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Rough looking wing feathers

MiniMacaw

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So I've had Fred for about a year now. He came from a rescue and based on his vocabulary (mostly cursing and yelling at himself) I don't think he had it good before. However he has been eating healthy and doing well since I got him.
The last week or so he's had what looks to me like overly preening his wing feathers. It leaves them looking messy and frayed at the tips and edges of his wings only. I haven't seen him over preen however so it could be as simple as him playing rough. (He's a huge fan of his orbit and bashing around inside it)
Now when I got him he did have a big wing clip, probably more clipped than he should have been and I've been letting them grow out. Could his bad clip from all that time ago be bothering him in any way?
I may be completely over thinking this lol. His feathers just always looked so well until this week when they looked frayed.
He's been doing so well. He barely spends any time in his cage now whereas before he was totally cage bound with fear. He gets healthy foods, lots and lots of enrichment items, etc.
He does have his annual vet appt next week so he'll be getting checked out regardless. I was just curious what could cause this fraying.

Please excuse the horrible photo. Fred is still very afraid of cell phones so I had to get creative.
IMG_20170714_144030.jpg
 

Macawnutz

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It is a horrible photo. :laugh:

Messy feathers are always cured by a soaking bath. A good soak will mend the wildest look. If they are still messy after a bath then we need a photo. He could just need a good molt.
 

melissasparrots

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Look around his cage and play areas and see if you need to place some toys a little farther apart so he's not hitting them while hanging upside down and flapping. It could be that he's over preening. It could also be that he's messing them up with play. If he was clipped for a long time, he might not know what to do with long flight feathers. He maybe be over preening because those feathers feel weird to him or it could just be that he doesn't know he has to be careful of long flight feathers because he's never had them. Lots of unknowns. As @Macawnutz said, give him a warm water bath. That usually helps put things back in order.
 
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