Is this normal for the feather shaft?

[Scarlet&Annie]

I saw her tail shafts looks funny.
I'm not sure if this is normal or not.
She WILL NOT hold still for me to look at it look enough. I'm super frustrated and concerned.

What is normal for the tail feather shaft anyways?
Google provided me with no answers.
Sorry for the meh photos, it was really hard to get one.

 

[Shezbug]

Ok so I have really bad eyesight and have need glasses something terrible which I have been putting off for like over two years so I can not see real good any detail but can you describe what the issue seems to be? In the meantime I will see if I still have a decent pic of Burts tail feather shafts that close to his body- I am not sure if I still have it.

 

[Scarlet&Annie]

Ok so I have really bad eyesight and have need glasses something terrible which I have been putting off for like over two years so I can not see real good any detail but can you describe what the issue seems to be? In the meantime I will see if I still have a decent pic of Burts tail feather shafts that close to his body- I am not sure if I still have it.

Hey!
She is acting normal, the shaft just looks weird to me.
I'll post a closer photo that I zoomed in on.
It totally freaked me out.
I'm concerned that maybe a pin feather broke?
Worried it's dried blood.
I haven't yet put her into bed because I'm not sure if she needs something or not?

 

[Shezbug]

Sorry, if I still do have the pic I can not find it.

Oh the feather on the right side of the pic does look like it is split from the wrong end huh?? @Macawnutz @Hankmacaw @Mockinbirdiva @enigma731 have any of you seen this sort of thing before?

 

[Scarlet&Annie]

Sorry, if I still do have the pic I can not find it.

Oh the feather on the right side of the pic does look like it is split from the wrong end huh?? @Macawnutz @Hankmacaw @Mockinbirdiva @enigma731 have any of you seen this sort of thing before?

That's okay, thanks for looking though!
Ya know how the feather shafts are like tube shaped??? If that makes sense...
It's almost like half the tub is gone?

I hope that makes sense at all!
I'm just worried if it was bleeding and I didn't realize.

Thanks again for any help!

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

I can see what you are talking about but don't know what the cause could be. I did a little research but thought I'd attach a couple of links for you to read about feather anatomy, the second link appears to cover the problem with the area of the feather called the Rachis. It's a LOT of reading.. of which I don't have the time to do but may point you in the right direction. Cover if you will all the details about your conure, exact diet, lighting, flighted or not. You may need to have a blood panel done to see if your bird is deficient in any way. I'm going to tag Mary and see if she may have a clue..... @Hankmacaw

Everything You Need To Know About Feathers | Bird Academy • The Cornell Lab

All About Feathers Unique to birds and their dinosaur ancestors, feathers have evolved into impressive biological structures that come in a surprising diversity of colors and forms. Here, we cover the breadth of feather biology by looking at feathers from a variety of scientific viewpoints inclu ...

academy.allaboutbirds.org

(PDF) Fault bars in bird feathers: Mechanisms, and ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences

PDF | Fault bars are narrow malformations in feathers oriented almost perpendicular to the rachis where the feather vein and even the rachis may break.... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

 

[Scarlet&Annie]

I can see what you are talking about but don't know what the cause could be. I did a little research but thought I'd attach a couple of links for you to read about feather anatomy, the second link appears to cover the problem with the area of the feather called the Rachis. It's a LOT of reading.. of which I don't have the time to do but may point you in the right direction. Cover if you will all the details about your conure, exact diet, lighting, flighted or not. You may need to have a blood panel done to see if your bird is deficient in any way. I'm going to tag Mary and see if she may have a clue..... @Hankmacaw

Everything You Need To Know About Feathers | Bird Academy • The Cornell Lab

All About Feathers Unique to birds and their dinosaur ancestors, feathers have evolved into impressive biological structures that come in a surprising diversity of colors and forms. Here, we cover the breadth of feather biology by looking at feathers from a variety of scientific viewpoints inclu ...

academy.allaboutbirds.org

(PDF) Fault bars in bird feathers: Mechanisms, and ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences

PDF | Fault bars are narrow malformations in feathers oriented almost perpendicular to the rachis where the feather vein and even the rachis may break.... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

Hello!
Thanks so much for your reply.
I'll read it all later on today.

