Split, tattered feathers on wings

chuckmoser · Post by **chuckmoser** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:59 pm

Hello all.
I have a latino ringneck that has quite a few tattered and split feathers on his wings, and it's getting worse. This is in the feather shaft itself.
It's not causing him pain or discomfort, but I want to get it fixed before it gets to that point.
Is there something I can do to for his diet to help feather health? Is there something I can do to avoid it happening in the future?

Thanks much,
Chuck

Neokireina · Post by **Neokireina** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 12:02 am

It's really hard to help you without seeing for ourselves really, if you could post a pic it might help because I'm not really sure what you mean.

If it's really bad take your bird to a qualified avian vet, they will give you good advice on the problem, ask about foods and if the feather just accidently got damaged they can pull the feather and allow new ones to grow.

It's possible if it's not too bad just to wait until your bird molts and then your baby will have brand new feathers. If the problem continues after the molt really start looking into diet and other options.

chuckmoser · Post by **chuckmoser** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 9:19 am

Thanks for the reply. And yes, it's persisted past a moulting. But, I have to embarassingly admit that it's probably my fault as I clipped his wings once with some not-so-good scissors, and the feathers still haven't recovered... and that was over a year ago.
It's nothing severe, just looks bad compared to his other perfectly groomed feathers.

I'll try and post a pic tonight.

Thanks, Chuck

Post by **kyria** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 2:17 pm

Just a thought, but maybe your bird is picking at the feathers itself.

I wonder this because breeder had clipped Jordans wing much like you would a chicken, too short and there are sharp feathers that could annoy him/her. I have been told to watch out for picking. They can start picking at the feathers that are sharp and annoying and make a real mess of them. This can develope into a habit.

Maybe thats whats happening here. Just watch out for the bird picking its own feathers to tatters. ???

chuckmoser · Post by **chuckmoser** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 3:49 pm

Yup, he's picking at them regularly. I thought it was because they were irritating him. I hope it's not a habit. It's not like I can wack him with a newspaper to make him stop. * sigh *

If only I could make him stop crapping on the couch as well.

Post by **kyria** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 4:00 pm

lmao ! starts laughing hysterically .. :shock:

.. oh I'm sorry I lost it for a minute there, stop these POOP MACHINES from pooping on your furniture ? Hell they own you know and can poop wherever they darn well please.

No but in all honesty, I think once they settle in with a family they tend to save pooping for certain places or in their cage. Kai hasn't actually pooped on me or the furniture for a while, it seems like he waits till he is on his stand or in his cage. And if he is on a table he backs up and poops off the edge.

About the habit thing, if infact this is what it is .. I know nothing about techniques for helping with that .. NEO !! .. ATHENA !! .. JEREMY!! .. someone else who knows about this ? any ideas. Thanks

Cheers !

Mazziemom · Post by **Mazziemom** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 4:10 pm

Distraction is the key to stopping feather chewing... give the bird so much else to do that the feathers are not as interesting.

I think I know what you mean by split/chewed shafts, and if its what I think it is I stop the picking by clipping the shaft. However... it takes a knowledgeable hand to do that, because its actually clipped very close to the skin with a pair of special shears that leave the edges rounded IN, a very soft edge. Usually that stops the chewing and if you can stop it soon enough it doesnt become a bad habit.

You might ask your vet about that kind of clipping... it really does need to be done by someone with experience. I wouldnt have tried it by myself five years ago.

Athena

Neokireina · Post by **Neokireina** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 7:07 pm

I think you limit the poopyness buy leaving them intheir own designated areas. Like on their T stand with toys with a poop tray under it. This works well with clipped birds cos you can control where they are. But clipped birds are more likely to go on YOU because they cant fly off and go somewhere else.

Flighted birds tend to not poop on you but they poop everywhere else. But still they tend to hang out in the USUAL areas where their treats and toys are and you can secure that area. Some birds can be toilet trained to some extent. But yeah always have some cleaning equipment handy.