Damaged feather shaft and shaking pigeon

fatimastic

Songster
Aug 26, 2020
525
231
161
Pakistan
My 4 months old English Fantail male pigeon has been shaking here and there for about 2 weeks now.
He isn't trembling constantly but rather randomly. He wasn't like that in the beginning.
It's only been a month since they have arrived.
Both male and female had lice infestation so I treated them with baths in Dettol. They don't seem to have lice anymore but they sure are itching themselves a lot.
And there are a lot of feathers around their coop. They seem to be growing new ones too.

I noticed today that on the last feather of his tail, he had this weird pattern. It is kind of flaky too. Non of the the other feathers have this and neithrr does the female. Their poo is sometimes green and sometimes brown. It may be green because of high humidity here. It's ranging from 60-75% humidity.

Any idea what this is about?
 

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My 4 months old English Fantail male pigeon has been shaking here and there for about 2 weeks now.
He isn't trembling constantly but rather randomly. He wasn't like that in the beginning.
It's only been a month since they have arrived.
Both male and female had lice infestation so I treated them with baths in Dettol. They don't seem to have lice anymore but they sure are itching themselves a lot.
And there are a lot of feathers around their coop. They seem to be growing new ones too.

I noticed today that on the last feather of his tail, he had this weird pattern. It is kind of flaky too. Non of the the other feathers have this and neithrr does the female. Their poo is sometimes green and sometimes brown. It may be green because of high humidity here. It's ranging from 60-75% humidity.

Any idea what this is about?
Fantails do have a quirky, momentary trembling they occasionally do, no worries, they all do it when they get a little nervous. Sometimes it's comical to see a young baby Fantail when I enter the loft, do the tremble all wide-eyed, then puff up chest with tail up, lean head back so far they lose sight of me & nearly fall over. Once they get older it happens less but they all do it when startled.

The feather is something I've seen once in awhile, usually when a new one was growing in, but bath water wasn't supplied. I give bath water, with kiddie pools filled abt 6" 2x a week, let's them splash around & bathe all day, then I dump it out when I get home from work. You can even buy some pigeon bath salts to add but it's not necessary. All birds enjoy bathing & preening, it helps with feather condition & reduces lice or mites.

All pigeons will get some mites or lice at times. They do damage to feathers & their eggs resemble dried salt water on feathers & have a hatch cycle, so while you may remove the pests today, the eggs on feathers will hatch later. I've used a spray I got at Tractor Supply called Bronco, it's for horse flies but it does work. Can spray some on long wing & tail feathers, above & below tail small feathers, all around neck & under wings, carefully not to get in eyes. If there are many pests, you may need to sit bird on a towel on your lap with a bright light & glass of soapy water & pick them off. I've even crushed lice between my fingernails. They are draining your bird's life blood, more lice means a run down bird, so try to check them over weekly.

Hope this helps.
 

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Fantails do have a quirky, momentary trembling they occasionally do, no worries, they all do it when they get a little nervous. Sometimes it's comical to see a young baby Fantail when I enter the loft, do the tremble all wide-eyed, then puff up chest with tail up, lean head back so far they lose sight of me & nearly fall over. Once they get older it happens less but they all do it when startled.

The feather is something I've seen once in awhile, usually when a new one was growing in, but bath water wasn't supplied. I give bath water, with kiddie pools filled abt 6" 2x a week, let's them splash around & bathe all day, then I dump it out when I get home from work. You can even buy some pigeon bath salts to add but it's not necessary. All birds enjoy bathing & preening, it helps with feather condition & reduces lice or mites.

All pigeons will get some mites or lice at times. They do damage to feathers & their eggs resemble dried salt water on feathers & have a hatch cycle, so while you may remove the pests today, the eggs on feathers will hatch later. I've used a spray I got at Tractor Supply called Bronco, it's for horse flies but it does work. Can spray some on long wing & tail feathers, above & below tail small feathers, all around neck & under wings, carefully not to get in eyes. If there are many pests, you may need to sit bird on a towel on your lap with a bright light & glass of soapy water & pick them off. I've even crushed lice between my fingernails. They are draining your bird's life blood, more lice means a run down bird, so try to check them over weekly.

Hope this helps.
Your pigeons look very happy and healthy!

I tried touching his wing and the piece came off. Only the off white part can out and the red line near the start of the feather is still there. What shall I do about that?

I am happy to know that shivering isn't an issue! I checked the places where they usuallu itch and it seems like they are growing some new pin feathers. I have checked them multiple times for lice and couldn't find any.

Thank you for the informative reply!
 

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Your pigeons look very happy and healthy!

I tried touching his wing and the piece came off. Only the off white part can out and the red line near the start of the feather is still there. What shall I do about that?

I am happy to know that shivering isn't an issue! I checked the places where they usuallu itch and it seems like they are growing some new pin feathers. I have checked them multiple times for lice and couldn't find any.

Thank you for the informative reply!
Leave the red line alone, that is the blood supply vein that nourishes the feather as it grows. When new feathers grow in they are coated with a layer of keratin that will eventually flake off at the end, or wash off when they take a bath. Near the base of the feather is newer growth which still needs protection of the keratin sheath. Sometimes it gets a little hung up or may be clumpy, but it will eventually come off on it's own or during preening. That piece looks dried out & was ready to come off, but just so you know, it's not always good if we try to "help" a piece off, because at times it is not ready. If not ready, it will still be moist near the new growth & may cause a new feather to bleed. Sometimes just flying around, a bird may bump into something & hit it's new feather growing in, causing it to bleed & perhaps grow in a bit odd or deformed, and this is what people refer to as a blood feather or blood feather injury. Most times it's minor, but once in awhile a bird may bleed a lot or may need that bleeding feather removed, if bleeding doesn't stop. If we just provide baths for them, they can preen and take care of their feathers themselves pretty much. Providing baths also will help keep the dander or feather dust in the loft down as well as making them more comfortable. Bathing is important for them. As adults they'll bathe often, daily or every other day in summer, and when they sit on eggs they'll bathe to get feathers just the right amount of dampness & humidity, which helps the eggs hatch.



https://www.thesprucepets.com/pinfeathers-390659

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/pin-or-blood-feathers-in-birds
 
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