Asked question about tail feather. Cockatiel has normal tail feathers except for 1 long feather. He is in a good size cage but his one tail feather does go up against and through rungs of cage.He very active. My fear is that he breaks it by accident. He has lost a few but they were normal size. Would he bleed?
Hi Charlotte,
Thanks – the additional information helps a lot. Could you possibly send a picture to [email protected] and put my name and “Ask Lafeber” in the subject line?
Having the long tail feather might be normal. Is he a normal grey cockatiel? Grey cockatiels in particular are more likely to have a longer tail, because this is the natural cockatiel color as they are in the wild. This generally means they have better genes than the mutations. But since it seems to stand out from the other feathers, it could be caused by anything from a nutrition issue to a virus or something else internal. Most likely it is nothing to worry about, but if it is being caused by something like a kidney or liver issue, it’s better to find out so he can be treated. Cockatiels can live into their 30’s, so he is still a young bird.
As for it breaking, it is not likely to bleed. Feathers only have a blood supply while they are growing, and during this period they are referred to as a “blood feather”. Once they have reached their full length, the blood supply stops. You can usually tell if it is a blood feather because the shaft looks thicker, and is dark since it is filled with blood. The shaft is also softer than it will be when it is finished growing, and this protects it from being broken most of the time. It usually takes a hard fall or the bird catching it in the cage bars and panicking for a blood feather to break. But go ahead and send me a picture so I can give you a better idea of whether it looks like a normal feather for him.
Thanks for the update,
Brenda
