Pictures Why does this keep happening?????

[tacotaco]

So my bird has just gotten over his first molt. Stressful, hormonal and cranky. But in the end we made it thru ok. He looks great and it gave him a chance ( us a chance ) to experience what flight feathers bring to the table. Since December he has lost three of his new feathers, making him very uneven. Seeing as we were learning how to fly together, this has definitely thrown a wrench in our training and its obviously very stressful for me as his human to come home to see blood on his nice white feathers or see a feather sticking out an awkward direction.



What can I do to stop this from happening???? I have been looking forward to letting him experience flight for so long that this breaks my heart.



To be more clear, he lost two flight feathers in December. One from each side. Yes this upset me and honestly scared me at first but he seemed ok after a thorough inspection. At least it was symmetrical and wouldn't hinder flight per say. Today he decided to try flying to the couch and another feather pops off in the air





Whyyyyyyyyyy?????? please help

 

[Mizzely]

Birds only lose a couple of flight feathers at a time to make it so they can still fly. If they did it all at once they would be vulnerable. It shouldn't affect flight if the rest of the feathers are intact. You should expect to lose a few flights at a time a few times a year. If it came out mid air, it naturally molted and it was time.

 

[tacotaco]

He just grew in those feathers during his molt. He was clipped previously from the breeder

 

[nu2birds]

So since he has lost "new" flight feathers..........do you think your Tiel is having night frights and flailing? I'm new at all this myself..........awaiting my birds first molt so I am not terribly experienced myself. But I'm curious because of the loss of new flight feathers. Are you sure he isn't still molting old flight feathers? BTW, your Tiel is beautiful, I've never seen a Tiel with those markings.

 

[Lady Jane]

They go through what my avian vet calls a major molt. They will drop tail and wing feathers, usually one on each side as you describe. Not to worry they will grow back. There is a supplement sold on Amazon I have used with other birds for healthy feather growth called Featheriffic. It's pretty good. Added protein may help too such as scrambled eggs. Your tiel is such a cutie! If the feathers are bran new then it is not a major molt.

Night flights would also cause feather loss that is unexpected.

 

[nu2birds]

Does your bird's color mutation have a name?

 

[Mizzely]

He just grew in those feathers during his molt. He was clipped previously from the breeder

Are you 100% sure it was these exact feathers? If so, time for a vet visit

 

[MagpieDragon]

Does your bird's color mutation have a name?

Whiteface pied? I'm no expert tho.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Some of this is molting but since you say there has been blood or feathers sticking out in an awkward direction breakage of blood feathers is also involved.
Birds usually break blood feathers when they are stressed or frightened and start flapping and jumping around a lot. With new feather growth there is potential for breakage with bleeding because the growing feather is surrounded by a sheath with a blood supply. Do you know when this type of breakage happens?
Cockatiels are prone to night frights and it's good to keep a night light on at night. My 'tiel has broken multiple blood feathers in the past and not always sure what has scared him. It's happened both during the day and at night. Also sometimes if something scares a bird a lot they will drop tail feathers.
Has your 'tiel ever been to the vet for a check up?

Looks like a whiteface pied to me.

 

[tacotaco]

Well he came clipped from his breeder. Four months after that, he hit his first molt. He had very very very short clipped primary flights. dangerously short in my opinion. I kept all his feather from his molt so I could compare. These feathers he is dropping are only a month old. My first thought was maybe because his feathers were so short that when some decided to grow out, they are just doomed to break due to all the other short clipped feathers next to it. Do you really feel its a vet issue ?

and yes :0 He is a white faced pied. I love him to death!!! And just want him to experience flight and feel confident in himself.

 

[blewin]

Buddy has yet to have a decent set of tail feathers. Clipped, unclipped, makes no difference. She manages to break them, ding them, etc.
It's very frustrating, but the worst is when she has that one feather that sticks out wrong. I feel your pain, but no solutions here...

