Broken Tail Feathers & Sneezing

[hoovsmum]

Hi All
My son has a cockatiel named Hoover, the problem is that he continually breaks his tail feathers. He actually broke his one and only yesterday whilst preening it on my shoulder. Is this a deficiency of some sort? He also seems to sneeze a lot. Otherwise he seems healthy enough.

[lovemytiels]

Hi Hoovsmum & welcome to the forum. There could be a number of reason why he has broken tail feathers. It could be diet related, not enough calcium & essential omega 3 & 3 oils. Could be that he is also just going through a molt. Also if his cage is a bit small & he is active, then there might be not enough space for him to move around therefore getting his tail feathers caught all the time & they will break easily this way. The other reason could be that he might have some sort of infection. As for him sneezing a lot, it could be that he has something stuck in his nares like a seed & he is trying to dislodge it by sneezing. But taking into account his broken tail feathers & his continually sneezing, I really think you should take him to an avian vet as soon as possible as it could be a lot more serious with an underlying infection of some sort. Hope this helps. Cheers Anna

[hoovsmum]

Thanks Anna
I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my question. Will book him in at the local vet but doubt they deal much in birds more dogs, cats & large animals (we live in Northern NSW). Definitely will pursue this line until I get answers as my son would be devastated if anything were to happen to Hoover as he has become a very loved member in our family.

[hillcresttiels]

As Anna has mentioned usually a calcium deficiency especially in young birds cause tail feathers to break easily ,make sure he has access to fresh Calcium by means of Cuttlefish or fine crushed Oyster Shell, also add some Calcivite to his water which is available at most pet/produce supplies. Has he any access to direct sunlight and not filtered light as even if the supply of calcium is available the bodies metabolism needs to absorb the calcium which is required thru Vitamin D3 intake. Sunlight assists in D3 so if you can place the cage outside for 15-20 minutes per day till he is mature will help the D3 intake. If this is not possible then add some Calcivite Plus to his water instead of normal calcivite as the Plus formula has added D3. now the other problem is most birds will have moulted by now so if your tiel has already moulted then the Broken tail feathers need to be removed from his tail stubb,this should be performed by someone who is not attached to the bird as it can sometimes upset them a little. if the broken feathers are left he is suspectable to feather rot which can be a problem. Also if possible if seeking a vet he will remove the broken tail feathers at your request and try and see an Avian vet if the sneezing persists good luck Frank

[Smiley]

Here is a avian vet that may not be to far from you.

Dr Peter Wilson BVSc MACVSc (Wildlife)
Currumbin Valley Vet Supplies
1596 Currumbin Creek Road Currumbin Valley Gold Coast 4223
Phone: [phone]

[vignesh]

Hey,
I have a house sparrow and it seems to have damaged & broken its tail feather.
It is able fly only about 5 foot and slowly descends. It is about 2 and a half months old and it used to fly really good....
Could anybody please help me..?