In the mean time, if it is what you said, is it something I can just keep an eye on to see if more do it?
Or is it more urgent in getting her to a vet and such?

Thank you again!

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Hello!
Thanks so much for your reply.
I'll read it all later on today.

In the mean time, if it is what you said, is it something I can just keep an eye on to see if more do it?
Or is it more urgent in getting her to a vet and such?

Thank you again!

Without reading more about it I can't tell you if it's urgent but it is an irregularity in the keratin and I would want to know what the cause was and should be looked into. An Avian Vet with detailed knowledge would know what to look for. It could be as simple as an improper diet, which is why I asked what your bird's diet is in detail. I copied and pasted a short section of another link and included that link below. I don't think you should just keep an eye on it but look into the cause and how to improve the health and quality of the feathers. Somebody else on the forum may be more familiar with it so we'll see who else chimes in.

All About Your Parrot's Feathers - The Causes Of Molt, Feather Problems And What You Can Do About Them

What Do My Parrots Feathers Tell Me About My Parrots General Health?


Just like the hair coats of our dogs and cats mirror their general health, the feathers of our pet parrots tell us a lot about their general well-being. If your parrots feather colors are dull or off-color, if they are broken or have stress bars or if they fail to develop normally the bird is not in good over-all health.


The biggest cause of poor feathering is malnutrition due to the bird consuming an unbalanced diet. Even if you are feeding a balanced diet, parrots often pick through it, eating only the things that catch their fancy.


Other chronic diseases of parrots also lead to abnormal feathers. These include a number of bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic problems.

 

[enigma731]

My guess would be there was some trauma to that feather while it was developing. I probably wouldn't worry about a one-off but I'd monitor and see the vet if it happened to more than one.

 

[Scarlet&Annie]

Without reading more about it I can't tell you if it's urgent but it is an irregularity in the keratin and I would want to know what the cause was and should be looked into. An Avian Vet with detailed knowledge would know what to look for. It could be as simple as an improper diet, which is why I asked what your bird's diet is in detail. I copied and pasted a short section of another link and included that link below. I don't think you should just keep an eye on it but look into the cause and how to improve the health and quality of the feathers. Somebody else on the forum may be more familiar with it so we'll see who else chimes in.

All About Your Parrot's Feathers - The Causes Of Molt, Feather Problems And What You Can Do About Them

What Do My Parrots Feathers Tell Me About My Parrots General Health?


Just like the hair coats of our dogs and cats mirror their general health, the feathers of our pet parrots tell us a lot about their general well-being. If your parrots feather colors are dull or off-color, if they are broken or have stress bars or if they fail to develop normally the bird is not in good over-all health.


The biggest cause of poor feathering is malnutrition due to the bird consuming an unbalanced diet. Even if you are feeding a balanced diet, parrots often pick through it, eating only the things that catch their fancy.


Other chronic diseases of parrots also lead to abnormal feathers. These include a number of bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic problems.

Thank you!
I'm going to keep an eye on it and her more in general.
I'll see what stuff might help too!
Hoping her pellets will soon become regular with no seeds!
I'm excited, was worried she might not eat the pellets but she definitely does.

I'll go through more of those links later today.
Thank you again!

 

[Scarlet&Annie]

My guess would be there was some trauma to that feather while it was developing. I probably wouldn't worry about a one-off but I'd monitor and see the vet if it happened to more than one.

I definitely will!

Thank you!

 

[Hankmacaw]

It looks to me as if there was an injury to that feather early in it's development. It has possibly provided a pathway for an infection to get into the root - watch it closely, but don't do anything to it as it looks as if it is doing fine right now. Definitely don't put anything on it.

