Sun Conure plucked all flight feathers on right side...?

Kequila · Sep 29, 2015

Hi there, I have a 6 year old sun conure who has never shown any signs of plucking in the past. I woke up from night shift today and noticed all his long flight feathers on his left side are gone, and laying at the bottom of his cage. They're not chewed up or anything, and he didn't go after any but the long ones. I noticed in his wing he has one that's growing in that looks like it might be sensitive.

I'm wondering if he might have plucked the others trying to get to that one, is that a potential behaviour?

If it is, should I leave the irritated feather in or pluck it out myself?

Also, now he's all lopsided (he's used to flying), should I leave his other wing alone or trim it? He hasn't been trimmed since he was a baby.

I'll post some pics shortly...

SailBoat · Sep 29, 2015

It is not normal molting. It is just as possible that the parrot may have caught the wing in the cage and as a result loss the feathers (night flight).

How many 'long' (primary) wing feathers were lost?
Are they from the very outside (far outside end) of the wing?

As part of your first photo and in addition to normal wing feathers, there is also a couple 'new' feathers coming in. They appear balance, one on each side.

Do not pull the new feather! New feathers can sometimes still be connected to a blood source (blood feather).

At this point, do not trim the other wing's feathers, since the parrots body has already determined the loss and will be targeting replacement of the loss feathers. Limit the parrots need to fly.

Kequila · Sep 30, 2015

I tried to count the feathers at the bottom of his cage, and I got about 7, although I don't know how many are old. They are missing from the outside edge going in, and with his wings sitting normal he has no long feathers poking out like the other side. It's also a solid row that's missing, it's not the odd one here and there.

The only reason I suggested removing the feather was if it was irritating him if it would be better the pull it and stop the bleeding in a controlled manner, rather than risk him aggravating it and starting to bleed when I'm not around.

Hopefully, like you said, they came out in a night fright type of incident.

JerseyWendy · Sep 30, 2015

Please do NOT attempt to pull out any incoming feathers.

I'm looking at 2 actively growing new feathers in the picture below (outlined in red). Those feather shafts contain active blood flow, and if you were to attempt to yank those out, your bird could potentially suffer from significant blood loss.

Giving baths more frequently while new feathers are emerging will help your sun conure with the itching/irritation a little.

If you could provide photos of the feathers that were lost could also help determine whether they were actually plucked or fell out naturally.

Lastly, here is a great article (with many pictures) and links: http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html

Sun Conure plucked all flight feathers on right side...?

Kequila

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Cage with separate stand or cage with a play area on top what do you recommend?

I need some help please...

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