Torn tail feather, help please.

Hi guys. I need some more experienced help please. I got home not long ago only to find this horrifying scene.



He has torn his flight feather in half but its attached to the pin or stem.



Here you can you see where the stem has been split down the middle.



He is relentlessly trying to rip it off all the time now, I have to keep stopping him but I cant, he just goes back to it I'm worried he is going to rip it off.

I don't know why he has done this at all. I have never experienced him feather plucking or chewing and in honesty he has no reason too. I spend so much time with him. He is out the cage 4-5 hours or more every day, he has toys, foraging activities, I spend hours daily doing things with him I just don't get it.

I'm so worried he is gonna rip the feather off, He doesn't seem to be in pain but when I opened the wing to see the real damage he bit me hard for the first time ever.

He is just always such a good happy boy, I just cant fathom why this has happened. He did go through some mistreating as a baby because his green feathers on his right wing were ripped and still are as you can see and the ends of his tail feathers were all chewed up and it looks like a bad cut job on his left wing flight feathers underneath the big flight feathers and he was just terrified of everything at first but in short time he just became a nice natured, confident, loving and happy bird.

I am just in shock that he has done this, I had a tear in my eye and feel like the worst Parront in the world. What do I do?

Let him yank it, or you get a clean pair of needle nose and yank it yourself. It's not a behavioral problem if a parrot plucks a single damaged feather. It is likely very uncomfortable for the poor guy to keep it. Kiwi messed up a tail feather a while back and pulled it out. He isn't a plucker, he just plucked a single rogue feather that was clearly bothering him. It's a natural response for parrots to do this, as once the damaged feather is gone their body can replace it with a healthy new one.

Its halfway down the feather as you can see though. So I should just yank the whole flight feather out? They don't grow back do they? You can get permanent wing clips cant you? so I don't think it would grow back. He is trying to chew it off half way down too and yank it sometimes.

It wasn't damaged yesterday when I bathed him and checked his wings, it looks like he has chewed the feathers down to he stem. I'm not feeling too comfy about pulling it out Kiwi. Have you done this before yourself and how?

Just cut it right above the break. Yanking a feather is easy but if you hesitate not so much. I actually yanked a broken blood feather by hand on a macaw because I couldn’t find the pliers. Easier to do by hand on the bigger bird though.

There's no blood supply is there? Id feel much comfier cutting it then yanking it just yet. This is our first real issue together so I'm kind of freaked out more.

If I cut it will it grow back in being a flight feather? If I'm right then tail feathers molt every year and get replaced don't they?

You can’t get permanent wing clips (unless someone completely butchered the wing, cutting into the flesh) because feathers will always naturally molt out and be replaced. Sometimes birds flap around in their cage and this causes them to break feathers. Are you sure he chewed the feather himself? It looks like a primary flight feather, not a tail feather. When you pull the feather out, it will grow back. If aren’t comfortable pulling it yourself, you can either take your bird to the vet or trim the feather with scissors. If you decide to trim it, keep in mind that he will have the feather until his next molt.

Re: Torn Flight feather, help please.

Sorry, I meant flight feather yes. Thanks for the help guys. All the research I do and I never really looked into feathers

Carl_Power said:

Its halfway down the feather as you can see though. So I should just yank the whole tail feather out? They don't grow back do they? You can get permanent wing clips cant you? so I don't think it would grow back. He is trying to chew it off half way down too and yank it sometimes.

It wasn't damaged yesterday when I bathed him and checked his wings, it looks like he has chewed the feathers down to he stem. I'm not feeling too comfy about pulling it out Kiwi. Have you done this before yourself and how?

