- Aug 22, 2010
- 742
- 24
- 156
Quote:
I couldn't tell you how many times I've pulled broken wing feathers to encourage new feathers to grow so a bird would be ready to show. I have never had a feather not grow back. I have never heard of a feather not growing back after a broken wing feather was pulled. It's one thing to say "I wouldn't do it" [for what ever reason], it's quite another to say "you DO NOT want to pull a flight feather" as if doing so was known to cause a problem.
That said, it's probably too late for the bird in question to have new wing feathers all the way grown in by July. If you pulled the cut feathers now you'll have new feathers but probably only about 1/2 grown back.
The best way to pull wing feathers is with pliers, they grip the feather better.
To each their own....I have seen a couple birds a friend owned that had flight feathers pulled that DID NOT come back in....
I learned from a judge, that for broken feathers, use a razor/boxcutter or something of the sort and cut down the center of the feather- to the skin- and leave it be. the air that gets into the follicle/socket encourages the new feather to start growing... i do pull feathers all the time on show birds if they break and have never had a blank spot in a wing. so your caps arnt nescesary, we understand there are occurances, but so far you have the only occasion in which it hasnt grown back. no harshness meant.
I couldn't tell you how many times I've pulled broken wing feathers to encourage new feathers to grow so a bird would be ready to show. I have never had a feather not grow back. I have never heard of a feather not growing back after a broken wing feather was pulled. It's one thing to say "I wouldn't do it" [for what ever reason], it's quite another to say "you DO NOT want to pull a flight feather" as if doing so was known to cause a problem.
That said, it's probably too late for the bird in question to have new wing feathers all the way grown in by July. If you pulled the cut feathers now you'll have new feathers but probably only about 1/2 grown back.
The best way to pull wing feathers is with pliers, they grip the feather better.
To each their own....I have seen a couple birds a friend owned that had flight feathers pulled that DID NOT come back in....
I learned from a judge, that for broken feathers, use a razor/boxcutter or something of the sort and cut down the center of the feather- to the skin- and leave it be. the air that gets into the follicle/socket encourages the new feather to start growing... i do pull feathers all the time on show birds if they break and have never had a blank spot in a wing. so your caps arnt nescesary, we understand there are occurances, but so far you have the only occasion in which it hasnt grown back. no harshness meant.
