Parasites come in many forms, such as, worms, feather eating lice, burrowing mites, skin lice, ticks to name a few.
Whilst these are all easy to treat, they can cause a lot of problems for the bird until they have been treated. Birds infested with lice or some other parasite may not sing, some will sit, and look exhausted with drooped feathers.
As the parasites multiply, so does the problem. When ever I find a parasite problem with my birds, the first medications I always use is Moxidectin and Ivermectin together. If it is just feather lice then I would use Avian Liquidator which is made by VetaFarm (works instantly). Parasites can really mess up your birds if not caught in time, so please check for parasites often.
Common Causes
Injury, parasites & lice (as mentioned above), skin disease, genetic problems, diet, lack of natural daylight, pecking from other birds, self pecking are some of the common causes of balding in birds. It is important to note, it is common for birds to pluck their own down feathers out while incubating eggs, or sitting on young chicks to manage heat regulation better.
Moulting may cause bolding too especially if there are hormonal imbalances in play. Birds that were bred out of season may begin to moult at the wrong time of year, which in turn may cause a lot of stress for the bird adding to further feather loss. Imagine a bird bred at the wrong time of year, starts moulting into summer feathers during the winter, or starts moulting into winter feathers during the summer while it's partner is trying to get ready for a breading season.
With wild birds, I find that balding is usually the result of parasites, lice or injury. Age can also play a huge factor too, birds in their senior can exhibit balding, this is normal, and nothing really to worry about.
Stress is often a common factor where balding is concerned, especially for hens.
Inbred (same blood line) birds can have a life-long issue with balding, so too can cross-bred birds (inter species).
Finding the Cause
Diagnosing the cause of balding is not always as strait forward.as it may seem, though sometimes it is pretty obvious. You find your bird is balding, you examine the bird but see no parasites, no lice or mites, no obvious injuries, no signs of pecking, then what? Well, some of the things that I would ask myself would be, is the bird going through it's natural moulting cycle?, what's changed prior to the balding?, Is the bird over crowded in it's cage?, is the cage big enough for the bird?, Are the perches in the right place in the cage?.
Those are just some of the questions I would ask myself first, but I can think of many more. Once I have exhausted all questions with no solutions, I would finally take the bird to see an Avian Vet for a full diagnosis. Birds that constantly scratch in a particular area usually means that is where the issue is located, but sometimes it can be several areas aftected. Carefully observing the bird for some time can help identify where the problem is.
It does help to know the bird's history, where it came from and it's family line. Knowing this information helps to identify wether it is a hereditary problem or genetic.
Treatments and Preventatives
Treatments will highly depend on the cause of balding, but not all balding can be treated. Balding birds from the result of plucking will usually not need any treatment, but there are some preventatives which can be applied to prevent plucking, just google anti-pluck. Balding as the result of a seasonal moult, skin infection, injury or parasite infestation will not usually need treatment because the feathers will usually grow back on their own in due course.
I have always found that providing plenty of minerals, calcium and vitamins always helps with fast and strong feather growth followed by plenty of direct sunlight. If the bird has suffered servere balding, supplemental heating may need to be provided to keep the bird warm.
Good husbandry
You maybe wondering what good husbandry has to do with balding, well, it can have quite a lot to do with it. Dirty cages make great homes for parasites such as mites or lice, they attract all sorts of unwanted parasites. Because the cage would be dirty, the bird's ammune system will likely be weaker than usual, parasites will take an advantage of this.
Burrowing mites usually burrow deep into wood, such as perches, swings or even the cage itself. Regular sterilization is recommended to keep these pesky parasites under control. Perches are best thrown away periodically, and replaced with new fresh natural branches. Nesting boxes provide warmth, dust to feed from, and the perfect place for parasites to hide, these too should be cleaned on a regular basis.
The media you use to cover the floor is important, especially if using woodchip as it is a common place for parasites to live and breed. They feed off the droppings, dust, old food waste and water. Almost any parasite from mites to worms can survive in it.
It is usually at night when the parasites come out to find a host. These parasites can travel long distances during the night, and when they find a host, they can do a lot of damage to the bird over time. Keep everything as clean as possible, it will be cheaper in the long run.
Age vs Balding
Birds in their senior often exhibit balding to some degree, or may have tatty looking plumage. This is perfectly normal, and will not really need treating if it is only age related. It is common in most animals including humans to have signs of balding to some extent. With older birds, I usually provide more minerals and vitamins with supplemental liquid calcium as they will often be more depleted due to age.
Older birds move about much less, struggle to burn off fat, and sometimes eat less. With that being said they will take up less nutrition which may cause imbalances within the body, and can contribute towards balding.