Broken feather question

[nkrbkr]

Hi everyone. As many of you know, my Amazon, Ava, has clipped wings. Her previous owner clipped them very aggressively, cutting most of her primary and secondary flight feathers very short. She only has (well, had) her two outer primary feathers on each wing intact. Despite this, Ava still tries to fly. It has made me very nervous, as she cannot control herself very well, and tends to fall like a rock. I’m worried she’s going to break her keel bone, a leg, or blood feathers.

Well, last night, she broke a feather. Thankfully, not a blood feather. She was sitting on my husband’s shoulder while he was standing…he is 6’ 3”. Ava decided to fly off his shoulder, made it a decent distance, and landed very ungracefully on the floor. Though she was very pleased with herself, wagging her tail afterwards, she bent one of her flight feathers in the process, and it was hanging weird for the last 24 hrs. I figured she would take care of it on her own, and she did. This evening, she got fed up with it and barbered or pulled it off.

I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but wanted your thoughts…I just need to wait for the rest of the feather shaft to molt on its own, correct? It broke off very close to her skin, so I just want to be sure it won’t cause her any sort of trouble if left alone. Thanks!

 

[LaManuka]

Oh poor girl! My heart certainly would be in my mouth if I had a bird that size trying to fly in that condition. But yeah, I’d be leaving what’s left of that feather where it is. Fang did something similar many years ago, as long as Ava doesn’t pick at or start it bleeding she should be ok. Hopefully it won’t be long before it drops out!

 

[nkrbkr]

Oh poor girl! My heart certainly would be in my mouth if I had a bird that size trying to fly in that condition. But yeah, I’d be leaving what’s left of that feather where it is. Fang did something similar many years ago, as long as Ava doesn’t pick at or start it bleeding she should be ok. Hopefully it won’t be long before it drops out!

Great, thank you! I appreciate your insight! I’ve never had to deal with this with Button. He is so tiny, and such a strong little flier. On one hand, I’m thankful that Ava hasn’t lost confidence and become fearful of flying. On the other hand, this girl keeps scaring me with her attempts. I try to do recall training with her daily, doing short flights she’s capable of landing to “get it out of her system,” but some days she just goes for it anyway.

 

[LaManuka]

Great, thank you! I appreciate your insight! I’ve never had to deal with this with Button. He is so tiny, and such a strong little flier. On one hand, I’m thankful that Ava hasn’t lost confidence and become fearful of flying. On the other hand, this girl keeps scaring me with her attempts. I try to do recall training with her daily, doing short flights she’s capable of landing to “get it out of her system,” but some days she just goes for it anyway.

Well you know what they say, fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly!! The only bird I ever had who was fearful of flying was my GCC Baci. He was already clipped when I got him although I went to extraordinary lengths to prevent him from crashing, he always managed to land on the bit of my timber floor that wasn’t covered with a towel, blanket or cushion. I didn’t know about feather implants at the time otherwise I’d have had that done. In the end it was probably a good thing that he was a reluctant flyer because he HATED my poor husband and if he’d been a better flyer I’m sure he’d have flown to attack my hubby every chance he got!!

 

[rheashard2]

Hope it works out. As stated as long as she doesn't pick at it she should be fine.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I would put area rugs down on any hard surface floors to cushion the blows when she hits the ground. A bird the size of an Amazon can easily bruise or even break her keel hitting the ground hard. Once her feathers grow back she should become much more graceful when landing.
Another option to hurry along the process of regrowing her flight feathers is to have her avian vet gently remove (pull) some of these cut off or broken off feather shafts. This would stimulate the follicle to produce new feathers quicker than waiting for the cut shafts to molt naturally. I wouldn't do this yourself. Larger parrots don't molt and replace their large flight feathers nearly as often as the body contour feathers. They aren't replaced every year, so depending on when the previous owner trimmed them she may not molt and replace them for up to a couple years.

 

[nkrbkr]

I would put area rugs down on any hard surface floors to cushion the blows when she hits the ground. A bird the size of an Amazon can easily bruise or even break her keel hitting the ground hard. Once her feathers grow back she should become much more graceful when landing.
Another option to hurry along the process of regrowing her flight feathers is to have her avian vet gently remove (pull) some of these cut off or broken off feather shafts. This would stimulate the follicle to produce new feathers quicker than waiting for the cut shafts to molt naturally. I wouldn't do this yourself. Larger parrots don't molt and replace their large flight feathers nearly as often as the body contour feathers. They aren't replaced every year, so depending on when the previous owner trimmed them she may not molt and replace them for up to a couple years.

Thanks, Donna. It’s something I’ve considered asking her vet about. I certainly would not try it myself. I have no idea when she was clipped, but we’ve had her since last June, and she hasn’t molted any flight feathers since then. Lots of tail feathers, but no flight feathers yet. It could still be awhile. She doesn’t try to take flight often, but every time she does, my heart jumps out of my chest.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I would think the "discomfort" of having some feathers pulled is much less than injuring her keel.