My bird has no tail!

Xenobia · Post by **Xenobia** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 9:38 pm

Well, okay - he has three tailfeathers.

You see, Busey likes to play rough. And jump. And climb in precarious positions. So the tailfeathers get broken and subsequently bitten off during grooming.

And yes - his cage is at least as tall as him twice again when he DOES have a tail.

He's only 7 months old, so I suppose he's just being a rambunctous youngster, but it's disturbing to see the bird who's supposed to have a beautiful tail with three pitiful feathers there.

He just had a mini-molt but didn't replace the wings or tail feathers.

Anyone have any ideas on how to encourage my tree pear to NOT jump roughly all over the place when playing, or do I just have to wait it out?

Neokireina · Post by **Neokireina** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 10:01 pm

I would love some more information on this topic, I have two Aviary birds that dont have a tails, One plucks and the other one just cant seem to grow them very well.

Post by **Datsun and Family** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 11:05 pm

Datsun only had 5 tail feathers when I got her and now at just over a year old she is growing all her new ones in during her full moult.

Wait it out... its worth it!!! :wink:

Mikaela · Post by **Mikaela** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 5:09 am

Chief is a 'tiel but when I got him the poor fella had three tail feathers and he would have been better of without them. They looked awful. I think he was either caged too small or picked on at the breeders.

I reckon he has been my baby now for about 2 months :?:

He is the boys bird. By the way and on a side note, Baby and Chief are now friends... he had all he was going to take from that bit@h... and she is a BIG ONE.

Very rare for a ringneck not to look PERFECT despite conditions. So, I would bet he or she is going through a moult. Be glad because it is an awful process and the sooner it starts the sooner it is over.

My Baby had what I call a mini-moult at 6 months old (just her head). She went from looking beautiful as an IRN always should to looking washed out, prickly, matted... just awful. I am eager for her to do a full moult to get it over with.

Did any of your babies do just a head moult first, then later do a full moult? If so, how long was the time between the 'mini-moult' and the full swing. Or to rephrase the question... how old are IRN's when they do a full moult, usually?

Post by **kyria** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 5:00 pm

Kai has broken two tail feathers so far, well at least I think he broke them.

Each time , all I noticed was a tail feather sticking out at right angles to him, I guess eventually he just preened or bit them off, coz I would find them laying on the bottom of the cage. And kai's cage is huge so ? unless he is molting them ? dont know enough about when/what ages they mault to really know.

wagnerov · Post by **wagnerov** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:06 pm

My ringneck's tail feathers would bend/break easily when he fell onto the floor because of his clipped wings. That was about 6 months ago (he was about a year old at the time) and it got to the point where he had no tail feathers! Ringnecks look funny without a tail. I suspect part of the reason was a molt. Tail feathers that had a stress-mark (black line) or a notch in the growth seemed to bend or break easier, he had three of those. I'm sure one of them was because of an incident with a cat, no harm done. He'd pull out any tail feather that was bent, or some would just fall out.

Anyway, either he's a lot happier now, or his molt is complete....hopefully both. All of his tail feathers are fully grown now! 6 months after not having one at all.

Dani03 · Post by **Dani03** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:18 am

Kinda sad huh? Seeing a beautiful IRN without it's long beautiful tail...*sighs* Prinny has broken about five of her feathers and hasn't molted her tail yet. Everyone I have asked has told me this is normal and that those 'baby' feathers are usually gone after the second molt. I sure hope so 'cause she looks sad without them. :lol:

My poor baby...

Oh and advice for yah...bigger cage! hehehe...sorry but it's true. If your bird plays hard and breaks feathers because of the cage bars then invest on a bigger cage. Ask our moderator, Mikaela, for pics of her huge cages for her babies. I want one of those for Prinny eventually... :lol:

Dani and Prinny

carrie · Post by **carrie** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:52 pm

Atticus only has 2 long tail feathers at the moment. She had 3 but one broke off. All of the little ones either side of her long ones are broken but now that she is going through her first full moult there are 2 on each side that are coming through. I've found a couple more broken ones that have fallen out so I'm hoping that she might have a half decent tail soon. I've got to say that she's looking mighty scraggly at the moment - this moult seems to be going on forever!