 

[iamwhoiam]

If he's never been to the vet for a check up it's a good idea. Even if nothing is wrong the vet can get a baseline....weight, blood work results, etc. This can be used for reference in the future.

 

[tacotaco]

He has had a check up back in September. I was told that he looks great, was blood tested and DNA sexted while I was there. She did mention how short he was clipped back then as well. Is this just something he will get through or do we think its just what happens with clumsy babies ???

 

[JLcribber]

These feathers he is dropping are only a month old. My first thought was maybe because his feathers were so short that when some decided to grow out, they are just doomed to break due to all the other short clipped feathers next to it. Do you really feel its a vet issue ?

No it's not a vet issue but it is the sad reality of why clipping a baby birds wings has nothing to do with what's good/needed for the bird. Your temporary solution is to restrict your birds flight (no flight or very safe short flight) until those wings have had a chance to fill in because yes those new feathers sticking out from the clipped ones are extremely vulnerable. The wing is designed as a unit where all the feathers together act as protection for each other.

I love him to death!!! And just want him to experience flight and feel confident in himself.

Of course you do but your going to need a lot of patience and step back because your breeder set your bird back many months. He did not learn to fly when his mind was supposed to (during those early weeks) so now it will be much harder to learn without the fact that the wings are clipped. Now add clipped wings. You can't learn to ride a bike with flat tires. You've got to wait until the tires are fixed. He doesn't need all his flights but he does need the vast majority of them to learn to fly without incident.

Give this a read. It will help you understand and give you ways to move forward.

Thinking on the Wing | The Parrot University, llc

 

[tacotaco]

Thank you John. I appreciate the wisdom. Ill read up

 

[barry collins]

Everything John said is correct and makes perfect sense. Also if your bird is used to moving around with clipped wings then growing feathers will be like you growing a third leg, you would stumble and fall and kick everything in sight until you get your brain around having extra limbs. Chances are your bird does not know how to look after its new wings and may loosen some feathers just being clumsy. It's a sad fact of clipping young birds. It will get better in time.

 

[MagpieDragon]

Buddy has yet to have a decent set of tail feathers. Clipped, unclipped, makes no difference. She manages to break them, ding them, etc.
It's very frustrating, but the worst is when she has that one feather that sticks out wrong. I feel your pain, but no solutions here...

Same!

 

[finchly]

And in case no one else said it - young tiels are clumsy! It’ll be ok.

Your baby is gorgeous.

 

[Shinobi]

I believe that birds that fly are healthier both mentally and physically. If your bird is flighted it will require more training which involves more time. I don't think it's safer for the bird, has some hazards are eliminated, but new hazards come into play. The belief that clipped birds are easier to train is questionable. I have read stories where people have clipped their birds and found the bird becomes well behaved and compliance. Then they let the clip grow out and the well behaved and compliance bird becomes a little demon. Why? it seems that the bird was dependent on the human for it needs, but when the bird regain the ability to fly, the human becomes surplus to requirements because the bird isn't dependent on humans anymore. The choice to clip a bird's wings is a personal decision. But if it is to be done then it must be in the best interest of the bird, not the human.

Personally, I disagree with wing clipping but I can't tell other people what they can or can't do to their birds. John is just being honest and passionate in his opinion regarding wing clipping and I do agree with him fully on this subject, wing clipping is outdated. I think it's awesome to have your bird fly to you or fly around the house looking for you. To see your bird hold out their wings in all their glory.

 

[Birdlover42]

He is an adorable beautiful healthy looking bird. In the past when my cockatiels molted they did the same. I has a female and a male who molted at different times thank goodness! She was very cranky and miserable so I just tried to handle her carefully and keep her comfortable. She would bleed and lose so many feathers it was scary! I made sure I had a pair of hemostats and flour on hand in case she had bleeding that wouldn't stop or I had to pull out a broken blood feather. After her molt was finally done which seemed like forever she was beautiful and went back to being my happy girl again!