Double feathers

[gavagai]

So my quaker is moulting her body feathers, and I've noticed that they seem to have a double stem coming from the same root. One stem is entirely down, while one is downy on the bottom but becomes a normal feather on top. I've also noticed that this seems to bother her. She'll preen out the old feathers, and then tear of the downy shaft before throwing the feather away.

Is this feather structure normal for quakers, or do I have a little mutant? And if it's normal, is it also normal for them to tear off the downy part before throwing them away? I'm not worried, just curious because I'm pretty sure I've never seen body feathers like this on any other bird I've had. I've also never had a bird with such an interest in their own feathers; most have thrown them away as soon as they're out.

 

[SailBoat]

I have not experienced a double feather erupting from a single root. I know that it happens and that it is not uncommon for the Parrot to pull it out.

Body feathers come in two types, those with no downy at the base and the other with downy at that base. If I recall correctly, it has to do with available space and the needed air flow over specific areas, which comes back to space.

 

[gavagai]

So basically she has a lot more of these than she should, and is pulling them out rather than moulting? She's lost a couple of tail feathers too, so I assumed she was moulting, but every body feather I've seen her pull out was one of these double ones where she then removed the downy branch before throwing both parts away. I was thinking the double feathers might be a natural feature of quakers, since they come from much colder climates than most parrots and can survive winters in Connecticut. Possibly even a winter thing, which she's losing now that days are getting longer.

 

[SailBoat]

Okay, lets separate the three discussions.

- The common Body and Flight structure feather does not have a downy base. So, it sounds like that type of feather is not what we are 'in general' talking about here.

- The more elaborate Body and Flight structure feather that does include the a downy segment at its base is likely what you are talking about. This feather could be referred to as a double feather, but in fact is just a more 'complex feather' that has a double use.

- The occurrence of two separate types of feathers or even the same type of feather erupting from the same root is a rare occurrence and likely not what we are talking about here.

So, it is likely that your parrot has the more elaborate Body and Flight structure feathers and that when you Parrot is either molting or plucking this type of feather it then breaks the feather apart. With molting this commonly occurs once the feather has come out of its root. With plucking, the feather can be broken into pieces while still in the root and then pulled from the root.

Clearly, if this is simple Molting. A trip to the Vet is not needed. However, if your Parrot is Barbering the feather and then Plucking it from the root. That requires a Vet visit. The CAV will check for physical reasons for this activity and eliminate by testing, the possible causes.

 

[gavagai]

To be clear: the feathers have a downy base, but there's also a separate bit coming from the base which is all down. It's smaller than the main feather, and extends up to the end of the downy part. A closer look shows that there's actually no shaft, though it arises from the base of the shaft and lies under it. I tried to take a picture but cannot take a good one with the only thing I have to take pictures with. I've never noticed a feather like this on any other type of parrot, with what looks like an entire down feather rising from the base of the shaft.

The ones around her cage still have the extra downy bit attached; I'm guessing this is because she's able to drop them to the bottom of the cage or the ground. When she's on my shoulder she will try to throw the feather, not throw it far enough, snip off the extra downy bit, and then throw both bits away. Usually the main feather doesn't go far enough (the downy one either, but it doesn't seem to bother her), so she picks up the main one again and bites at the downy bit on the main shaft but doesn't bite through the shaft and throws it again.

I don't think she's plucking. When I watch her, she's preening herself, and sometimes, suddenly there's a feather in her mouth. It seems like she's surprised when a feather comes out. I had a lovebird who plucked his mate, and he would tug hard to get the feathers out and work his away along systematically. Her feathers seem to come out with normal preening. Combined with the fact that it's spring and I also found two tail feathers (and I've seen a few of what look like coverts), I assume she's moulting. Plus, she's definitely taking them apart after they come out and not before.

Edit:
I googled around, and it looks like the downy thing is something called an "afterfeather." I wonder why I've never seen this on feathers from my other parrots.

 

[SailBoat]

Not sure, but my Amazons have all had them.