# feathers changing from white to yellow



## sarah

i have a lutino cockatiel, nussy, whose head is yellow and the body is white. but i have noticed that the white feathers are slowly changing to yellow. this happened to my other bird ( a lutino cockatiel), which turned fully yellow in a few months time n it died from a sickness only a week ago. having researched online on this, most websites say that the feathers turn yellow if the bird is suffering from a liver disease. but i had got the bird checked by a vet, who said that for it to have liver disease the tongue also should turn yellow. also my bird eats not only seeds but all types of veggies and fruits so its not on an all seed diet, which is usually the cause of a liver disease. its very active and the droppings are perfectly fine.

i also read in one website that the feathers turn yellow if the breeding conditions change. unfortunately i dont have access to an avian vet, so i cant really check the problem out. i'd appreciate any help i can get. i dont want nussy to go the same way as my other bird 

i have attached two photos, before n after so you can have an idea. pls do advice!

before










after [URL="







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## SuzieQueue

sorry i cant help but wow looks like a different bird :s


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## enigma731

I would also be suspicious of some type of liver issue. Diet is not the only risk factor for liver problems, it's just the most common. Can you start by elaborating a bit on the diet? I know you said it's not just seed. What seed mix do you give? What types of veggies and fruits? And what proportion of this bird's diet is seed versus fruits/veggies? Are there any pellets in the mix?

Also, do you weigh your bird at all? It's a little hard to tell from the angle of the pic, but she (I'm guessing at gender here) looks heavy to me. Being overweight is a big risk factor for liver disease, so if she is overweight, you'll want to start by adjusting her diet to try and help her slim down. Check out this post on checking the keelbone to see if your bird is a good weight: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=17680

Another question -- Is this bird related to the other one that died? Liver problems can be genetic. They can also be the result of a systemic infection which affects the liver. Have either of them had any other symptoms?

Finally, I know you said the droppings look normal, but can we see some pictures of them to double check? There may be some clues there that aren't immediately obvious.

Here is a past posting by srtiels on how to help a bird with liver problems, should you decide that's what the issue is here: http://talkcockatiels.com/showpost.php?p=254244&postcount=15


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## sarah

thanks for your reply, enigma. i'll try to answer your questions the best way i can.

i give her this particular seed mix - http://www.millbryhill.co.uk/bird-p...-seed-726/versele-prestige-parakeet-35755.htm.

this has a mixture of seeds from sunflower seeds to millets. her diet is, i would say, 50-50. 50% seeds and 50% fruits n veggies. i give her stuff like beans, carrots, apples, spinach, lettuce, cilantro, green chilly and rice. basically any veggie we make at home that day. the only problem is that i have been travelling a bit last few weeks, so my sister whose been taking care of her has given her seeds and only a little bit of green chilly, spinach and cilantro. 

the photo i've uploaded is my old bird. he was overweight n he was only on a seed diet. i did my best to get him to eat veggies n succeeded a little during the last few months. but while i was away on a trip abroad, he had got this respiratory illness and died the same day. his feathers were totally yellow whereas my new bird is slowly getting yellower feathers. just a few flecks here and there, so i want to rectify the problem now itself. and to answer your other question, no the birds are not related.

i'm trying to upload putting a photo of the new bird we have. she's around a year old. unfortunately photobucket is down so will try to upload in another half hour or so.


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## Cryren8972

I will wait for pictures, but my first thought was that maybe she/he is a lutino pearl, and males will lose their pearling, resulting in a lutino becoming more yellow. Hopefully this is the case, and not liver issues.


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## sarah

here is the picture of my bird from when we first got her. 










here she is now. the photo doesnt show it but her yellow flecks have increased a bit 











this is the dropping, which looks ok to me.


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## sarah

the third from left is the fresh one, the others are dried which is why it looks blackish


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## bjknight93

Well I've had 2 birds now with liver issues (from their previous owners) and they definitely don't have yellow tongues..so I wouldn't be looking out for that. It is possible for her to be a lutino pied; the first picture has yellow undertones on her belly just like the second. With pieds, markings can vary a little bit (but not so much that it looks like a different bird). I don't really see a difference between the first and second picture and it sounds like she's eating a good diet so I don't think it is likely for her to suffer from liver issues unless she is predisposed by genetics. 

Symptoms of liver disease: overgrown beak and nails, yellow wash to the body, bright green feces, yellow-ish urates, white "shoestring" feathers over the back, and I also thing yellowing eyes are a symptom. Some and not all of these symptoms may or may not be present.

If you like to be precautionary, you can treat her water with herbal extracts but that is only a temporary fix, and a band-aid. Your best bet to really finding if she has liver issues is to get a cbc run and check her liver enzymes and uric acid levels with a vet.


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## sarah

thanks for your reply. i dont think she has any of the symptoms of liver disease you mention in your post, and her urates are quite normal, which is creamy white. i guess the picture doesnt show it due to the lighting, but she is a bit yellower now than before. any possibility this could be due to mutation? 

also, i read the post by srtiels on liver disease. how do you check the abdominal skin to check the colour? is it below the belly and how do you check it through the feathers?


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## Oni

Hopefuly it's nothing more than mutation. My lutino (now rehomed) had a creamish body with yellow smudges all over. I think it's hard to photograph but was perfectly normal. She was only a youngster - less than 1year. Quite possible around the 1year mark to get some new colouring come through. Has she gone through a molt recently?


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## srtiels

From looking at the droppings they appear GOOD and normal. I agree with Oni.

This illustration shows what to look for with suspected liver issues: http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/Mousebirds-and-more/Other%20birds/Health%20Issues/Checking-fat-illus-A.jpg


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## sarah

she has just completed her first year, and is currently growing through a molt. i hope thats the reason why she is turning yellow. (i am now suddenly doubtful if she is a she since shes started to sing and imitate and whistle happy birthday a lot) 

anyway thanks for all the help...


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## tielfan

Has there been a big improvement in your bird's diet during the past few months? A good diet will produce more colorful feathers than a poor diet.


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## sarah

i guess there is an improved diet, since we got her from this pet shop which only gives the birds seeds. but from the time we got her, in fact from day one, she's been eating some sort of veggies or the other. sometimes there are a few days she has only seeds, since i'm out of town and the neighbours only take care of her. is this lapse good or should there be constancy in the diet?


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## JaimeS

sarah said:


> she has just completed her first year, and is currently growing through a molt. i hope thats the reason why she is turning yellow. (i am now suddenly doubtful if she is a she since shes started to sing and imitate and whistle happy birthday a lot)
> 
> anyway thanks for all the help...


It is very rare for girls to whistle a song so she probably is a boy


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## tielfan

As long as her diet is good most of the time, it won't hurt her if the vegetable component is missing once in a while. Wild birds don't get perfectly balanced diets every single day because of changes in the food supply from day to day and from season to season. They're adapted to stay healthy as long as they get the right nutrients over a reasonable period of time, not necessarily in every single meal or on every single day.


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## sarah

ok thats great to hear..i'll make sure that whenever he's with me, he'll have a proper diet...thanks loads


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## Bruna

sarah said:


> i have a lutino cockatiel, nussy, whose head is yellow and the body is white. but i have noticed that the white feathers are slowly changing to yellow. this happened to my other bird ( a lutino cockatiel), which turned fully yellow in a few months time n it died from a sickness only a week ago. having researched online on this, most websites say that the feathers turn yellow if the bird is suffering from a liver disease. but i had got the bird checked by a vet, who said that for it to have liver disease the tongue also should turn yellow. also my bird eats not only seeds but all types of veggies and fruits so its not on an all seed diet, which is usually the cause of a liver disease. its very active and the droppings are perfectly fine.
> 
> i also read in one website that the feathers turn yellow if the breeding conditions change. unfortunately i dont have access to an avian vet, so i cant really check the problem out. i'd appreciate any help i can get. i dont want nussy to go the same way as my other bird
> 
> i have attached two photos, before n after so you can have an idea. pls do advice!
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Hi Sarah, how is your bird? I have a bird with the exact same problem, were you able to do something to help him getting better?


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