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Weird white stubs under feathers

luna1216

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951D5191-CF1B-4068-8917-AC192DA14AC6.jpeg I
I recently noticed these weird things under my cockatiels feathers. He bites them and white stuff comes off. I haven’t touched them yet. I don’t know how long he has had them.

What are they? I’m worried for him
 

Ripshod

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For some reason he's lost a bunch of feathers from that area. The 'stubs' would appear to be the new feathers growing in. When he bites them and the white stuff comes off he's just breaking the sheath off. Looks totally normal other than the feather loss.
 

Macawnutz

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They are down feathers shafts. Looks to me as if your sweetie is over preening ( ripping up ) his downy feathers and those are the shafts from them.

The "white stuff" if you were to look I think it would be downy feather pieces.
 

Macawnutz

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For some reason he's lost a bunch of feathers from that area. The 'stubs' would appear to be the new feathers growing in. When he bites them and the white stuff comes off he's just breaking the sheath off. Looks totally normal other than the feather loss.
Unfortunately Linden, this is not normal. There is one new feather in that picture and it looks normal and unaffected. The rest are not new and not normal. He is a downy chewer for some reason.
 

LoveToki

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What makes them over preen? Wondering if a bath might help here and there?
 

Macawnutz

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A bath will never hurt. You should make sure they bathe regularly.

There are many reasons for over preening. It be diet, stress, illness. Have you noticed that she is chewing that area lately?
 

luna1216

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A bath will never hurt. You should make sure they bathe regularly.

There are many reasons for over preening. It be diet, stress, illness. Have you noticed that she is chewing that area lately?
Yeah, sometimes I catch him chewing that area and when he is preening. Due to the winter, he hasn’t bathed but the weather is warmer now so I’ll definitely get it going.
 

enigma731

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That looks like normal powder down to me. Tiels often have these spots on their hips. Does the other side look the same?
 

luna1216

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Those are normal powder down ,,all birds have them, .:)
Thank you! I never noticed this from my past birds but I was also younger and didn’t pay attention. I am so relieved :cloud9:
 
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