Greenwing Feather question

Bubba27

New member
Dec 18, 2020
15
18
My 38 yr old, almost perfect boy has 3 old feathers on his right wing.
Bubba is a great bird, i have had him since he was 4 months old.
He lets me doctor on him without issues.

The Leading feather on his wing (If you pull the wing out, the first, farthest away from his body ( will call it #1 ) is a new feather almost all the way grown in.
The problems, feathers #2, #3 & #4 are all old feathers that have been damaged, maybe in a fall, i don't know.
Bubba is not a good groomer, and bites his feathers at times. He bit off the remaining ends of the damaged feathers weeks ago leaving 2 -3 inch long hollow shafts.
They don't bother him much other than he pays attention to them when grooming.

My question is : should i do anything with them?

1. Should i pull them with pliers? They are pretty firm in the wing.
2. Or should i let them fall out naturally?
3. Something else?
Thanks for any advice!
 

Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
Parrots
Full house
Welcome to the forum!
It can take a couple of years to molt out wing feathers, so hopefully he will shed them soon. Me I'd leave them.
 

SailBoat

Supporting Member
Jul 10, 2015
17,662
10,048
Western, Michigan
Parrots
DYH Amazon
With large companion Parrots, especially those who do not fly or only fly rarely, wing feathers can take as long as five years to naturally molt.

Back when Bird Shows /Judging Events where more common it was fairly normal for owners to have such feathers pulled to spur replacement. Now-a-days, leaving the feather to naturally fall-out /molt is standard practice.

Feathers, especially flight feathers require vast stores of energy to replace. If you believe that this group of feathers are very old (four or more years old) I would recommend a visit to your Avian Medical Professional, especially if its been more than '15' months since the last full spectrum blood test. Also, take a long look at your Parrot's diet to determine if shifting the percentages a bit maybe needed. The Blood Test should be of help in determining what may need to be adjusted.
 

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