Is this beginning of feather destruction?

[Aggie]

Echo has recently gone through a very heavy molt. The feathers that are coming through are beautiful. In admiring these I noticed that some of his old feathers are looking a bit shabby. Especially the ends of his wing feathers. The ends just look super worn. Like not chewed just as if they have been run through that beak a few too many times. I do think at times he is a little rough in preening.

When I picked him up 6months ago he had a few feathers on top of his wings that where missing some parts of them. I presumed it was from learning to preen. The new ones look fine and undamaged. His general appearance has gotten nicer the longer I have him.

My question is could the wing feather tips be the beginning of barbing?

What age does barbing start?

When is he likely to molt the wing
feathers out?

How rough is too rough in preening?

At times I've noticed his beak gets a sharp bit on it....could this be damaging his feathers? He recently snapped the tip off his beak.

Any tips advice greatly appreciated.

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[JLcribber]

My question is could the wing feather tips be the beginning of barbing?

No. He lives in a cage (basically a small box). It's from banging them on the cage.

From the pictures I don't see "anything" wrong with your birds feathers.

Flight feathers do not moult the same as body feathers. They are only lost and replaced one or two at a time for safety reasons. It will take 2 full years to replace "all" the flights. Those feathers were clipped at the beginning of their life. They still have a full lifespan to go whether clipped or not.

 

[JLcribber]

What age does barbing start?

Barbering doesn't just start. It happens when the bird is not looked after very well. As in the stress levels of the bird rise above acceptable levels to where the bird can no longer cope. Boredom. Bad diet. No enrichment. Too much cage time. All contributing factors.

Look after it well and you won't see any feather destruction.

 

[Aggie]

Look after it well and you won't see any feather destruction.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for your reply!!

We try to think of all he's needs so we never get to that.The little green chicken stole our hearts and we are his slaves forever now.

 

[Milo]

Barbering doesn't just start. It happens when the bird is not looked after very well. As in the stress levels of the bird rise above acceptable levels to where the bird can no longer cope. Boredom. Bad diet. No enrichment. Too much cage time. All contributing factors.

Look after it well and you won't see any feather destruction.

Contributing factors but not the end all be all cause of barbering or plucking. You're making pretty broad assumptions that just because a parrot has engaged in feather destructive behavior that the care has been lacking.

@Aggie I personally think his feathers look great. It's normal for feathers to go through some wear and tear. If his diet may have been lacking before he came to live with you or if he was simply being a baby and damaged some learning how to be a bird you're probably still seeing the result of that. If the feathers coming in look healthy and better and he's leaving them alone I would just keep doing what you're doing.

 

[Aggie]

@Milo

Thank you!!
I try hard to keep him happy and healthy and hopefully stress free.