Breaking tail feathers?

Vilatus · Aug 23, 2017

My cockatiel keeps breaking her tail feathers. She's attempting to groom them, or she'll have a night fright and bash them on the cage bars.

Is it normal for them to be this brittle? I can understand them breaking when she bashes them against the cage bars, but it seems weird to me that they're breaking from normal grooming. I don't know if she's just clumsy because she's still young. (She hatched 1/17/17)

Also, its mostly the large gray feathers. She hasn't broken many of the barred yellow ones on the underside.

LordTriggs · Aug 23, 2017

do you happen to have a picture of her tail? It might help find out if she's barbering or if she's molting.

For the night frights try getting a nightlight near her cage and leaving the part near the light only partly covered. Should help her not crash when she has a spook

Vilatus · Aug 23, 2017

Oh, I thought I uploaded it oops. Sorry here it is

Also if it makes any difference, she's been doing this since I got her. She's not plucking them, but when they break she sometimes nibbles them off if they annoy her.

LordTriggs said:
do you happen to have a picture of her tail? It might help find out if she's barbering or if she's molting.

For the night frights try getting a nightlight near her cage and leaving the part near the light only partly covered. Should help her not crash when she has a spook

FlyBirdiesFly · Aug 23, 2017

It definitely looks like she is breaking the tail feathers, not molting. My cockatiel was the same way, he broke every single one of his tail feathers as a baby. But, he was clipped and that made him very clumsy. I suspect that their first set of feathers is a little weaker than their adult feathers, so when she gets her adult feathers she should not break any more tail feathers. My cockatiel hasn't broken a single one of his tail feathers since he was a baby!

Vilatus · Aug 23, 2017

Yes, she's breaking them not molting. Oh, that's good to hear! She was exactly the same way, when I got her her wings were clipped. She's flying now, but is still clumsy. When do you think her adult feathers will come in? She's like 7 months old now.

FlyBirdiesFly said:
It definitely looks like she is breaking the tail feathers, not molting. My cockatiel was the same way, he broke every single one of his tail feathers as a baby. But, he was clipped and that made him very clumsy. I suspect that their first set of feathers is a little weaker than their adult feathers, so when she gets her adult feathers she should not break any more tail feathers. My cockatiel hasn't broken a single one of his tail feathers since he was a baby!

FlyBirdiesFly · Aug 23, 2017

You said that when you got her her wings were clipped and she's fully flighted now, so she's already been through her first molt, which means that her feathers should be stronger by now. She might just be clumsy and she'll become a better flyer with practice, many birds are clumsy and continue to break their tail feathers even after their adult feathers are in.

Breaking tail feathers?

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