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Hanging tail feather.

optimisticStar

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My 6 month old tiel has his longest tail feather hanging down which I feel like it might drop or if I touch it by any chance, then it will drop off. Do I need to worry about it? I know he has not been through his molting period yet, so I thought it could be that or may be he broke it while running around the cage during frights. He doesn't get night frights as other tiel does, but does get frightened during some sudden noise around house. I wonder something happened while I was at work or it could just be molting. Do they get their tail feathers back after molting?

I saw this couple of days back. I tried taking pics, but he keeps moving when I try to take his pic so the feather is not coming out clear.
 

cassiesdad

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If the feather isn't bleeding, you and your little guy should be fine. And yes, if the feather is part of a moult, then a new feather should be along shortly to replace it....
 

CeciliaZ

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Sounds like it is getting ready to fall off - your tiel may even pull it himself. My female just pulled one of her tail feathers out...new ones will grow. :)
 

rocky'smom

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leave it be,it will come off in it's own time.
 

ArowanaLover

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Its fine, as long as the bird isn't distressed about it, and if he is there are plenty of things to do to fix it.
 

optimisticStar

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Its fine, as long as the bird isn't distressed about it, and if he is there are plenty of things to do to fix it.
He doesn't look distress but during weekdays it's difficult to figure whats actually going around with them. They are completely quiet when I come in evening and speak up during weekends. His other behaviors looks similar to the way it was before his feather started hanging. I got them 2 weeks back and looks like they have started settling down slowly but now I may need more time to understand them. :)
 

ArowanaLover

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I got nigel pretty recently and we are still learning each other. Are they getting really chatty to you yet?
 

Toffee's owner

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My bird is about 7 months old now (BORN Aug 31 2014). Over the last 6 weeks hes had tail feathers hanging all over the place lol. Only thing is leaving some can be very annoying for them, catching in the cage at night leading to possible night-frights etc. I have cut the worst ones sometimes simply to stop them irratating him, then the cut feather drops and his new one grows back. He seems quite happy.

Have you ever seen a Cockatiel smile!?? Its really quite something, I swear some can, either that or he had seed stuck in his cheeks.....or I had one too many vodka's
 

clawnz

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Are they young?
Young Cockatiels are clumsy and do a lot of damage to their feathers. I would pull it out, then a new one can start to grow.
It does not hurt them much when you pull tail feathers as they are by design easy for them to drop. A large number of attacks come from the rear so shedding tail feathers is good for escaping attacking animal is left with mouthfull of feathers.
Get hold of the bird and see if the shaft has been damaged. Which I am guessing is the case. The bird will be happier without this feather sticking out that I promise.
The body should know and the feather may get pushed out so a new one can grow. But like clipped feathers this is not always the case.
 

optimisticStar

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I got nigel pretty recently and we are still learning each other. Are they getting really chatty to you yet?
No not really. They look happy on weekends and whistle and sing after I spend 5-6 hrs besides their cage. On weekdays I am only able to provide them couple of hours and they just keep looking at me and things around. I think they are still going through the change. Last weekend I had to separate
My bird is about 7 months old now (BORN Aug 31 2014). Over the last 6 weeks hes had tail feathers hanging all over the place lol. Only thing is leaving some can be very annoying for them, catching in the cage at night leading to possible night-frights etc. I have cut the worst ones sometimes simply to stop them irratating him, then the cut feather drops and his new one grows back. He seems quite happy.

Have you ever seen a Cockatiel smile!?? Its really quite something, I swear some can, either that or he had seed stuck in his cheeks.....or I had one too many vodka's
He did look a little annoyed last night. Not sure if it was that or if it was him not getting proper sleep. His cage is in my bedroom with me and he wakes up if I move a little while sleeping or if there is any noise in apt complex. I did see one of his tail feathers (not the hanging one) inside the cage today. I will go home and post the feather pics to understand. I haven't seen him pulling his feathers when I am around. He does clean them a lot and my old parakeet birds do that a lot too, so I guess it's common in all birds. I am not sure how they look when they smile. I just keep on monitoring their crest to understand their behavior. He was born in Oct 2014... I am still trying to see the date from his leg band.
 

clawnz

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At that age I would say he is going into a molt around now and this would explain another long feather falling out.
This will be his first molt and you can expect a lot of his feathers to be replaced as he will be getting his adult feathering.
A good healthy bird should preen often, so that is a good sign.

One point I did not make clear above is. Do not try to pull other feathers out unless advised by an AV to do so. They are not like tail feathers.
 

optimisticStar

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His hanging feather fell off. The feather didn't come out from the root, it looks more like it was broken off in between. Maybe it was during one of his freights. His all tail feathers are messed up.
 
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