Ratty roo tail feathers, how to smooth out?

[PoisonIvy]

I noticed today that my Leghorn rooster's beautiful tail feathers are a bit ratty looking. Not missing, poopy or broken in any way, just not as nice & smooth as they normally are. He's been at the county fair for a few days, and was cooped up in a display cage, plus the transfer to a pet carrier there & back, so I'm thinking that's the culprit. So how can I get them nice & smooth again?

 

[BantamLover21]

"Ratty" looking tail feathers are very common when birds have been in cages. I show chickens too, so I know exactly what you are talking about. To smooth out the tail feathers, squeeze a tail feather gently between your fingers, and then pull outward (towards the end of the feather), all while keeping your fingers (gently, you want them to slide) pinched on the tail feather. Your fingers will act somewhat like the beak of a bird does when he is preening.

 

[PoisonIvy]

I tried that tonight...didn't seem to work.

 

[BantamLover21]

They might have permanently become damaged. Sometimes they never smooth back together. Could you by any chance take a photo of his tail feathers so that I can see what the roughness looks like?

 

[PoisonIvy]

Yeah, here he is!

 

[BantamLover21]

Wow, that is a beautiful Light-Brown Leghorn! How well did he do at the show?

I really don't know why you weren't able to get the tail feathers back into order using the method I described, as those feathers don't look terribly damaged (fortunately). Maybe try dampening them and trying the same technique, or possibly just dampening them and seeing if he'll preen them back to normal.

 

[PoisonIvy]

Thanks! He got 1st place for his class!

I'll see if he'll let me get them a little wet & I'll try again.

 

[BantamLover21]

Thanks! He got 1st place for his class!

I'll see if he'll let me get them a little wet & I'll try again.

Great job!

Keep me updated.

 

[PoisonIvy]

About smoothing out his tail feathers, I decided to just go ahead & give him a bath. Strangely enough, big ol' cocky Rooster Cogburn did the best of all 6 of my birds! He let me stroke his tail feathers underwater, in hopes that would smooth them out. Today, his tail feathers are better, but not 100%, I guess he'll have to preen them himself or I'll just have to wait until he molts them out. Oh well, he's still a gorgeous rooster!

 

[BantamLover21]

About smoothing out his tail feathers, I decided to just go ahead & give him a bath. Strangely enough, big ol' cocky Rooster Cogburn did the best of all 6 of my birds! He let me stroke his tail feathers underwater, in hopes that would smooth them out. Today, his tail feathers are better, but not 100%, I guess he'll have to preen them himself or I'll just have to wait until he molts them out. Oh well, he's still a gorgeous rooster!

Great news!

Yes, after he preens himself, the feathers will probably be almost back to normal. And after a molt, he'll look as good as ever.

Some of my birds just got back from a show today. None of their tails got too messed up, fortunately.