quill wing feathers

[scooter147]

My white pekin, Mary Lou, has a curious issue.

The flight and secondary feathers on her wings are just like quills. There are no feather like thingys on these quills like there should be.

She has not molted so they are not "blood" feathers I am looking at.

I have checked her over closely several times for mite, lice etc but no such critters.

She eats a very healthy diet and baths in the garden pond whenever she wishes.

Any thoughts?

 

[LV426]

Sometimes the outer layer on the growing feather is thicker than normal so you end up with the feathers confined to a quill like look. This usually happens in birds that don't groom themselves well. Eventually the coating will slough off and her feathers should be normal at that point. You may try to encourage her to bathe more as this will help break down the coating.

 

[PoultryPedia]

LV426--Wow! That is a really obscure thing to know about--I'm impressed! I'd never heard about it before, and will file it away as useful info for future reference. Thanks for sharing!