My Cockatiel is Getting Bald

Basic Symptoms:

Just like humans, cockatiels can also suffer from baldness. It's nothing serious life threatening, that is just how some cockatiels are. Baldness on cockatiels is shown in the crown of the head and more specifically on Lutino cockatiels.

If your cockatiel has an aggressive playmate, the lack of feathers on your tiels head might be attributed to the other bird plucking the feathers. Do also check to see if your bird might have any skin parasites. Anytime you have an aggressive cockatiel plucking feathers to a companion, is best to separate them.

As always the information offered here is to provide guidance and is not intended to be a substitute for the good advice provided by your own avian vet. When in doubt always consult your own veterinarian.

Lutino cockatiels tend to have the bald mutation more than any other breed.

The Lutino cockatiel is one of the most popular mutations of cockatiel, with white to light-yellow feathers and orange cheek patches.

The "normal grey" or "wild type" of a cockatiel's plumage is primarily grey with prominent white flashes on the outer edges of each wing.

However, bird breeders can breed for certain traits, and they have been breeding for different color mutations in cockatiels since the 1940s

The Lutino cockatiel mutation was the second cockatiel mutation to be established in the United States, after the first being the pied cockatiel mutation in 1951.

The Lutino appeared in the aviaries of Cliff Barringer of Miami, Florida, United States, in 1958.