We have a 6 year old female cockatiel who has pulled a few feathers out of her right wing at the elbow (bend) area. A few feathers have grown back in but she is still chewing at it and it appears it may be swollen yet is not red in color. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
2007-07-09 15:25:06 · 10 answers · asked by jafco13 2 in Pets ➔ Birds
The chewing on the feathers is a sign that she may have a blood feather.
Blood feathers are immature feathers that still have a blood supply to the shaft.
Once a feather reaches maturity, the blood supply degenerates, the pulp dries up and the calamus develops into a hard shaft
If the blood does not recede back into the wing it could become infected which causes pain to the bird.
The bird will start to chew on it's feathers and destroy them. What you don't what to have happen is the bird chew threw the feather causing it to bleed. If the feather is not removed quickly it couls actually bleed to death.
If you suspect that she may have a blood feather you will need to contact an Avianb vet to have it removed and the Vet can check to make sure that there isnt an infection, if there is your bird will be put on an antibiotic.
Once the blood feather is removed the pain caused by it will stop and so should the chewing of the feathers.
Sapphyre
Certified Avian Specialist
http://www.borrowed-rainbow.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BorrowedRainbowAviary/
2007-07-09 15:53:47 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Birds are still so close to being wild, they hide injury extremely well. The grey being that much bigger and more powerful could have very likely done some major damage to her wing internally even if it didn't look that bad. Her mutilating it that bad when she's never been a feather picker leads me to think it's hurting her and she's trying to fix it or get rid of it. I've heard of grey's fracturing children's fingers much less a small wing. I'd find an avian vet or a small animal vet (with years of experience in small birds) and take her to have her looked at. Her wing may be broken and if she's causing herself that much damage there is a high probablity of infection. I hope your bird does ok.
2016-05-22 00:56:29 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be a physical problem, such as mites or an itch, like the answers before me have stated, but it also could just be a bad habit caused by anger or boredom. If you're not spending time holding your cockatiel or talking to him, consider it. I have a quaker parrot, and when I left him home to go on vacation I saw that he had chewed off some feathers on his chest. I made an effort to spend more time with him and this habit stopped.
2007-07-10 02:39:06 · answer #3 · answered by glennkrueger 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it could be a bad habit and the pulling on the feathers could be irritating the "elbow" area
take your cockatiel to the vet-- vets know best !
good luck and i hope everything goes okay! : )
2007-07-09 15:31:30 · answer #4 · answered by x.FindingNemo.x 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Infection or tumor are possibilities. Mites are rare in captive bred birds. You need an experienced avian vet!
2007-07-09 15:48:35 · answer #5 · answered by KimbeeJ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Has there been any changes around the bird? She could be stressed... If there were no changes and you have had the bird for awhile, I would contact an avian vet and discuss this with the vet.
2007-07-09 15:30:23 · answer #6 · answered by LyndasCa 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you should get it checked out by a vet. it sounds like the wink may have gotten cut and is infected. this could be really severe. i adopted a cockatail that had a broken wing, and she never picked at it. you really need to see a vet.
2007-07-09 15:30:25 · answer #7 · answered by hello 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I hope shes ok! I think this might be a case of mites on our hands. Have you noticed any little black specks???Take her to a vet soon. I hope she gets better!!!
2007-07-09 15:29:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I really don't know how to answer this, but I know great forum with many people who know a lot about parrots. They will be a great help.
www.xoparrots.com
2007-07-09 15:28:55 · answer #9 · answered by . . . 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
check this site, it may help
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2149.html
pay no attention to the word dummies...lol..it is a legit site
2007-07-09 15:58:02 · answer #10 · answered by henry c 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