Ask Lafeber

Cockatiel feather issues

? .. my cokatiel bird lost her wings and tail feathers long enough to grow new ones back .. she haven’t grown feathers .. no wings .. no tail .. since then she is unable to fly .. and whenever I hold her on my hand she jumps excitedly and try to fly and get injured badly ??..
I feel pain .. how can I help her .. she doesn’t like fruits or vegetables and doesn’t eat them.. I put her normal food and nutritional drops in her water .. she still can’t grow fathers back .. can you help her with me ?
Thanks ..

Hi,

The best thing to do is take her to an avian vet to see if she might have a disease that is causing this. There are a couple of viruses that can cause feather issues in cockatiels. Since this involves her wing and tail feathers, it tends to point to this being caused by a virus. We did recently have a webinar about feather disorders that you might want to watch. Do not let her continue to fall – if she lands on her breastbone hard enough, it can kill her, or she could suffer some other injury.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda