# Molting mites?



## Sumrrr (Jul 14, 2021)

I’m still fairly new to being a budgie owner. I have an appointment scheduled with our avian vet. Anyways, it’s not until the weekend, earliest available. So any idea is this molting or mites above his cere? Also his back shows some kind of greyish patches


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

What you see above the cere looks to be a whole bunch of pin feathers just starting to emerge, have you noticed him losing feathers? The cere itself looks very dry and flaky, the vet will be able to determine if there are mites. The gray you see looks to me to be the upper section of the feathers which are more downy and not as colorful as the part of the feather further down.


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## Sumrrr (Jul 14, 2021)

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes I have seen him losing feathers recently including a tail feather. I did gently rub the area to see if it gave me a better clue. It was rough but I’m not really sure if it was a bunch of pin feathers which was my first thought. His cere is dryer than normal.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*What diet are you feeding your budgies at this time?
The degree of dryness of his cere is more than what I would expect and there looks to be some discoloration of it as well.*


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Those little pin feathers will get larger and eventually open up, it may be very itchy for him during the time they are growing in and you will see him rubbing his head on things, his pal may help him in that regard and preen his head.


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## Sumrrr (Jul 14, 2021)

Thanks for the replies. I expect they are pin feathers as just after he was rubbing his head. I have been feeding a mix of chop as well as Harrison’s adult superfine. However, I was recently reading that Tops is better so only within past day or two did I introduce this. I also have Kaylee millet spray for training.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Did you purchase the Tops, the pellets are much larger than Harrison's superfine, and that can sometimes be an issue for some birds.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*As Cody indicated previously, the area on his head is most assuredly pin feathers. He is suffering through what I call a "miserable molt".
Miserable Molting*


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## Sumrrr (Jul 14, 2021)

Thank you Faery Bee


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## Sumrrr (Jul 14, 2021)

Cody said:


> Did you purchase the Tops, the pellets are much larger than Harrison's superfine, and that can sometimes be an issue for some birds.


I did. They looked ridiculously large to me. I have them some with chop and their usual Harrison’s just to see what would happen. Here’s a picture it looks like sawdust.


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