Did you find any similar issues in your reading? Actually @Macawnutz is what we have for a resident feather expert. Maybe she will pop in.

 

[Macawnutz]

I've seen it. It's nothing to concern over. An abnormality that you will probably not see again.

The rest of the feather looks like it formed correctly so my guess is that she somehow split the feather slightly during growth and this is how it filled in. As long it it does not cause pain I would not be concerned.

 

[Scarlet&Annie]

I'll keep an eye on it for sure!
She

It looks to me as if there was an injury to that feather early in it's development. It has possibly provided a pathway for an infection to get into the root - watch it closely, but don't do anything to it as it looks as if it is doing fine right now. Definitely don't put anything on it.

Did you find any similar issues in your reading? Actually @Macawnutz is what we have for a resident feather expert. Maybe she will pop in.

Thanks so much!
She has a pin feather near it too coming in near that one and I'm sure another after that too!
She seems to get her tail feathers quick!

I'm thinking that she'll more then likely pull this one out soon.
She usually pulls out damaged feathers pretty quickly after damaged.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Thank you!
I'm going to keep an eye on it and her more in general.
I'll see what stuff might help too!
Hoping her pellets will soon become regular with no seeds!
I'm excited, was worried she might not eat the pellets but she definitely does.

I'll go through more of those links later today.
Thank you again!

I wouldn't have guessed an injury to the feather but this is why we tagged others to get other opinions. I'm sure this puts you mind at ease so going forward you'll keep an eye on any new growth feathers for normal or abnormal appearance. How old is your conure? With what you mentioned has she been on an all seed diet ( brand name of the mix of seeds) and you've introduced pellets to her diet now? What brand are those? Do you feed any fresh foods in regards to vegetables? ( I always ask a lot of questions....)

 

[Scarlet&Annie]

I wouldn't have guessed an injury to the feather but this is why we tagged others to get other opinions. I'm sure this puts you mind at ease so going forward you'll keep an eye on any new growth feathers for normal or abnormal appearance. How old is your conure? With what you mentioned has she been on an all seed diet ( brand name of the mix of seeds) and you've introduced pellets to her diet now? What brand are those? Do you feed any fresh foods in regards to vegetables? ( I always ask a lot of questions....)

I'm not sure what brand the seed is. I don't remember, I get it bulk from Petsuppliesplus.
Her pellets are Roudybush. She has been eating those but ends up with a bunch on the floor of the cage since she tries to eat them like seed and they crumble a bit leaving some on the bottom but she does eat them still.
I'm waiting to get a scale before fully taking away the seeds.
Since she drops a lot on accident, I want to be able to monitor her weight to be sure she isn't losing so much pellet that she isn't eating enough.
I do have some frozen veggies in the freezer now but haven't given much to her yet but I'll start likely tomorrow or maybe tonight with that.

Thank you!

I see her preening her tail sometimes so I'm wondering if she injured the feather that way.

 

[Scarlet&Annie]

Update -

She had this pin feather (?) With the tube casing as usual and now it looks similar to that other feather but it looks more like red blood?

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Update -

She had this pin feather (?) With the tube casing as usual and now it looks similar to that other feather but it looks more like red blood?

Is this the one to the left in the last photo you posted? It's a bit fuzzy in the photo so I can't see the detail well.

 

[Scarlet&Annie]

Is this the one to the left in the last photo you posted? It's a bit fuzzy in the photo so I can't see the detail well.

I believe it is, yes.
I'm just concerned about if she is actively bleeding or something?
I can't get a good photo because she has a total fit when I hold her and try to get a good look.
It's like that other feather but it's more bright red colored which I assume is blood.

 

[enigma731]

You would know if she was actively bleeding. Run your finger over it and see if you get any blood on your hand. (Wash your hands before and after.)