Broken tail feather- what to do with it?

Mtod9860 · Oct 21, 2016

Hi! My 9mnth old Alexandrine has a broken tail feather that is just hanging. The break is about 5 cm from where the feather begins. She is currently going through a molt. There is no blood and she is behaving fine.

Should I cut it or is the reccomendation to leave it. She has already started chewing on it as the quill is split. Also, is this normal? Has anyone had a similar experience?

Thank you!

SailBoat · Oct 21, 2016

Mtod9860 said:
Hi! My 9mnth old Alexandrine has a broken tail feather that is just hanging. The break is about 5 cm from where the feather begins. She is currently going through a molt. There is no blood and she is behaving fine.

Should I cut it or is the reccomendation to leave it. She has already started chewing on it as the quill is split. Also, is this normal? Has anyone had a similar experience?

Thank you!

Young Parrots, as a group are very hard on their feathers and even more so with their tail feathers. It is common for a young Parrot to have damaged tail feathers.

Whether you leave it or cut it at the point it has broken is totally up to you. The flight feathers are high priority feathers and the natural schedule for their replacement is at least every other year or sooner.

NOTE: The closer to the Parrots rump, the more care must be taking in the cutting of this feather to assure that contact with the Parrots body does not occur.

jiannotto9492 · Oct 21, 2016

Personally I'd let it fall naturally. I've had this happened before as well and I left it due to the fact that the tail feathers are there to help the bird balanced when perched.

Mtod9860 · Oct 21, 2016

Thank you! I was getting worried!

Broken tail feather- what to do with it?

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