pin feathers, grooming

[Oedipussrex]

I was just wondering if there was anything i could do to help my 2yo make ekkie grow his pin feathers in. He picks and over-preens so most of them dont survive to be full feathers, is there was anything i could do to help them become full feathers?

He has a shower almost every morning because it does make him groom properly for a while - i was just wondering if there was anything else? I have heard about people massaging the sheaths when they are ready to come off... but he wont let me near him in areas where he has bare skin...

also, is it normal for pin feathers (when they are not fully developed) to kinda be full of liquid?

> a few of the feathers i have found on the floor of his cage (which were going to become either coverts or flight feathers, coz they were blue) were only a couple of inches long, so not developed, and when you squeezed them they just oozed out this blue gooey liquid, and a few feather strands? i understand that they arent fully developed, and this could be totally normal, but i want to be sure the feathers hes growing in are healthy, and not the reason hes pulling them out.

 

[elseg]

those small feathers sound normal and under-developed.
question whether the issue is dermatological or emotional in origin.
improved bonding should prompt your parrot to seek out your grooming of his unreachables (neck/cheek/chin) in time, imo.
seek out raw footage of your breed of bird interacting and socially grooming and try to mimic those behaviors.
best of luck