Plucked/Lost tail feather

[rockyj]

Hey all!

Rocky is just shy of six months old and has already been molting for a couple of weeks now. Tonight she was sitting with me, and when I got up to put her to bed I noticed this tail feather sitting on the ground at my feet. Rocky is particularly clumsy when it comes to climbing and has broken off most of her tail feathers. This one was her newest and longest one.

Anyone have any idea why she may have lost/pulled this one?

She is not prone to plucking or mutilating her feathers.

There is a little bit of blood on the tip of the shaft so I’m assuming it was pulled. I have also checked her tail and there is no other sign of bleeding.

Images of the feather are attached.

 

[rockyj]

Update: still no sign of bleeding on tail, but I’m not sure the entire shaft came out.
Also she lost another new feather today. This one was her new primary flight feather that just came in about a week or two ago. Droppings, appetite, and behavior are still normal however. Do you guys think this is something that should be checked out by a vet?

I should also add that we did get another cockatiel about 3 weeks ago. They have been separated in completely different rooms. They can hear each other calling but they have not been introduced at all yet, do not share any toys or food bowls, and I have always changed clothes and washed my hands between handling the two. The other bird was just examined by the vet for the first time yesterday and everything looked good.

 

[Cottonoid]

I think from what I've read here on the forum it can be pretty common for a cockatiel at her age to still break off feathers here and there due to clumsiness.

If she bumped it and it was crooked, that might be why she pulled it out? My bird has done that after bumping his longest wing feather - it was sticking out sideways and next thing I knew it was on the floor. My bird is 2 and so far the feathers he's removed during his molt are coming back in still, so maybe your little one will still get those feathers back during this molt?

Do you weigh her at all? It's often recommended to take their weight at least once a week, usually after their morning poop but before they eat. (losing weight could be a sign of stress or illness and if she has lost weight it would be a sign to take her to the vet rather than wait and see). I also feed my bird extra calories during a molt (but mine is a feather destroyer anyway so he tends to have ALL his feathers trying to come in at once) because it takes extra energy to grow all the feathers.

My first hunch would be that she's still young and is just rough on her feathers, but maybe she could also be stressed about her new friend (even if she's excited it can still be stressful to have a new change like this). Could you call your vet and ask about this? Sometimes my vet will give me information about what to look for over the phone even though he can't prescribe anything or make a diagnosis.

She's really really cute, by the way! I love her coloring And congratulations on your new addition, too; I bet they'll be a ton of fun together once they meet!

 

[rockyj]

I think from what I've read here on the forum it can be pretty common for a cockatiel at her age to still break off feathers here and there due to clumsiness.

If she bumped it and it was crooked, that might be why she pulled it out? My bird has done that after bumping his longest wing feather - it was sticking out sideways and next thing I knew it was on the floor. My bird is 2 and so far the feathers he's removed during his molt are coming back in still, so maybe your little one will still get those feathers back during this molt?

Do you weigh her at all? It's often recommended to take their weight at least once a week, usually after their morning poop but before they eat. (losing weight could be a sign of stress or illness and if she has lost weight it would be a sign to take her to the vet rather than wait and see). I also feed my bird extra calories during a molt (but mine is a feather destroyer anyway so he tends to have ALL his feathers trying to come in at once) because it takes extra energy to grow all the feathers.

My first hunch would be that she's still young and is just rough on her feathers, but maybe she could also be stressed about her new friend (even if she's excited it can still be stressful to have a new change like this). Could you call your vet and ask about this? Sometimes my vet will give me information about what to look for over the phone even though he can't prescribe anything or make a diagnosis.

She's really really cute, by the way! I love her coloring And congratulations on your new addition, too; I bet they'll be a ton of fun together once they meet!

Thank you! She’s a sweetheart and loves to cuddle. I haven’t been weighing her, but I will definitely start. She is still a pretty clumsy climber and often breaks them when she spins in circles on top of her food bowl like a goof 😂. She literally only has two full tail feathers now and one has already been bent 🙄

The tail feather she lost wasn’t really bent but it was a bit curved. The wing feather flew off her wing while she was flapping. It looked clean so I was also thinking maybe stress from knowing there’s a new bird around.

She’s due for a nail trim so I did go ahead and make her a vet appointment anyway. I’d rather be safe than sorry.

 

[𝕾𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖒𝖞𝕻𝖎𝖈𝖆]

I think from what I've read here on the forum it can be pretty common for a cockatiel at her age to still break off feathers here and there due to clumsiness.

Seconding this. There is actually a name for it, “baby bent tail”, because young birds are often clumsy and are known for breaking tail feathers.

(Side note, this is not a reason to clip wings. They will grow out of it fairly quickly, they just need the time to learn how to navigate!)