Expert: Marie Charon - 11/18/2009

Question
I have two cockatiels, one female one male.  Freckle (female) flew clumsily last night and crash landed.  I think this was due to the loss of six feathers right at the tip of her left wing.  I had noticed a few feathers in the cage when I was cleaning but thought this was just molting.  I have never seen her or Charlie (the male) pluck their own feathers except during preening. Her poop is normal, she is eating and drinking as usual, and her bat impressions are normal (so I do not suspect a wing break).  She appears normal except for her flying.  Should I keep her in the cage until these feathers grow back?  Normally we let them both out every night although they fly only when they want to - they have never been clipped since we have had them - they are 3.5 / 4 year old and we have had them for 3 years.  They are not hand tame and it would be stressful for them for me to put them in their travel cage to take them to the vet.

Answer
I would clip her other wing to prevent crash landing from uneven flight until you get the wing feather's evened out with the next molting; especially if she is used to flying about. You don't want her hurting herself.

But do keep an eye on her to make sure she isn't running into issues with feather plucking. The earlies you catch it, the easier it is to break.

Blessings,
-m