Help! 7 m/o congo lost wing feather!

I have a 7 month old female congo african grey parrot named Ava. i got her about 3 months ago from a breeder. When i got her, her wings were already clipped, 5 feathers on each side because they said they did 3 at first and she still flew too well. on top of her cage is a big orb hung from the ceiling and on a table next to her cage (and connected to the cage) is a natural wood play gym we made her. When I'm home i securely tie open her door (so it can't shut on her) and let her play in and on her cage. Sometimes she gets eager and tries to fly across the room, occasionally resulting in her lightly hitting the wall.

Today i left the room for a bit (with her out) and when i came back i found a feather on the ground that is from her wing. I inspected her wings and i believe it to be the outer most major covert feather on her right wing.

My question is, is it possible that with her primary feathers cut she could have crashed and snapped her covert feather? Or is it possible that she's starting to pluck her feathers??

please help! I did all the research before buying her but nothing covered this!!

Did the feather happen to have a blood tip on it? If so, the quill will seem filled with blood. If not, then the end of the feather would look worn and white in appearance, and the quill would look hollow.

If it's a blood feather, there's a possibility that your bird plucked it or that she took off too quickly and hit something or landed somewhere harshly, resulting in the feather coming out. Otherwise it would be a natural molt. If it is molted, it should also appear "faded" in colour comparison to her other flight feathers. It's perfectly normal to lose flight feathers during molting, and I've had times where my birds drop perfect blood feathers (where the quill is removed entirely, otherwise you end up with a quill that behaves like a straw for blood out of the bird's body).

Hopefully I've understood and answered your question! Pictures are always helpful in these situations as well.

It sounds like she just lost a feather. Lots more where that came from They drop feathers naturally all the time, and at certain times of years loose many at once when they molt. It's totally natural and normal.

I wouldn't think it would be plucking. So young, and all of a sudden. Usually when they pluck I believe it's the body feathers, not just one single wing feather.

I'm not sure at what age Greys have their first molt, but 7 months sounds a bit young. It would be helpful to know if the feather was broken off, or if it's a whole feather including the part that anchors in the skin. If it IS the whole feather, It could be the start of an early molt? When my Pionus started his first molt, it started with primary wing feathers.

It doesn't look like a blood feather it looks like the feather that is right above a blood feather and it looks frayed on both the found feather and on her so i think it was broken off right in the middle! After reading your replies, and considering that 7 months old is young to start a molt, it seems most likely that she just had a bad landing and hit it causing it to break.

I'm not really aware of how much feeling they have in their feathers. She doesn't seem in any kind of pain or anything but does this hurt them? I know often birds don't show pain unless its really really bad so maybe she just isn't showing she's hurt? Is there anything i can do for her?

Anniele27 said:

It doesn't look like a blood feather it looks like the feather that is right above a blood feather and it looks frayed on both the found feather and on her so i think it was broken off right in the middle! After reading your replies, and considering that 7 months old is young to start a molt, it seems most likely that she just had a bad landing and hit it causing it to break.

I'm not really aware of how much feeling they have in their feathers. She doesn't seem in any kind of pain or anything but does this hurt them? I know often birds don't show pain unless its really really bad so maybe she just isn't showing she's hurt? Is there anything i can do for her?

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Okay that makes sense to me now . It just broke off in the middle. Don't worry, it happens sometimes. Thankfully, MOST of the time falls do not result in injury. Also, keep in mind that although I'm sure you've heard that birds hide their illness or hurt, there IS a subtle tell tale sign about them when they're not right. It may take some experience and a familiar eye to see it, but if they're not sleeping just a bit more during the day, or seem to be favoring a leg, wing, etc. every now and then, or eating less, I wouldn't worry.

Remember, as delicate as our birds seem, their wild relatives were built to live and survive in the harsh wild environment. It actually still amazes me to think that!
I've had birds for decades, and when a "little" thing happens, I will pretty much know what is essentially 'nothing' and what warrants a close eye, and what needs vet attention. You will come to instinctively know this too, the longer you have a bird .
I know at first how nerve wracking and worrisome it is, but that's why it's great to have a community of bird people here.

FYI - it's only a "blood feather" (with a blood supply going through it) during the time the feather is still growing. Once the feather reaches full size, the blood supply from the body will stop. Then, it's just like our hair .

A fully grown feather has no nerves running through it, she isn't in any pain