Tail feathers

[Sam-wow]

Is it coincidental or does losing alot of tail feathers signify the end of a molt ?
Speaking of which, my daughter is going to make a dream catcher out of Sammy feathers. Cant wait to post pictures !

 

[JLcribber]

What do you consider a lot? If he doesn't have any tail feathers then it's not coincidental or a moult.

 

[Sam-wow]

Nothing unusual. Maybe 4 or 5 but he still has a full "fan" back there. The molt just seemed to follow some sort of pattern this time. First it was small feathers, then small feathers with a little "poof" at the root end and the really small down like feathers that are hard to get with the vacuum cleaner ( cause they just fly away when you get close ) a couple of times during the molt. Seems like it is the tail feathers now. come to think of it, I don't know if I noticed any large wing feathers yet. Could be my daughter getting all the "good ones" before I see them.
I am guessing that he should be nearing the end of the molting and wondered if there was a definite pattern it follows.

 

[Tanya]

I'm not sure that it follows an exact universal pattern. There may be patterns in species and definitely in individual birds. Most birds molt symmetrically, losing a feather on one side of the body, along with it's mirror image on the other side, then going on to the next. With Rhubarb, this seems to be from head to tail, in a mysterious order. I usually find 2-3 unique feathers a day (and often their mates), with wing feathers falling out about once a week, and tail feathers more rarely. My favorite are the cute tiny ones from her face! She LOVES scritches especially much when there are pins she can't reach on her head.

 

[Sam-wow]

Interesting. I am going to have to pay closer attention. One universal pleasure is the scritches on the head from their humans ! They let ya know when you get a sensitive one the wrong way as well.
Thanks for your input.

 

[Doris M]

I've never paid attention to symmetry before this molt (and a long-waited for molt! He started bronzing) but am amazed by that! I think that the small feathers molt all throughout the molt. The pattern is during with the symmetry for flight purposes.

 

[Wolf]

Well it is probably a little bit early for the bird to be molting as this is the beginning of breeding season ,although it is my understanding that some parrots will molt just before they cycle into breeding and then again after their young fledge. There is usually a pattern to the molt that usually starts with the wing feathers and then the tail then back up the body and replacing the contour feathers and then the down feathers. I believe that this is the general patter of most of them during the molt, however this is primarily for birds that live on a natural solar light schedule. When our birds are subjected to a human light schedule this can change rather dramatically, such as instead of molting only once or twice during the year like they would in the wild they may go into a perpetual molt.

 

[Sam-wow]

Seemed like the molt was a bit longer this time. Cant say exactly when it started but i was starting to wonder if it would come to an end soon ! Hence wondering if it followed a pattern that would give me some sort of indication. Upon closer examination of the feathers my daughter gathered up, it was a mix of tail and wing feathers. She was calling them all tail feathers. Seems that was towards the end cause I believe he is done with this molt. Back to his normal attitude.

 

[Happynme]

Happy molted wing n tail last as well. Usually she starts at her headband..then chest...then the rest.

 

[Sam-wow]

I guess it is time for all the replacement feathers to start coming in abundance. I brought him with me to the couch and was scrunching all his new casings off while looking at the TV. When I looked down at my leg it was totally covered in "Sam-druff" . Is Sam picking at the casings because he is eating them or just wanting to be in on on the action. My thought was maybe some sort of nutritional value like calcium ?

 

[Wolf]

Those keratin sheaths on the new feathers appear to be very itchy to them so they try to get them off as soon as they can.

 

[Sam-wow]

Those keratin sheaths on the new feathers appear to be very itchy to them so they try to get them off as soon as they can.

He likes to pick at the casings after I scrunch them off. I think he eats them ?

 

[Wolf]

It is entirely possible that he is eating some of them. There is a possibility that it is a perfectly normal action on their part similar to how after the vitamin D-3 precursor are changed by sunlight striking it on their feathers and then they ingest these precursors and finish the conversion process within their bodies. Then on the other hand there is also a possibility that it could be a signal that he is missing something in his diet that he can get from eating the keratin sheaths. If he has a good well balanced dirt, then I would not be overly concerned about this behavior.

 

[Sam-wow]

Hmmm.
I do not give any vitamins or minerals that are not included in his normal diet. Might be a good time to start as he is getting up in years (23/24).

 

[Wolf]

If you are feeding a commercially prepared food such as pellets, look at the nutritional information first as you may be giving him a vitamin/ mineral supplement already. In any case, I would hesitate to give a bird additional vitamin/ mineral supplements without checking with his vet first, more is not always better.