Horror, Sleaze and Trash.

Budgie with Feather duster syndrome — a severe disturbance of feather growth. In general, the feathers stop growing after they have reached their natural length. But in feather duster budgerigars, they continuously grow and grow. Some birds also suffer from excessive claw and beak growth. Because the formation of feathers, claws and beak requires a large amount of minerals and micro elements, the unnatural growth exhausts the bird’s organism. Most feather dusters have a damaged immune system and their life expectancy is quite low: Nearly all of these birds die before they get one year old.

Photo credit: © Barry Bland