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Urgent Weird feathers

Mizzely

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Does he always molt like that? Is it all his feathers? At first glance it looks like the feather has been plucked.
 

Tari&Miguel

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Maybe it is a pluck but they grow like that and he is a rescue bird, the vet said it was ok, but it seems weird and I can’t seem to find any pictures on the internet of anything that looks the same
 

Tari&Miguel

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And it’s not all his feathers and I think he did pluck himself bald in some spots before he came to live at my house..
 

enigma731

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That definitely looks like plucking. It's normal for a feather to grow in like that, but it's been plucked before it could finish maturing. That's why it doesn't look like a normally molted mature feather.
 

Ripshod

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It may have been plucked. Did you see it happen? If it fell out your bird may have a disease or be missing essential protein building blocks. That is a blood feather, not yet fully grown and still partially sheathed. Nothing weird here other than why is it in your hand and not on you bird?
If there's a lot of these on the cage floor get him to a vet.
*edit* I posted the same time as enigma731.
 
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Tari&Miguel

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It only happens sometimes...we were just at vet not that long ago... i get both birds food at parrot island in when prairie, mn, terry is awesome and hand blends the food and listens and is kinda my go to bird question guy... but I just thought maybe posting about this that maybe other people can find an answer too if they are going through this.. anyway I’m confusing and talking too much I’ll get a picture of Miguel now ...I appreciate y’all!
 

Tari&Miguel

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Yeah when he’s flying he definitely has bald spots and I see feathers that look like that one that are growing but don’t ever like mature... he also has really thick white like feathers kinda right above where his tail feathers start... I think it’s where an important gland is..? The vet said he was good and he got tested too.. everything was good... but I guess I have no idea what his past was like , I legit took him in from a couple who found him... I searched for his real owners but I got nothing... anyway he’s very very cautious and hesitant with me, but if I’m holding Tari he’s more willing to hop on my finger or shoulder. He’s been a challenge but he’s coming around, and that’s really rewarding and fun to see.
 

Kodigirl210

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The preening gland is located back there on the underside. Hopefully with a lot of TLC he will stop plucking. Especially since all his testing came back good. If he starts plucking a lot where there is a large bald spot in a concentrated area I would take him back to the vet. It can be a sign that he’s in pain or allergies can also cause plucking. It may just be left over nervousness from the people who gave them to you. If it doesn’t get any worse then I would think most likely it’s just stress from the several changes in a short amount of time as far as the fids are concerned. :goodluck:
 
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