Expert: Cynthia Kiesewetter - 10/19/2008

Question
Recently I have noticed that my cockatiel has a problem with the feathers under one of her wings.  I have owned a cockatiel with a constant blood-feather problem, and this problem I am seeing now looks nothing like what I saw with my albino and the blood feathers.  
The feathers underneath one of my bird's wings appear brown blood stained, and at first i was not able to find any active bleeding in the feather shafts.  Both the small and the flight feathers are stained.  She preens and cleans this side very very often, more often than the other.  
As I looked into this more, I noticed that under the feathers wing appears to be slightly bruised, but she is not favoring the wing or treating it gently.  
Could this discoloration be due to a fungus of any kind?  What are the symptoms of fungus and are cockatiels proned to that?
Only the very tips of the small feather shafts (not the flight feathers) appear to have pinpricks of blood.  
What could be the problem?

Answer
Hannah,

It appears that she is plucking and possibly self-mutilating.  This is very common when cockatiels have an internal parasitic called Giardia.  It exists in the digestive tract but actually makes certain parts of the cockatiel's body itch so much that the affected cockatiel begins to pluck and eventually tear away at the tissue.  Generally this affects the underwing and the vent area.

Please bring your cockatiel to an avian vet.  To assist him in his determination of whether or not she has Giardia, put a piece of wax paper in the cage before you cover her at night.  Collecting the first morning "sample" is then easy...you remove the wax paper, fold it, and put it in a ziplock sandwich bag which you then put into the refrigerator.  If you can get a few of these samples before you go to the vet, he will have a lot more to look at, since Giardia sheds in the feces intermittently.

Good luck,

Cindy