Ask Lafeber

Cockatiel no feather’s

Hello….my cockatiel has no feathers under one wing and can see skin…never had this problem before he’s around 17 years old, and his cage door is always left open even has his own chair…he can still fly ok and still his self

Hi,

At his age, it’s hard to say what might be going on. But since it is only under one wing, it’s not something he is doing from boredom. The best thing to do is take him to a good avian vet for a check up, being sure to mention his age. You want to make sure he doesn’t have some type of infection causing him to do this. Some internal issues can cause a bird to pull at his feathers because he has pain or discomfort in the area.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda