Broken Tail Feathers

Hello!
Lately Mango has been playing VERY hard. He is also molting and has lost some of his primary and secondary wing feathers. I can see new feathers on his wings starting to come in, but it seems to be quite a slow process. He was clipped when he came to us, but just the very tips of about 5 primaries. He cant really get around like he use to, he doesnt drop like a stone, but he isnt gliding as well, and he doesnt get any height any more due to lost feathers. My real concern though, is that he keeps breaking his tail feathers about half way down. Im not entirely sure how this is happening, but I suspect it has to do with losing wing feathers and falling more than he is use to. Hes broken quite a few tail feathers now and only has a few left. They arent falling out, they are broken in half. The upper part is still there, and they dont look loose. None of them are blood feathers thank goodness. I dont see new ones, but his butt is really fluffy and he wont let me feel around his tail at all. Is this normal? Will these feathers be replaced soon? We were hoping to let him fly once his new feathers grow in as he has really started coming when we call him (for pomegranate or sunflower seeds of course), and he has been following us around the house a lot already. I assume he needs his tail in-tact to fly properly. How can I prevent him from breaking his tail feathers?

Thank you!

If no one else has had this problem, perhaps I should call the vet? I do drive them crazy with all my questions. They probably think I am completely nutts. He had a vet check a few months ago with a complete blood work up and everything was fine. Im hoping someone can confirm that their bird has had this problem and that their feathers grew back.

Lol you have to wait until they fall out. Erin had some broken tail feathers when we got her, and then back in the summer she snapped her longest tail feather (the macaw trade mark : O ) so she has all these tiny tail feathers that were halved and this ridiculous lonely 2 ft long feather in the middle of her little ones. She looks so funny. Poor thing. As long as your fid isn't pulling or biting them off it's fine. And Erin had a blood test last month and is completelying healthy.

Hi Megan,

I've never had this problem but my understanding is that all feathers will molt out and grow back, just have to wait through the cycle. Also was watching a program the other night called Hope for Wildlife about a rescue for wild animals, they had a crow that had its tail feathers destroyed from a cat encounter. They said that they were keeeping in the outdoor aviary till the feathers grew back, it could still fly, but not far and some loss of control.
Also I'm sure your vet doesn't mind your phone calls, he knows youll be back that way LOL Good luck

Oh but her broken feathers don't affect her flight at all.

MaraWentz said:

Lol you have to wait until they fall out. Erin had some broken tail feathers when we got her, and then back in the summer she snapped her longest tail feather (the macaw trade mark : O ) so she has all these tiny tail feathers that were halved and this ridiculous lonely 2 ft long feather in the middle of her little ones. She looks so funny. Poor thing. As long as your fid isn't pulling or biting them off it's fine. And Erin had a blood test last month and is completelying healthy.

Click to expand...

Thank you! Im new to parrots so I appreciate your help. Im always worried Im doing something wrong. He looks so pathetic! The rest of his feathers look OK, but he has feathers hanging off his butt, plus broken ones. The new ones coming in look lovely, but when he shakes its like its snowing. I find little fluffy feathers everywhere, yesterday we found one in our dinner! He doesnt seem concerned about it, he is grooming more, and is itchy. I let him bath more, and I scritch his head and neck for him. He seems happy enough, he just looks silly.

When they broke and hung on, we just checked to make sure they were clear and no blood in the feather and then waited a week just to be safe and snipped them off. She looks normal until she spreads her tail to fly or flap her wings lol. And Erin is constantly shaking or flapping up those little white feathers, they practically line the hallway to our bedroom where we keep her.

It's pretty common for young parrots to break their tail feathers! Not to worry! As he grows up and matures, he'll learn how to take care of his feathers better!

Casey, my first tiel, actually got "duck butt" after I got her. She just kept breaking those tail feathers! Got her when she was 5 months old, and she had a nice tail... but then she started to break them! She's now 11 years old and hasn't had "duck butt" in many years!

I had another tiel, adult of unknown age (14+) that couldn't fly, and she frequently broke her tail feathers because of her inability to fly. (self inflicted, one wing clip) Only once did she ever fully grow them out!