1 year, 10 months ago
via pets-questions.com
Why does my canary have no feathers on his head?
He has been this way from being normal as a young bird but quickly lost them and is now about 4 years old.
He has all his feathers everywhere else on his body eats a varied, suitable diet and appears to be in good health.
The vet has no idea, neither does a bird breeder whom I asked, I have given him various tonics from the pet store, cod-liver oil and brewers yeast.
So far nothing has worked, I have kept canaries for many years and have never experienced this problem before.
I've heard of a bald eagle, but never a bald canary!
He has all his feathers everywhere else on his body eats a varied, suitable diet and appears to be in good health.
The vet has no idea, neither does a bird breeder whom I asked, I have given him various tonics from the pet store, cod-liver oil and brewers yeast.
So far nothing has worked, I have kept canaries for many years and have never experienced this problem before.
I've heard of a bald eagle, but never a bald canary!
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M$2 Answers
HI @ enigmatic1500, recently I read a book by Robert Stroud titled ‘’Diseases of Canaries’’. In the book he laid serious emphasis on the causes of baldness in Canaries. According to him, there are five types of baldness in canaries, and each are caused by different factors. They include:
*Congenital Baldness: When a couple of crested canaries have chicks, some could be bald while others would have a heavy mass of feathers on their head. There is no solution to this type of baldness.
*Baldness caused by upset moult: Moulting is when a bird shed a feather at a time. But when this molting process is disturbed, especially when the bird breeders are too anxious about moving the canary to an older cage and a different diet. If this drastic change occurs when the canary is growing the feathers on their head, it might lead to baldness and the only solution would be to put the affected canary in a warm place and move it around so that at the next molting season, the feathers on the head would grow.
*Baldness caused by skin infection: This is an infection of the skin caused by a fungus. It is very similar to ring worms in human beings.
*Baldness caused by exhaustion: When canaries are kept and used for continuous breeding they tend to tire easily and begin to lose their feathers, which also include the feathers on their head.
Other causes of baldness in canaries are accidental damage to the feathers and lack of proper nutrition. But since you said your canary has a balanced diet, it could be any of the aforementioned.
Hope this helps.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Bianca_bald_canary.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3169/2399345144_4abf4bd2e6.jpg
*Congenital Baldness: When a couple of crested canaries have chicks, some could be bald while others would have a heavy mass of feathers on their head. There is no solution to this type of baldness.
*Baldness caused by upset moult: Moulting is when a bird shed a feather at a time. But when this molting process is disturbed, especially when the bird breeders are too anxious about moving the canary to an older cage and a different diet. If this drastic change occurs when the canary is growing the feathers on their head, it might lead to baldness and the only solution would be to put the affected canary in a warm place and move it around so that at the next molting season, the feathers on the head would grow.
*Baldness caused by skin infection: This is an infection of the skin caused by a fungus. It is very similar to ring worms in human beings.
*Baldness caused by exhaustion: When canaries are kept and used for continuous breeding they tend to tire easily and begin to lose their feathers, which also include the feathers on their head.
Other causes of baldness in canaries are accidental damage to the feathers and lack of proper nutrition. But since you said your canary has a balanced diet, it could be any of the aforementioned.
Hope this helps.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$Report Abuse
I have read an article about causes of baldness in canary birds. There are many factors that can lead to baldness in this type of birds.
1.This can be congenital. There are some chicks that have great masses of feathers on their head while others have bald spots. This is already present by the time these canaries hatches. They don't have any feathers fuzz on them.
2. The baldness could be caused an upset moult. This happen when the young birds are transferred too soon and have a drastic change in their diet. The baby feathers on the head and neck will not stand and will soon wear out and the bird becomes bald.
3. Exhaustion can also cause baldness in canary birds. There are some breeders who are just beginners who tends to overfeed their hens and stays in breeding condition. What usually happens is that she has started to moult while raising a nest of birds and has been stimulated in order to save the birds. She won't moult and the feathers that she have will wear out and she is left bald. She is exhausted and has not been able to metabolize the materials she needs that is necessary for producing feathers.
4. Unbalanced diet or lack of food can also be cause of baldness. Wrong feeding can also cause baldness because the food does not contain the necessary nutrients the canary bird needs in producing feather.
1.This can be congenital. There are some chicks that have great masses of feathers on their head while others have bald spots. This is already present by the time these canaries hatches. They don't have any feathers fuzz on them.
2. The baldness could be caused an upset moult. This happen when the young birds are transferred too soon and have a drastic change in their diet. The baby feathers on the head and neck will not stand and will soon wear out and the bird becomes bald.
3. Exhaustion can also cause baldness in canary birds. There are some breeders who are just beginners who tends to overfeed their hens and stays in breeding condition. What usually happens is that she has started to moult while raising a nest of birds and has been stimulated in order to save the birds. She won't moult and the feathers that she have will wear out and she is left bald. She is exhausted and has not been able to metabolize the materials she needs that is necessary for producing feathers.
4. Unbalanced diet or lack of food can also be cause of baldness. Wrong feeding can also cause baldness because the food does not contain the necessary nutrients the canary bird needs in producing feather.
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M$
