Clipped wings need pulling or no ?

[JoeJoe]

Hi,

My friend cut my lovebirds flight feathers about 6 months ago.

I just gave him a bath and noticed that none have been growing back on either side, so I got to wondering if they need to be pulled out for them to regrow (someone I bought a parrot from told me this was the case with clipped wings)? Will they just fall out when his molt period comes?

I did notice he had a very small set of more feathers coming in, so maybe this is the start of the molt?

Having only owned birds for about 1 1/4 years, I haven't seen a parrot molt yet I don't think


Please let me know what to do :41:

 

[Birdman666]

No absolutely not!!!

 

[JoeJoe]

Ok so I should expect his feathers to fall out eventually with a new set coming in?

 

[Terry57]

Clipped feathers will moult just like unclipped feathers. Please don't pull them out, just let them come out in their own time.

 

[JoeJoe]

Thank You for your replies !

 

[SilverSage]

JoeJoe, THANK YOU for asking before doing this! There is a lot of misinformation about parrots out there. NO DO NOT PULL THE FEATHERS. Whoever told you that was dead wrong. Either that, or there was a misunderstanding about what they were saying. Sometimes a feather needs to be pulled right after it is clipped, but these are called "Blood Feathers." When a new feather grows in, it has a blood supply. Before you clip a bird's wings you need to CHECK for these. If you accidentally clip one, it will bleed. These sometimes need to be pulled to stop the bleeding.

Regular feathers though, will fall out and re-grow with the molt. Sometimes birds take longer to molt than we expect, especially if they are not yet mature. Best of luck!

 

[TeenageBirdMom]

Holy hell, NOOOO. They will grow in very slowly, and when they are grown out again then you simply re-cut the first three or four feathers (about midway through the feather) of both wings NEVER PULL OUT THEIR FEATHERS unless it is bleeding, this is called a blood feather and you will need to take him to a vet to be pulled out.

 

[henpecked]

Hey Joe, you don't need to pull them in order for them to grow back out. They will molt out on their own but not all at once. I think you might have misunderstood the information someone first gave. Yes ,if you want them to molt in new feathers quicker, you can pull the damaged/clipped feathers. HOWEVER the feathers (especially primary flight feathers) are very large, very hard to pull, and need to be done by someone who knows what they are doing. They will hurt your bird when you pull them, about like pulling your fingernails. There's also a good chance you could damage the follicles and cause permanent damage. I would let them molt in naturally. About the only people who do this are "showing" birds and need them fully feathered . Tail feathers are usually done this way, and wing feathers aren't as noticeable.