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i met some tiels yesterday and i was wondering..........
they all seemed fine except for a couple that were missing tail feathers, which i was told was caused by "shedding" (i believe is molt, but not sure yet :p ) and due that they got picked on by other birds (thay were a bit overcrowded, but not anymore :D )............so my big question is...... DO THEY GROW BACK?? if so how long does it take, or do they stay like that?
you're right! when a bird "sheds" it's feathers it's called molting.
there are a few reasons the birds may be losing their feathers. yes, they could be molting. if that's it they will grow back. they could also be pulling their feathers out. if they do this a lot they can permanently loose their feathers. if you can't find out if they are pulling their feathers or just molting i would not buy one of the ones missing feathers.
There are several things that it could be:
-the cage is too small
-the cage is too crowded
-the perches in the cage are too close to the sides of the cage
"Dust birds" (Cockatiels, Cockatoos, African Greys) are known for dropping feathers slowly over time unlike "oil birds" (Amazons, Macaws, etc) which tend to drop many feathers in a shorter period.
If a 'tiel has no tailfeathers, it's not molting. It could be from feather plucking, severe feather shredding (which usually ends up making the feathers look very short, but you can usually still tell that a bird has them), or possibly damaging the feathers on cage bars...But if that were the case you'd probably still see some tailfeather. It would just be damaged.
Also, birds have what we can only assume is a defense mechanism that involves the tailfeathers. Lots of small bird owners who have at one point needed to chase a bird down have seen this. I've never heard of it happening in a bird larger than a Ringneck Parakeet. If you accidentally grab onto the tailfeathers, they're just "released". You don't need to yank. If a frightened bird gets it's tailfeathers grabbed, they'll all come out. I had this happen to me with a Budgie once.
As it was said, the damage done from plucking can end up damaging the feather folicles, and in this case they won't grow back. I've heard of it happening in as little as four years, but it usually takes much longer.
this tiels with duck butts are around 1-2 years of age and i personally think they were damaged either by plucking of from other birds plucking them........
i went to see other tiels this weekend a couple 1year olds, a few 7-8 months old and anothers around 3 months, but i still cant decide.......
some of the older ones (1yr) i loved a cinammon one really nice all feathers (i think it might be pied/pearl but not sure LOL)
then from the 7-8 mo i liked some cinnamon pieds , some lutinos and some overall grays, but most had damaged tail feathers as i was told they had started to try and mate.......
and then from the 3mo i loved one cinnamon pied, all feathers.......and i think it would be easier to tame and train but i´m really undecided........
i would want a male, but i can get a female as well.......so...........i dont know!! :p :rolleyes: