I learned how to preen my GW's feathers the hard (and painful) way

[Mike]

I'm a bit embarrassed to describe to you the mistake I've been making, but I figured my embarrassment might help guide some of you new Macaw owners into better preening experiences with your bird.

Mardy was my first bird. I brought her home from the breeders when she was six months old. I did quite a bit of research during those first six months and during my weekly visits I talked to the breeder about preening. I thought I knew how to preen the feathers around her head and neck. After having Mardy home for almost a year now, I've finally realized I've been doing it wrong and have caused Mardy quite a bit of discomfort and sometimes possibly pain.

What I've been doing (and doing wrong) was to preen the feathers from the base. When I found that a feather had grown in enough to create a rigid sheath around it's base, I would gently pinch the bottom of the sheath between my finger and my thumb nail. If Mardy didn't flinch I figured the feather was grown in enough so there was no longer a blood supply and that the feather was ready for preening. I would then roll the feathered sheath between my thumb nail and finger causing my thumb nail to bite into the sheath. In my mind I was cutting off the sheath from the feather inside and would then simply slip the sheath up off the feather. I did this for eight or nine months and never thought much about it. Mardy enjoyed the cuddling and the preening. She never shied away from this intimate activity.

Occasionally (every three of four feathers) Mardy would jerk a bit causing me to remove the sheath rather abruptly. For a long time I never doubted that this was what was happening, but one day I took the "sheath" into my office and looked at it through a magnifying glass and found that it wan't an empty sheath at all. It was the feather and sheath combined. Whenever Mardy jerked like that she was causing me to pluck a new baby feather from her skin. Apparently, my method would sometimes cause her enough irritation where she couldn't sit still for it another second, and would suddenly jerk away. To put it differently, it was like I was slowly peeling a band-aide off a wound causing a lot of irritation. When she jerked away suddenly it was like pulling the band-aide quickly.

At first I was surprised to see that there was a feather inside the plucked sheath, and I then became shocked when I realized what Mardy had been putting up with. I started experimenting with her and discovered that the proper way to preen was was to start at the top of the sheath, not the base. Now what I do is to gently squeeze the top of the sheath and if she doesn't pull back I then start rolling the top of the sheath between my finger and thumb nail as before. But this time I'm not trying to sever the sheath from the feather inside. Instead, I'm crushing the sheath and letting it flake off from the feather. Mardy does not jerk away and still enjoys the whole experience.

I hope none of you have been making this mistake, but if you have I hope you will adjust your method as I have. If I have not described the process clearly enough let me know and I'll try to write it up better. I think this is important.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

You lucky Mardy didn't nip you Must be a very patient bird who loves you a lot.

 

[DannyA93]

When i preen my bird i just role it between my fingers and if its ready it'll just flake off like you said. if its not it won't and she'll pull away

 

[suebee]

lol i just scratch away the sheath, it its not crumbling, i move on, when i accidently hit a new feather or one thats not ready, i get the most, *oh you ........ kinda look of the nut.
but if i am too gentle she fluffs up an gives her self a good scratch, before bowing for more lol

 

[goalerjones]

I also had to learn the hard way with my first bird, poor guy.

I check the tip first to see if the sheath is weak, sometimes it can go in phases. I found that the feathers at the back of the jawline stay harder longer, prolly for protection I would guess, and the one's immediately in back of his nostrils almost always need some kind of grooming.

Hahnzel loves the grooming time and when he molts there's lots to do. I mostly get the cheek and head feathers for him and then I blow on all the areas to get the flake off. Plus, while I am blowing I look to see if I missed any feathers

 

[Mike]

hmm, blowing afterwards. I never thought of that. Good idea.

 

[Remy]

I take the tip of the feather in between my fingers, and gently scratch at the end, until the sheathing starts to flake off. I'll do it most of the way down the feather. If I do it wrong, or the feather is still tender, I get a bite. =P