Feathers

[JillyBeanz]

Harvey had a "bent" tail feather for about two weeks and a couple of nights ago he dropped a beautiful, cleanly manicured "quill" onto the floor.

 

Tonight he has been sitting on my knee and I noticed another one "bent". I didn't pay it too much attention as I know they work their own way out.

 

He's just turned around and the feather "fell out". This is the problem - it looks very untidy and obviously some of it is still stuck in his behind. Is this a problem - will it remedy itself or do I need to take him to have it remove (not that I can see where abouts it has come from). Here's the picture to give you an idea of how untidy it is. Thanks for your help in advance :unsure:

 

[Dave007]

What's *untidy* about it? Looks like a feather to me.

[pearllyn]

Hmm, I know what you mean Jill, I like to see the whole thing come out cleanly. I spose it'll come out when it's ready - it doesn't look like there's a whole lot left in to get a hold of anyway. Just keep an eye to see that the others are falling out cleanly.

[JillyBeanz]

Dave007 wrote:

What's *untidy* about it? Looks like a feather to me.

 

I couldn't get back on here last night - but looked on my mobile for responses as I was not at home and saw this. I cried laughing!

 

Thanks Dave - so straightforward - but you know we think alike!!! My mind is at rest! :kiss:

 

Lyn - this is the woman in us - we like things tidy and symmetrical! The last one was a beautifully formed full feather from quill to tip - this is a chewed off mess!!!

 

Nevertheless - if my guru says it's fine - then it is! :lol:

[Greywings]

Little stinker is either playing hard and broke it that way or is over preening. Yes it will come out in time or he may pull it himself permitting a new feather to grow in. Greys can be such klutzy birds.:lol:

[danmcq]

Dayo damages tail feathers playing at times. Then they come out sooner or later.

 

One thing I have noted: Birds ARE the professionals in feather preening and care. In most cases, no human intervention is needed. Just sit and worry as most of us do until you see a shiny new one come back in. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/12/04 16:03

[ranaz]

HI Guys,

I wanted to check woth you on exactly the same issue, but Im very short in time recently.

Kookie has been loosing from one feather to 3 or 4 a day, assorted sizes, a total of about 20 Feathers in the past 2 weeks. for 2 days nothing, again toay I found 4. I will attach pictures of them, but I am not sure if this is a normal molt. Kookie is around 5.5 years old now, and is a very Happy and Healthy grey. We visitied the et las week, and he voted him as the prettiest feathers in all Abu Dhabi. He even requested a couple of pix to post in his clinic... we have done an examination, vet says things look perfect, he has taken a poop sample for lab test, and a blood sample in a very impresive way. He didnt have to sedate kookie for that, he simply pricked him with a very small needlelike thing just above his nail on his talon, and took barely a tiny drop of blood and put it on a pce of glass for the lab to test.

He says these tests are suggested once a year just to make sure his health is immaculate. We also did a beak and nail trim which Kookie hated, but left him looking great and feeling softer on my hands when he steps up. Im still awaiting the test results, but wanted to show you the feathers and get your opinions also.

 

Maybe Im just freeking out for nothing...

Anyway have a look at the feathers... <br><br>Post edited by: ranaz, at: 2009/12/04 16:49

[ranaz]

and this

[Dave007]

Well, you have short covert feathers, long covert feathers and tail feathers in the pictures and when they fall out, it has nothing to do with molting. The ends of the shafts are obviously dried up and were all ready to fall out. Basically, all of those feathers are dead and will be replaced by new ones but not at the exact same time. As far as amount of feathers, it was simply a coincedence that they all fell out at the same time. The next time it happens, it may only be a few feathers or more feathers or anything in between. If your bird was pulling on them, the only reason was because they were dead and he was simply speeding the process of getting rid of them.

What happened to your bird happens frequently with other birds and can happen at any time of the year.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/12/04 18:56

[ranaz]

Thank you Dave for the explanation. I am releived, to know that this does not mean either plucking or something worng.

You are the expert we can always depend upon, thanks for that

[JillyBeanz]

I think this proves we're a couple of paranoids ranaz!!! Both minds put at rest by Dave! :laugh:

[Luvparrots]

That's right, Dave the Man!!!! Thank you!!!

[ranaz]

Cool man...

[chimaysmommy]

This has been a very interesting thread to read because our Chimay has been losing a considerable amount of feathers lately. He began what I assumed to be a molt about two or three months ago--a lot of downie feathers EVERYWHERE and the occasional larger solid grey feather. It tapered off for a week or two and in the last few days it seems he's turned the molting dial up to 11! He's now got a very small bald patch on the top of his head above his nares, and a larger patch on the back of his neck is just down now. I know that he's not plucking b/c all he has to do is shake his head and feathers start flying. He just had a wellness check about a month ago and the vet gave him a clean bill of health.

 

How long should a molt last? Is it possible that the increased loss in downie feathers that I observed a few months ago was just a precursor for what was to come, and we're NOW in the actual molt itself?

[Dave007]

When your bird started losing all of those white downy feathers, molting was what was happening. How long can it last. Birds can molt up to 2 mts or as little as 3 to 5 weeks or anything in between. Some birds will molt for a longer period of time because of the surrounding room temperatures--humidity and high temperatures. Some birds molt for a long time because of the length of time from the last molt. Others will molt 2 to 3 times a year. The bald stop above the nares comes from scratching and the best way to deal with that is to get aloe vera gel and put some dabs on that area. The same thing should be done on the neck.