A ask on my quaker impersonator?
now that my quaker is finally handelable i am able to closer inspect the waxy substance on him. he has a waxy substance on the shaft of his feathers, adjectives over his body. he refuses to preen himself so i give him one or two baths a month but the waxy substance does not go absent it almost makes him look dirty and unkept, he doesnt have that fluffy quaker look. he is contained by a large 24x24 cage but he is mostly on top of the pen. he eats a premium seed/pellet diet with scrambled eggs, fruits, veges, pastas and some rice. his eyes are bright he is very alert and playful. any concept what the waxy substance could be?
if he dont clean his feathers he is sick or very doleful try getting him some more sun light new toys different food vitamins and a cuddle bone. he sound exceedingly healthy and very playful and happy but something is wrong birds can hoard sickness very well look into his eyes and if the are droopy he is sick or whether he has alot of stuff coming out of his nostrils he is sick. get him to the vet if anything more sun
Most birds hold a preen gland, or uropygial gland. The gland produces uropygial oil, a waxy substance used to waterproof and condition feathers. Rubbing the preen gland with the beak, a bird picks up the grease and then distributes it onto feathers by rubbing the beak over the feathers. It’s thought that the oil from the preen gland also helps to sort the feathers supple and strong and prevents them from drying out.
Answers: Well it sounds like you are taking excellent care of your Quaker.
As far as I am aware (and I own a Quaker myself) Quakers dont actually produce grease to clean their feathers like some other birds- they produce dust like the larger parrots- so he shouldnt enjoy a problem with his oil glands.
The waxy coating you are describing actually sounds resembling the wax from pin feathers- when new feathers come out they are coated in a waxy substance- most birds will preen themselves and get the wax off- but it can be difficult to achieve the wax off from around their head and neck. I preen my birds head, you just squeeze the feathers gently and the wax comes off confidently. The feathers can be painful, so you may get a warning nip- but most of the time they wallow in the physical attention.
If you start to preen your Quaker maybe he will get the hang of it himself, or you can wrap him up surrounded by a towel and do it by yourself.
Birds dont have a maximum amount of times they can be bathed- so you might like to try bathing him every day to buoy him to keep clean. good luck.
I'm sorry nobody else have taken the time to read what you wrote and respond accordingly. You said his eyes are bright, he is very playful and alert, and it sounds like you've get him on a great diet... So he is not sick, at least not that I can tell.
The fact that he is not preening is, nonetheless, ample to be worried about. Preening is very important within birds... It's like brushing and washing hair for a human, apart from... well... more vital. He may have a hyperactive grease gland, but I am not a vet, and seeing a vet is definitely a priority at this point. By the way, even though it sounds resembling you are taking immaculate care of him, try giving him a bath once every other time or so. Birds need to bathe just as much as inhabitants do!
