Pictures GCC pin feather HELP!

[AiyanaCSake]

IMAGES BELOW TEXT! SORRY!

My GCC is about 3 months old, he had a few pins when I got him at 5 weeks. For the most part, they all fell off without any issue. I noticed he was struggling to remove his tail feather pins. A few forums here said you could try and preen your bird but it takes an ultimate trust bond. So, I did try and he was calm but the pins were dry and even after bathing they didnt budge to my gently preening. Of course theres no way I could pinch those suckers off as I read some do, It felt risky and mean. Maybe at the 12th week his tail pins were chewed off like brittle. I notice his feathers that were shells for so long are discolored and just kinda of fragile looking. Is this a bad sign?


ALSO IN THE PICS, HE IS IN HIS TRAVEL CAGE,TRUST ME MY GCC HAS A MANSION AT HOME LOL

 

[Mizzely]

If they do not remove easily they are usually still protecting the feather and not meant to come off yet.

I am not seeing a keratin sheath in those photos? Am I just missing it?

This is a feather still in the sheath:

 

[AiyanaCSake]

Sorry! The photos are after the pins fell off. The upper portion of his tail feathers are a solid grey, as to wear the pins he chewed off are that off brownish color, with feathers that arent full, kind of hard to explain. Theyre ragged and I'm worried he is chewing them off or something.

 

[Mizzely]

Baby birds usually have terrible looking tail feathers, because they are really rough on them. They get messed up trying to fly, brushing against toys and cage bars.

 

[AiyanaCSake]

Thank you!!

 

[Erikalynnha]

The brown color could be stress bars (which is common in babies as he is in a new environment and growing the feathers themselves is stressful) or feather bronzing (wearing away of pigment of feathers). Lennerd's tail always look raggedy when he was a baby.

 

[Erikalynnha]

His tail color is the same color as my Lennerd's ^-^

 

[AiyanaCSake]

Thank you guys so much! He is cute!

 

[Shezbug]

Burt only just got all of his tail sheaths off not long ago (about two weeks ago the last one broke off) and his tail feathers are crappy looking both where the sheaths were for a long time and the bits of the feathers that were exposed earlier on. He is so rough with his tail feathers I am wondering if he will even have any left by the time he is ready to grow new ones. Lol he looks like a scruff with all the damage he has done by rolling around and playing.
Burt is nearly 8 months old and has a heap of pin feathers but the ones I can't wait to see come in are the tail feathers, hopefully the next set might get looked after a little better!

 

[webchirp]

If the pins stay on too long (which isn't bad), the tail feather will look discolored. I have a couple who have a hard time removing them and by the time they finally come off, the tail looks discolored.

 

[BrianB]

Young birds do weird things with their feathers sometimes. I think of it like a kitten chasing its own tail. My GCC pulls her tail feathers up over her head and just sits there. She doesn't chew on them, or pluck them, just sits on one leg with the other one over her head holding tail feathers. Eventually they get ragged from her doing it. I think some of it is just learning how to groom themselves and take care of the feathers.

 

[Peachfaced]

His tail color is the same color as my Lennerd's ^-^ View attachment 281728

Rupert's are this color, too!

Even as adults, birds are hard on their feathers. Sherbie's tailfeathers are always awful looking because her favorite way to play is by tackling her toys (wings flapping, full body slam).

And then there's Rupert whose tail is a water test strip. One morning, I noticed that one of his tail feathers was bent in an L shape towards the end... he probably had it pressed up against something while he was sleeping.

 

[me19]

Discolored feathers (darker than they should be) could be a sign of nutritional issues (could be not getting all of the necessary nutrients, **or could be getting too many nutrients if you're giving him supplements**). You may want to ask a vet to check his nutrient levels.