Urgent !Ki lost all tail feathers!

[ArtBird]

Hi, I'm pretty freaked out right now & have that sick knot in my stomach.

Ki climbed under my desk and tried to play with Sophie (my 1-yr old Chihuahua) and when I realized he was down there (for only about 10 seconds) , I bent down to pick him up, & there was a commotion, (maybe from me rolling back my desk chair? ) and Ki flew up & into the kitchen.

At first, I didn't realize what had happened, looking over at him, he was preening, he has a short tail that is covered by his folded wings, ....so he looked normal....
but then I looked down and saw all the feathers on the floor under my desk...and after a moment of confusion on my part, I went and examined Ki, and was alarmed to see that his butt is pretty much bare and he has only two feathers left (one is almost falling off). He is not bleeding, but it looked red.
Since calling the vet, Ki has flown back over to me, eaten some of my dinner, and flown back into the kitchen, to preen, then sleep on the warm espresso machine (covered w a towel). He also pooped on my desk, normal.
He is acting normal,

Yes, I've already called our Avain vet, she said that as long as he is not bleeding, or picking at his butt that we don't have to come in tonight. I also read a bunch of things online, and it sounds like parrots have a survival mechanism that triggers a quick-loss of tail feathers? when scared or they are pulled or grabbed? Not sure what is fact and what is myth, so does anyone know whats true here?

I need to make sure my baby will be ok!! Anyone with knowledge of this? Please?

Here he is eating:

 

[Calpurnia]

Yes, the release of tail feathers when grabbed by a predator (or in this case stepped/rolled on by a chair) is a natural response for parrots. I agree with your vet that if he is acting normally and there is no bleeding he should be fine.

 

[ArtBird]

Thank you....do you have any idea how long tail feathers take to grow in...? He's a Senegal.

 

[Lo_]

I would suggest not allowing the bird and dog out at the same time to avoid anything like this happening again

 

[JLcribber]

Thank you....do you have any idea how long tail feathers take to grow in...? He's a Senegal.

They've all got to start fresh so it's going to take few months. They will all come in at the same time.

 

[rocky'smom]

Ki will have duck butt for a while. please do not allow dog and bird out at the same time. it too dangerous JMHO

 

[Dartman]

And if you know you have floor parrots shuffle your feet when you walk and check his favorite spots before you enter or move something as many times they trust us too much and either don't see us coming or think we wont step on them and refuse to move till too late. I punted Nerd bird a few times before we both figured it out, luckily he was never hurt though you wouldn't think so by the loud death squawk he made before he crashed into the couch trying to get away. We learned the shuffle and he learned to make traveling music while walking on the floor and to scamper out of the way when he saw us coming. You both got lucky, watch the dog, love him up and be careful.

 

[ArtBird]

Thanks everyone. ...I really appreciate the info.
I am very aware of the nature of my pets interactions. I didn't allow them to interact for a long time...but it's also about knowing the relationships they have, their natures, and their limits. My fault for not paying closer attention while he was out.

Ki hardly ever walks on the floor, he has many perches and places to go that he prefers. I agree about making sure my young Chihuahua is kept in check. Her actions towards Ki are always friendly, playful, tail wagging etc...however...I do know that things can happen even in play, so I don't let them play together.

This was one of those times, when Ki was on my shoulder, and in a matter of a few seconds, snuck down the back of my chair to explore under it. As soon as I felt his feather brush my foot I leaned over to pick him up...and I'm not really sure what spooked him. Lesson learned, he is too precious to me to let anything happen again. If I can't trust my Chi, (and I do NOT know for sure that she did anything at all to Ki, maybe just spooked him...Ki tends to be the aggressor and leads with his beak, so he may have scared her!) however.... then changes will have to be made, because Ki is my first baby, and the most important one to protect. I'm heartbroken that this happened to him, I have raised him from a tiny baby to a 12-year old very happy healthy smart (but spoiled) bird, and I am not above learning how to be better, even now.

I really wanted to get an idea of the healing process, and what to expect, and any advice for helping him recover with healthy tail feathers.

 

[saroj12]

So glad Ki is okay! Hope he gets that tail back quickly. When J&C were clipped it took 6 mo for them to molt out and grow new feathers in. Don't know about tail feathers though.

 

[Dartman]

Like said if nothings damaged they should grow back in time. Not sure how fast your bird will regrow his but I know JT's Eloy had a crash and lost a bunch of feathers around his head I think. They regrew much faster then normal, maybe because the body system sensed a bare damaged area and they came back very quickly from what I remember.
Lurch took about 6 months to moult and grow back his clipped flight feathers but seeing how they weren't missing and a risk to him I think they grew back on normal schedule but of course I'm not a vet and you'll just have to see how he does.

 

[Lodah]

Sorry to hear of your fids sore butt! I would tend to think that they will grow back sooner rather than later (waiting for a molt) as they are pulled out! Don't be too stressed out! You still have your fid and I doubt he is going to be too upset about the whole incident!

God Bless!

 

[ArtBird]

Well, as usual, this inspired a rash of investigation on my part.

Apparently, in all bird species, it is something called "Fright Molt", an Antipredation mechanism.
When frightened, the follicle muscles that hold a feather in place may relax, resulting in an easier loss of feathers.

When disturbed, or stressed, chickens can shed a number of feathers, mostly the retrices (tail feathers).
The retrices are the easiest feathers to pull out, this is believed to be a built-in antipredation technique, as most predators will grab at a birds tail rather than side or head, and birds can most afford losing tail feathers rather than ones most necessary for survival.

Also, "Shock Molt": A rare situation in which a bird loses many feathers at once, usually the result of stress, such as when a bird is grabbed by a predator, handled by humans (retrices may be shed if grabbed by the tail), or exposed to violent natural events such as earthquakes or tornados.

Many of the parrot sites don't contain any realistic scientific information about this, in their information about feathers and molting. I think there should be more info available about this. I found info in ornithology papers.

* Losing the last feather: feather loss as an antipredator adaptation in birds

 

[ArtBird]

So glad Ki is okay! Hope he gets that tail back quickly. When J&C were clipped it took 6 mo for them to molt out and grow new feathers in. Don't know about tail feathers though.

Thank you! Hiya Saroj12 ! ...I guess they grow back faster when plucked. I read that the best way to ensure a good feather regrowth, when a bloodfeather is damaged, is to pluck it out quickly, so that the birds system will get the signal to quickly regrow a new one. Otherwise, it may grow in malformed or ingrown.

 

[mochiballs]

I'm glad Ki is okay!

I believe they won't take as much as if they were released for a molt. Miso, a cockatiel at work released his tail feathers after someone tried to grab him (roughly and that employee has since been fired!) about a month ago and he has already started to regrow some feathers.

 

[alshgs]

Glad he is okay!

 

[sunnysmom]

I'm glad he's ok!

 

[Sylvi_]

I'm very glad Ki is alright!

 

[zoo mom]

I am glad Ki is ok.