My cockatiel lost crest feathers!

[Chicks & Chickens]

Hello,

When I looked at my cockatiel this morning, I noticed she had lost almost all of her crest feathers. I'm really concerned. I'm not sure if it's related, but she always flies around the room and bumps into walls. Yesterday, she flew pretty high and kept gently hitting her head on the ceiling. When she finally landed, I held her and petted her head. I didn't feel any bald spots, so . . .
Also, she is caged with a parakeet. He often pecks at her and doesn't share food with her (but she eats after he leaves the bowl.)
Could it be possible that he plucked them out, or maybe that she is molting? I'm really worried.

Thank you.

 

[Red-tailed Hawk]

How old is your cockatiel? Mine usually molt around this time of year. I've had cockatiels for 11 years or so. They usually do a good molt each spring and fall, but if yours is younger it might just be getting older feathers. Also which kind of cockatiel. In Lutino cockatiels (a white type with highlights of yellow) there is a resessive gene that sometimes causes bald spots. My 7 year old female has had a bald spot behind her top notch for as long as I can remember. Or at least since about her first molt or so. It never affected her health in any way shape or form and she's passed multiple exams from vets, including an avian vet, with exceptional grades of health since she gets regular flight time. If yours doesn't possess the gene, and is not going through the usual molt (which causes them to look very scraggly, especially if noone is preening them and they aren't rubbing their heads on anything to break apart the stick feather which is the term for the casing that new feathers come in with) it is very likely your parakeet yanked them out, which will not harm your bird. Yes it will look rather silly, but other than that be perfectly fine. My first cockatiel got trambled by my dog when I first had her and it yanked out her whole top notch as well as most of her tail feathers. She then beat up her remaining tailfeathers because I was inexperienced and had placed her perch too close to the cage wall. In the end she looked like a chicken, but was perfectly healthy. Is your bird gaining bald spots in any other places? That I believe could be caused by mites, but I'm not sure. I've never had a bird lose feathers except during molting and stupid things like dog encounters. lol. Is your bird acting different in any other way. Is it still bright eyed and active? if it appears healthy in every other aspect keep an eye on it, but don't worry. The missing feathers will come in with the next molt. Are there a lot of other feathers in the cage bottom? That is often a sign of molting. Also, times of extreme stress can cause unexpected molting. Have there been any big changes in yours/the bird's life? If you are trully concerned you can always call a vet for an opinion or take it in, though be prepared to pay 30-50 bucks for a visit. Make sure you ask the rates. First time visits usually attach an extra fee for some reason, but if you have both birds looked at at once you often get a large discount so each extra bird is only ten dollars more. Well, at least you do if your vet is as cool as mine. Don't be afraid to call more than one place. Honestly though, it sounds like molting. Keep an eye out for the little stick looking casing come poking up being the remaining feathers. Hope this helps!