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QUESTION: I have a question.. One of my owls faces turned black. It kinda looks like he/she smeared ink all over the face and neck area. What causes this and is there anything I can do make him/her look normal again? I've only owned this finch for 6 months, and it looked normal when I bought it. I don't know how old it really is. 

RESPONSE:  

They go black due to a lack of vitamin D. This is because they are not getting enough sunlight. I have an orange breast that has a completely black front now, quite interesting. You need to put it in the sun every so often and maybe give a vitamin d supplement, such as cod liver oil. Alternatively offer a vitamin and mineral supplement obtainable from any pet shop. It will then moult out over a few months. 

Thursday, February 01, 2001 8:53 PM

Benj ( Benjamin.Whitworth@brs.gov.au )

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This message was posted to the Finchlover Listserv and chosen for archival because of the excellent quality of the information provided.