Breaking wing feathers

[MrsBridenstine]

My year and a half old male CAG is breaking his long wing feathers. It happened a couple weeks ago for the first time, it was broken so close to his body that it had tissue and blood and it bled for awhile before I could get it stopped. Since that incident, he has broken about 4 more (in the last 2 weeks). Sometimes I hear him at night like something scares him or he is just going coo coo in his cage because he flies around and then flops down on the floor of his cage like he just saw a ghost. Nothing can be found as to what scared him or if he is just choosing to do this. He has also been ornery lately so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. Some of the ones he has broken have been hollow and some filled with blood. They never break completely off they crack and break and then I have to put him in a towel and cut it off the rest of the way. When you look at him you can not tell that any are broken until he flies off his cage and lands on the ground then it pops out and can be seen. He also shakes from pain when they break. poor guy.

 

What is going on here? Anyone have any suggestions?

 

As far as I know he is as healthy as can be. I feed Harrison's High Potency, I cook, he gets fresh veggies and pastas, he never gets anything he shouldn't have (chips, etc.)

 

The only thing he doesn't get that I could think of is a regular bath, he hates to be misted and he doesn't like the shower so he only gets wet about once a month unless he takes a dip in his water dish (which I only see happen about once or twice a month). Also, he doesn't get much time under his light like he did when he was younger. I used to put him under it for about 6 hours a day minimum, but now he maybe gets 10 hours a week. Sometimes a lot more, but sometimes way less.

 

He is sort of dull gray, not bright and shiny like some of the pictures of your birds that I see. His feathers are kind of rough looking and split like they are injured. He does not pluck or destroy on himself at all. His beak is rougher looking and has white grooves in them because he rubs it on one of his perches all the time. His nails are getting long and sharp and they are growing uneven but he will not let me clip them.

 

I think I have covered everything guys might ask for more info....let me know if I can tell you more....

 

Please help.....

Edited December 7, 2010 by MrsBridenstine

[Dave007]

Periodically, this can happen because of the balance he's left with. I looked at your pics and really can't tell whether the lower feathers were clipped at one time. Some clippers leave about 3 to 4 flight feathers so the bird can look good. Anyway, that feather that's sticking out is a blood feather, it's in a place that's a bit painful because the lower end is pricking him. many birds will go full steam ahead in trying to remove it and in doing so, they will pull out or chew the surrounding feathers near the good feather/feathers.

Well, if you don'tknow what to do and there's a risk of it bleeding or the others bleeding, it's best to have that feather removed if he can't. Being ornery? Totally understandable because it's very irritating.

***He is sort of dull gray, not bright and shiny like some of the pictures of your birds that I see. ***

That has nothing to do with the problem. Birds are either that color or turn to that color until it's been bathed. There may be a layer of dander on his body.

Night frights---if he's covered at night and can't see anything, then take the cover off at night

if he's not covered at night and can see many things, cover him. Either situation can cause night frights and eventually, a bird will fall to the tray.

*****They never break completely off they crack and break and then I have to put him in a towel and cut it off the rest of the way. *****

That's a bad idea. Cutting them off will only make him pick at those cut areas. Compare those areas you cut the same way a bird's feathers look when a bird has been chewing them. A bird will go after those feathers until they're out.

****His beak is rougher looking and has white grooves in them because he rubs it on one of his perches all the time.***

Also has nothing to do with the situation. As a bird gets older, they scrape the beaks, make them look rough with lots of lines in them.

As far as clipping nails, if he really needs them clipped, have a vet tech do it but I won't say that your bird needs a nail clipping because I can't see or feel the bird on my hand. Only you know if he needs to be clipped.

Ps--if he's constantly fall off his perches while he's having this problem, it may be a good idea to lower his pershes closer to the grating.

Edited December 7, 2010 by Dave007

[Guest Kali_the_Destroyer]

I am not as experienced as Dave, I just wanted to give you what I have learned with Kali. I clipped her myself when I got her (I've kept birds for 25 years, so I know where & how to clip). Everything was fine until a couple of months ago when her flight feathers started growing back in.

 

She is very clumsy and also just loves jumping off high things onto the floor, like her swing, her perch and anything else she can jump off. She began breaking these new blood feathers, always at night when the vet was shut. I would sit up with her with the styptic powder and Q tips to stop the bleeding and to comfort her (I have a birdy first aid box ready and waiting for injuries).

She'd be OK for a few days, and then do a death-dive again and break all the new feathers. This went on for weeks & weeks. I tried confining her to her quarters (the cage) & removing all the hanging stuff she could jump off, I even put a soft towel on the floor but she was terrified of it - and as soon as I thought she was OK and could come out of the cage again, she'd jump off the table or something else. Stoopid bird.

 

As I write this, she has managed to grow back 2 full flight feathers on her right side, and one on her left. We had a little break & bleed last week, but it healed. Now that she has those long feathers her balance seems much better, but they have given her the confidence to try flying ... and yes, she's hitting the floor.

 

I'm not sure what my advice is ... I definitely will keep her clipped, but I can't go through all that blood again when she molts. I think I'll do a less radical clip next time and just hope she doesn't start flying into windows & walls like she did when I got her

[Guest Kali_the_Destroyer]

Oh, as for toenails - Kali has concrete perches which keeps them trim

[chezron]

Your bird is having seizures! Low calcium brought on by lack of sunlight causes this, "Sometimes I hear him at night like something scares him or he is just going coo coo in his cage because he flies around and then flops down on the floor of his cage like he just saw a ghost" PLEASE get him to a vet to get a blood sample and check his levels.

 

I know this from experience and it is serious!