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Broken Tail Feathers

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Broken Tail Feathers

Postby parrotlover » Sun Sep 04, 2011 11:43 am

OK so Chevies tail feathers are broken. (Almost all of them)! What should I do?!!! :?
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Re: Broken Tail Feathers

Postby Mum2rory » Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:16 pm

How old is Chevy now? Hopefully she hasnt damaged any blood feathers. What caused the breakages, do you know?
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Re: Broken Tail Feathers

Postby liz » Mon Sep 05, 2011 8:32 am

Flying backwards is a good way to break tail feathers. You are a good Parrot Parent. Chill out.
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Re: Broken Tail Feathers

Postby parrotlover » Mon Sep 05, 2011 9:24 am

Yea she was flying backwards and broke almost of them but I just clipped where they where broken at and she's doing fine now. But no it wasn't blood feathers I think.
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Re: Broken Tail Feathers

Postby parrotlover » Sun Sep 11, 2011 12:00 pm

Mum2rory wrote:How old is Chevy now? Hopefully she hasnt damaged any blood feathers. What caused the breakages, do you know?

She's about 5 or so months old. How do I know if she broke any blood feathers?.....
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Re: Broken Tail Feathers

Postby Saerphe » Sun Sep 11, 2011 1:35 pm

Well... blood feathers bleed when they break. So if there aren't any bloodstains on what's left of her tail feathers or her surroundings you're probably fine.

Blood feathers are pretty easy to identify. They're just blood-filled tubes that are growing in place of a moulted flight or tail feather. The pin feathers they get on their heads when they moult are pretty much the same, but smaller.

If she does break a blood feather in the future, it may have to be pulled. One of my budgies broke a blood feather in the middle of the night once, but the bleeding stopped on its own and he was fine.

Keep styptic powder (or styptic pencil), a towel, and tweezers on hand just in case. The styptic powder should stop the bleeding, but if it doesn't, get someone to help you towel her so you can pull the feather. It might be better to get your avian vet to do it if they can be reached quickly. I've never had to do it myself before, so make sure you read up on how to do it properly in case you ever find yourself in that position. :)
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Re: Broken Tail Feathers

Postby parrotlover » Sun Sep 11, 2011 2:29 pm

Saerphe wrote:Well... blood feathers bleed when they break. So if there aren't any bloodstains on what's left of her tail feathers or her surroundings you're probably fine.

Blood feathers are pretty easy to identify. They're just blood-filled tubes that are growing in place of a moulted flight or tail feather. The pin feathers they get on their heads when they moult are pretty much the same, but smaller.

If she does break a blood feather in the future, it may have to be pulled. One of my budgies broke a blood feather in the middle of the night once, but the bleeding stopped on its own and he was fine.

Keep styptic powder (or styptic pencil), a towel, and tweezers on hand just in case. The styptic powder should stop the bleeding, but if it doesn't, get someone to help you towel her so you can pull the feather. It might be better to get your avian vet to do it if they can be reached quickly. I've never had to do it myself before, so make sure you read up on how to do it properly in case you ever find yourself in that position. :)


OK thank you. No she didn't break a blood feather. I don't even think she has anymore at the moment. She'll molt in about 2 months to the most so I think she'l lbe fine. Thanks for the hel pthough! :D
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Re: Broken Tail Feathers

Postby Saerphe » Mon Sep 12, 2011 9:51 am

You're very welcome. :)
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