Broken blood feather advice

[Kerry Ellen]

One of my ladies somehow broke a blood feather on her tail. It seems like she keeps opening the blood clot that forms while preening (there are many new feathers coming in around it so she’s back there a lot) and it bleeds. I’m not real comfortable pulling it and it seems the advice on pulling is all over the place. Any advice on how to move forward so that the regular bleeding stops?

 

[sourland]

You can try applying silver nitrate/styptic pencil, but pulling the damaged is the only thing that has worked for me.

 

[Kerry Ellen]

You can try applying silver nitrate/styptic pencil, but pulling the damaged is the only thing that has worked for me.

Thanks. I’m honesty a bit freaked out by the pulling. Afraid I’ll make it worse. But if I must, i’ll give it a go.

 

[KaseySnow]

Thanks. I’m honesty a bit freaked out by the pulling. Afraid I’ll make it worse. But if I must, i’ll give it a go.

How did it go? I may have to pull out a broken blood feather or two myself and am also a little concerned about it.

 

[Kerry Ellen]

How did it go? I may have to pull out a broken blood feather or two myself and am also a little concerned about it.

I haven’t had to do it yet! I decided on one more strategy before having to pull. I applied kwik stop, then after the blood dried up applied rooster booster no pick lotion. I do the no pick every morning. Also make sure there’s a different activity each day while the ground is covered in snow- cabbage tether ball, fresh dust bath, flock block. I check on them way more than I normally would. So far so good. Now that I’ve said it out loud she’ll probably rip it open today!

 

[KaseySnow]

Haha, oh gosh, I hope I didn't jinx you. I'm curious to know how it heals up for you! I've got a girl that just broke a bunch of tail feathers the other day (I think, anyway. Hard to tell), but they've all clotted up together on their own in a big scabby looking mass and I'm wondering if/how they will grow moving forward without me having to pull them out.

 

[Kerry Ellen]

Haha, oh gosh, I hope I didn't jinx you. I'm curious to know how it heals up for you! I've got a girl that just broke a bunch of tail feathers the other day (I think, anyway. Hard to tell), but they've all clotted up together on their own in a big scabby looking mass and I'm wondering if/how they will grow moving forward without me having to pull them out.

I am no expert at all. But what I’ve heard from others is that during the next molt they’ll come out, or they may just dry up and come out themselves before that. If they aren’t actively bleeding, maybe hold off a bit and see what happens? I was most worried about causing her more pain or damaging the skin around the feather and making it worse. Good luck mama!!

 

[aart]

You can try applying silver nitrate/styptic pencil, but pulling the damaged is the only thing that has worked for me.

Ditto Dat!
It's hard(mentally) to pluck but then the feather will grow back almost immediately.
I used hemostats with a good grip and yanked quickly, yeah he sqauwked good, but no lasting affects.

 

[KaseySnow]

I am no expert at all. But what I’ve heard from others is that during the next molt they’ll come out, or they may just dry up and come out themselves before that. If they aren’t actively bleeding, maybe hold off a bit and see what happens? I was most worried about causing her more pain or damaging the skin around the feather and making it worse. Good luck mama!!

Same! Was worried about causing pain or damage, especially since the feathers are scabbed over and aren't actively bleeding. She's also a pretty old gal and I didn't want to cause her undue stress. She wasn't hand raised and already hates being close to people as it is, didn't want to make her die of shock or something.

Interesting that they can dry up and fall out on their own, I hadn't read that anywhere. I wasn't sure if they'd stop growing or just keep pushing out or what. Thanks for the tidbit!

 

[coach723]

I've had small blood feathers that I was able to stop with pressure. Larger ones I just pull. It's not that bad, a pair of needlenose pliers, grab as close to the base as you can get without pinching skin, give it a solid tug. Pressure on the place it comes out of for a few minutes, and then it's over. If it's a large one you can put a dab of plain neosporin on it if you want, after it's pulled. I prefer to do this rather than deal with it starting to bleed again and again. I had particular issues with a brahma rooster who was constantly breaking blood feathers on his legs, so during molt I wrapped his legs to protect his feather shafts.