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ALL feathers can and will grow back on a healthy bird like yours. Parrots molt every year to replace their oldest/damaged feathers, including those from the tail and wings. If such a thing exists, a "permanent clip" would have to damage the feather follicles themselves, not just clipping the feathers. That's the only thing that will make feathers never come back- permanent follicle damage. Yanking this feather will not cause permanent damage but it will make your buddy more comfortable until he can grow a new one. When Kiwi slipped climbing and knocked his tail feather out crooked, he just reached around, grabbed the offending feather, made an god awful screech and pulled it himself. The procedure to remove feathers for us requires sanitized needle nosed pliers. You get the pliers as close to the base of the feather as possible and give a swift, firm pull. They'll screech like you're murdering them as it does hurt, but they'll feel better afterwards. If you feel to uncomfortable doing it yourself, call wherever you have him groomed, explain the situation and see if they'll do it. And if they can't do it, get a pair of scissors, wipe them down with some rubbing alcohol to sanitize and cut the feather off below the damaged area. But it's still likely he'll yank it out himself if you do that.

One more very important thing- Take a deep breath! This is not life threatening and your bird isn't going to become a plucker. This is the birdie equivalent of a scraped knee. Very minor, just a bit painful/uncomfortable

Carl_Power said:

There's no blood supply is there? Id feel much comfier cutting it then yanking it just yet. This is our first real issue together so I'm kind of freaked out more.

If I cut it will it grow back in being a tail feather? If I'm right then tail feathers molt every year and get replaced don't they?

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It’s not a blood feather since he isn’t bleeding. You can check it when you have him wrapped to cut it. Blood feathers are pretty distinctive when you are looking at them. Feathers grow back after being yanked. A cut one will stay until molted but that’s not a big deal.
https://goo.gl/images/8ASWKJ

Thank you so much Kiwi. You've just told me everything I wanted to hear and learn and put me at ease. I'm normally the best person in a crisis lol but I guess now I know how you mothers out there feel when something happens to your children.

In honesty he has damaged flight feathers on his other wing from when I got him so I may just cut it and wait for him malting his flight feathers. If he is still pulling when I've cut it and I notice anything then ill have to pull it myself like you've said or pop him to the vets and let them do it.

He is 10 month old now and molted most his green feathers. Do the flight feathers molt after that? He has started getting pin feathers again so maybe he is getting ready for the big molt. Ill go research more on this. Thank you so much guys, Me and Xands appreciate it x

He has just snipped the feather himself. I guess neither of us were man enough to pull it out lol. I think ill just leave it be and let him malt. I cant wait for all his new feathers to grown in. He seems really proud of himself now, head bobbing on his perch and doing his nails.

Anyone else's Parrot turned them into a girl or just mine lol? slightest thing and the cotton wool is out. I was never this bad with other animals I've had. I think its the personalities they have. He is my little boy and I love him so much.

I'm gonna look into some avian veterinary courses and learn more about Parrots and health care. How cool and fulfilling would it be helping them feel better every day Its like 30 miles to the nearest avian vet where I live. The UK kind of sucks for that. I really appreciate you guys and the forum, god bless you all x

Carl_Power said:

Anyone else's Parrot turned them into a girl or just mine lol? slightest thing and the cotton wool is out. I was never this bad with other animals I've had. I think its the personalities they have. He is my little boy and I love him so much.

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Mine has done the exact opposite and turned me into a no-nonsense authority figure lol. And I've always totally babied my reptiles/amphibians because they seem to appreciate it and become better behaved/more tolerant of humans. Kiwi, on the other hand, needs his humans to be in charge, to command [his] respect and to show no fear at all times or else he'd be running the show and then it would just be one big clusterflock around here.

I'm glad your baby dealt with the feather as he saw fit and is now back to being happy and playful again

Thankyou so much. Must be their personalities reflect on us. Your birdy sounds really funny x

Is it Molt time for birdies? Xander just flew over said peekaboo, flew back to his cage and left a tail feather on me. There was no blood. I'm guessing it big molt time? He hasn't had a big one yet in the 9 months I had him where his big feathers drop out. Been finding small green ones in his cage all week and pins I just never experienced his big feathers dropping out. I'm not freaking out though lol this time. Can I expect more tail feathers coming out soon and flight feathers?

In honesty ive been looking forward to his big molt because he came with such damaged feathers so I'm excited he is gonna loose them and get shiney new ones. Not that he isn't perfect in my eyes x