Feather chewing?

burley · May 25, 2010

My beautiful greenwing Val has a couple of short feather shafts sticking out of her wing, right at the outermost joint. she has been chewing at them and they seem very uncomfortable to her. The quill shafts are about a quarter inch long. There are three of them and they are shreded from where she has chewed them. I am thinking of pulling the peices out with a pair of pliers. Has anyone ever heard of this or done it? Am I crazy for even thinking this? It is probally the broken remenants of where she was dog mauled about 4 months ago before I got her.

antoinette · May 25, 2010

Shame poor Val, hope it ends soon.
Hopefully other guardian's of greenwing's will assist you.
Sorry not familiar with this species.
Check out the link below, great tips and advise.
Green wing Macaw Problems

Keep us posted

Spiritbird · May 25, 2010

I would be off to the vet. Do you see any sign of something wrong with the skin where the feathers are growing?

burley · May 25, 2010

skin looks ok. some new pin feathers coming in in the area right next ti the shreaded ones.

Auggie's Dad · May 25, 2010

Make sure she gets bathed plenty (or misted) as the moisture and washing helps sooth irritated feathers. A vet check wouldn't hurt - they might just pluck the troublesome feathers out at the root and let them regrow - but I suspect she could sort it out on her own... how long has this been going on?

burley · May 25, 2010

I am more inclined to let her sort it out herselfe. I just dont want it to turn into something bad. she actually puts her wing on her perch and chews them on the wood. It has been about 4 days of this now. Just 3 little peices of feather causes so much worry.

ClaudePi · Jun 14, 2010

I am not sure if this matters anymore, but my bird is doing the same, I was reading that sometimes, they feather chew because they are not getting enough protein in their diet so resort to chewing their feathers... I am not sure by this, but will find out soon (she is going to the vet soon).

Feather chewing?

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