Xenobia · Post by **Xenobia** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 11:18 pm

Thanks for the advice, peoples!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has a tailess bird!
I will hope that Busey gets a pretty new tail with his next molt!
Seriously - he has "duck butt" right now.
As far as the cage goes - he never breaks his tail feathers when he's IN his cage! It's the jumping OFF the cage and the playstand and the hanging upside down swinging against things. If I didn't let him out of his cage, he'd have a perfect tail. LOL

Melika · Post by **Melika** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 9:44 pm

Tsume bent his longest tail feathers when he was a baby and bit them off and recently Hane has bent his tail feathers- it's how he has decided to sleep. So I did some switching in his cage so now he can't sleep there anymore. Little brat. Neither of them has moulted their tail feathers since they grew in as babies. And in March they'll be a year old. But they've had mini-moults. Tsume seems to moult more than Hane, or at least more aggressively.

Mikaela · Post by **Mikaela** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 5:26 pm

I love me some Busey... he is my duck duck baby boy!

I think I have mentioned him to anyone that would listen.

goro · Post by **goro** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:28 pm

what is molting and how often does it happen. Is it like a twice a yr event like in dogs. sorry to sound like a moron but im really concerned my ringneck molted i think?vBut he didn't look like anything described above just found a lot of feathers everywhere, but the bird looked good reguardless is this molting or something else.

Post by **Datsun and Family** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 7:57 pm

Your bird may have had what we call a mini-moult when they just replace a few feathers, the full moult will come and you will know! :lol:

They look Uuuuugly!

How old is your bird? They generally have a full moult at around a year old.

goro · Post by **goro** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:28 pm

i kinda made a new topic age that was meant for here. can a mod move it to here for me sorry for screwing up on my first day.
goro

Angelface · Post by **Angelface** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:55 pm

my irn is nekkid!!
he's plucked EVERY feather he can reach off his body. only his head remains intact. his wings are sorta intact...he's chewed off everything he can

poor little guy! he is very neurotic! previous owners weren't that good for him so once in awhile he just goes nuts and plucks! can't wait till his tail grows back!

Neokireina · Post by **Neokireina** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 4:34 pm

Do a Google search on feather plucking, I believe there are a few reasons why birds pluck, you need to rule out diet and skin conditions, have you taken your bird to see an avian vet?

Darlene · Post by **Darlene** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:22 am

My IRN is 10 monthes old. In the late summer, he/she molted, I just saw a lot of fluffy little feathers around. Then he lost his tail feathers one at a time, and is just growing it back now. But at this rate, he will just get it grown in again and it will be time to molt again. :roll:

My IRN didn't get bare spots so far, I could hardley tell he was moulting except for seeing feathers here and there. He gets rough sometimes and jumpd off his tower and furniture. I have seen his tail feathers sticking out before they fell off. I saved some, becouse it was from his first molt. Mabey I can glue them back on untill his new ones grow in LOL :lol:

I live in Washington State. It is winter here now, but I am still seeing little fluffy feathers around. How long do molts last? Or is it normal for them to always be shedding there down feathers? :?:

Roro1988 · Post by **Roro1988** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:25 am

Hi everyone....I have a beautiful IRN i received from my girlfriend, it is about eight month old and it had very beautiful tail growing.
I always leave my bird outside its cage because it prefers to stay on the cage rather than in it

I already clipped its wing so it cannot fly too much. So sometimes it flies onto the floor and walks everywhere in the house.
Unfortunately today my dad walked on its tail without seeing it and completely snatched off four of its tails from the root!!!

I would really like to know if there is a chance the tail will grow up again. It really makes me feel sad to see it lyk this???

dog_glenn123 · Post by **dog_glenn123** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:33 am

Yes they will grow back but not until it mults again. Which is seasonal.

Thanks Glenn

Roro1988 · Post by **Roro1988** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:32 pm

Thank You glenn.....Do u have any idea when it molts???....How will i know when this is happening...?

dog_glenn123 · Post by **dog_glenn123** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 4:32 am

Hi it depends on where you live it usually happens after breeding season which starts in late winter and finnishs around september in Aus.

You will know if its a mult because lots of little white feathers called down will be every where and the tail feather will start coming of and then pin feathers will start to come in after that.

Ta Glenn

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My bird has no tail!

My bird has no tail!

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