Why is my cockatiel breaking his feathers?

Question

Today my 7 month old tiel' just lost a second feather but it didn't look normal it look like it had been bleeding cause there was a liittle dry blood on his feather on the tip of the feather He is a very hyper in his cage and bends his feathers all the time they bend and the break off but don't bleed??????????????????

would my tiel' benefit with some excersize and a good bath?

Answer 1

First of all, feathers offer the greatest insight into the health of a bird. Fluffed feathers can indicate illness. Tattered feathers may indicated aggression from another bird, stress from environment, illness, or self-mutilation (feather plucking). Loss of bright feather color can be a sign of a nutritional deficiency.

Has your cockatiel molted? During a molt they are in physical stress that can be alleviated by an increase in certain foods and supplements. Molting usually occurs at 6 months so yours may just be having its first Molt. They typically last 4-6 weeks.

Signs of disease or illness in a cockatiel may be indicated by a variety of clinical symptoms: inactivity, closed eyes (most of the time), droopy wings, ruffled feathers, stops eating and vocalizing, noisy breathing and sneezing, bleeding, weight loss, soiled or pasted vent, changes in the droppings, decreased preening, sits at the bottom of the cage for long periods of time, and self mutilation (feather picking). These symptoms require urgent veterinary attention.

I am a pet care specialist at Petsmart. If you have any further questions you can email me at [e-mail] or you can call a local petsmart and they pet care department will be happy to help you!

Good luck!!

Answer 2

He is probably molting. My bird sometimes plucks out a feather that has a little blood in it. It is nothing to be concerned about. He is a cockatiel as well and they do molt several times a year. When they preen and pull at the feathers they are trying to lose they do bend and twist. My bird gets cranky while all this is going on--imagine new feathers coming out everywhere and all of them kind of itchy. So he likes to take a bath in the sink (with stopper in of course). If your bird will take baths allow him to do so, if not maybe a squirt bottle? They do need a little humidity just as we do.

Answer 3

If you aren't certain, you should talk to your vet. It's the health of your bird in question here.

If the feathers are bleeding then it's because they are blood feathers which means they are new and growing feathers. If he breaks a tail or wing blood feather, he will loose a lot of blood and he could die (this isn't to scare you, just inform you) but if it's just the little fuzzy ones on his face and head that break, he will be fine.

If this concerns you, then I would definatly seek the attention of a vet just to sooth my mind.

Answer 4

It might be molting which is normal. But it sounds like you should either get it a bigger cage, or give it more attention or something so that it wouldn't get board. You also might want to check with the vet because of the litle blood that is coming of might mean that he doesn't have a good circulation of blood. All in all, I'd go to the vet.

Answer 5

he could either be molting [or malting; not sure how to spell it] but it's when they lose their feathers otherwise I would say that it's probably due to stress; maybe his cage isnt big enough or he needs more attention otherwise I would try contacting the vet for further information on what you can do.

Answer 6

it probally just molting not a problem unless u see bleeding or its deliberatly yanking out feathers. take it to a vet if ur worried

Answer 7

The cage is too small. He needs excercise!

Answer 8

Its autumn for him. It has to shed feathers.

Answer 9

Your bird is sadomasochistic.