Ask Lafeber

Cockateil tail feathers

While holding my male cockateil he lost all his feathers I am worried how much will it take to get back

Hi Supriya,

This does happen sometimes with cockatiels and some other bird species. They are prey animals, so they have the ability to lose the tail feathers if grabbed by the tail by a predator. It can happen accidentally when you handle a bird sometimes. Maybe something scared him or if you tried to pick him up from behind, then he felt like something was trying to catch him. The feathers will take a few weeks to fully grow back.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda