tatty macaw tail feathers

hi

i wouldnt say this is really a health concern as such but figured this might be the best section for advice...

i have a greenwing macaw, lola, she is coming up to 5 months old (which could be the reason) and shes a lovely looking bird but her tail feathers are really tatty and scruffy (ill try and upload a photo when im home). on one side of one of the main tail feathers there are none at all. now ive never noticed exceptional amounts of feathers (the odd one here and there where weve been playing) so i have no reason to believe shes plucking them... i just dont know why they're that way??

shes had feathers start to sprout on her head too, well she has hard 'stems' for lack of a better word, which look and i assume will turn into feathers, isnt she a bit young for that?

she is my first bird and all this is a little new too me, just trying to gain a better understanding of what shes going through

thanks

lewis

She is only 5 months old?

Do not worry at all!!!!

Some babies are just very rough on their tails..


After her molt, between 6-12 months, she will have lovely new tail feathers growing in... Once she loses them all though, they look a bit silly with short tails


Here was Fargo's tail at 7 months old... and then when it grew in new

Don't worry, i was worried why Fargo had such a tatty tail too!! Just at the breeders he was stuck in with lots of other babies, and they all messed with each other!

Oh and them stems, we call their pin feathers

If she has them, then she is probably starting to molt...

You can help massage them when they are ready to help the sheath to break away and emerge the new feathers growing in!


You will see, when she loses her tail feathers, that she will have giant pin feathers grow out her tail! They take probably about 2 months to grow to full length!

thank you very much! everything i need to know very reassuring seeing how beautifully feathered fargo has become, the sheaths weirded me out at first lol but ill be sure to give her lots of head massages to help the feathers through

thanks again!

Thats ok!!

Hahahaha it is strange at first, but honestly, you get into a habit of just sitting there breaking the sheaths when they are ready!

At first it was hard to tell if it was ready or not, but now i don't even have to look, i just feel


Would definitely make her feel better massaging them softly, and lots of showers are usually good during the molting session!


It is strange, sometimes you see babies in perfect feather, and others are a complete mess!

I think it all depends on the breeder, where they were kept, were they with other birds !


In a few months time Lola will have a gorgeous new tail!

My Nero is 2 and he is currently molting and my oh my the pin feathers on his poor head!

He loves his head scratches but if I bump a pin the wrong way on accident he is certain to let me know. He will just just on my lap and let me go to town picking at his pin feathers!

In the wild other birds would help with grooming and breaking away those pins, but since we took that away we have to replace it

Just do a little at a time, I never try and break off a whole sheath at once, the new feathers are never ready for that.

Preening your baby is good bonding time! Enjoy!!!

It's normal for their tail feathers to be a bit ratty looking when they are very young. They are not fully coordinated. They play rough. They don't always look out for their tail feathers, and they don't always preen them very well.

It gets better as they mature, unless they are kept in tiny cages where they don't have room to move around without messing up their tail feathers.

I agree with everyone, totally normal. Babies can be rough on their tail feathers.

My GW is almost 2 and she molts year round. Her head and neck are a constant. As Tab and others have mentioned, showers help tremendously. Getting the sharp ends off the pin feathers will help her too. Otherwise they will poke into her neck/head and make her grumpy. Rosie wants me to preen her several times daily. It is a bonding activity and she rewards me by preening/chewing big holes in my shirts. Just go slow and be very gentle in the beginning. She will let you know if something hurts.