Colour in feather

[tab_xo]

Hi all, i noticed this feather the other day, which i thought was strange

He only has this one, all the rest are the same colour, but this feather has a blue line in it Its actually pretty, but is it a bad thing?

Or does anyone know why this occurred?

His feathers are very shiny and healthy !

He then decided to scratch and preen cause he thought i was taking photos of him

 

[gemini84]

i have no idea tab, but just wanted to comment on fargo's beautiful colours

 

[Birdboy]

He sure is sooo cute! ive never seen that befor, but i dont think its anything to worry about. but i may be wrong

 

[SandyBee]

What a cutie, It looks just like part of his colouring where its changing from one shade to the other. It's not stress bars so I'm sure its all fine.

 

[Turquoise]

Strange indeed. Kinda like a mega dose of blue color just burst out in that one line of feathering. It is quite pretty & his posing is super cute!

 

[tab_xo]

ok!! Thanks guys !

So he just has a unique feather pattern until he molts it out? haha

 

[Jtbirds]

you sure do notice everything about fargo. As stated this is fine just a little extra blue pigment. My ex blue and gold annie used to have half yellow half blue feathers from time to time.

 

[LoveMyParrots]

Fargo have such a good mummy, how could it be stress bars!? There's nothing to worry about, he just have a special feather! BTW, Fargo's feathers is so beautiful and shinny!

 

[JJones1719]

Tab, They're called stress marks. Sometimes the marking is on one feather or line or mark can be on many feathers.

If your B&G had a fall or if you left him alone when he wanted you to stay, little things like this cause them but nothing to worry about unless they continue.

Sometimes you may see a change in the entire color but this is something completely different and this is caused by a poor diet, this is not the case in your beautiful B&G. Hope this helps. Joe

 

[Jtbirds]

Stress marking is black bars on the feathers. This is blue not black. The only stress bars are black and prominent black. Look at my baby girl the mega plucker harlequin her feathers are like half black because she is always so stressed over her feathers and life because someone made her like that. This is nothing like stress bars in my expirence and I've seen a lot of them due to rescue.

 

[JJones1719]

In most cases, stress marks are normally black but very rare, they can be the same color as the feather and may appear darker or lighter then it's surrounding color of the feather.
When my Neleno was very young and was going through a bad time with regressing after being weaned, he had both black stress marks and other lines either lighter or darker in color but still lines. not on all feathers just some of them.
Per my aviary Vet advised that this was caused by him regression and advised not to worry about the stress lines but rather focus on weaning him again.
Today, I'm happy to report that he has not had any stress marks.

I also tried to google this issue and from what I read, these lines are caused by change in diet, the stages the feather grows while being preened. Seems like alot of different reasons for this but from what I read, nothing to worry about.

Just keep an eye out and question your Vet on their next check up. Best of luck to all Joe

 

[blackhawk007]

Not sure either. But he looks great

 

[tab_xo]

Thanks guys!

Joe, if it was stress marks wouldnt it occurred in more than just ONE feather?
I have no idea what he could be stressed about, he has the best life hahaha

When I got him he had veryyyy ratty and messy feathers but he has molted most of them out! His feathers are so healthy looking now!

He did have a cow-lick sort of a feather on his face when i got him, it curled around instead of across, but that molted out, and grew back perfectly, so maybe he just had another weird feather again?

I am not sure if this is a new or old feather, its on the top of his wing/back, and he hasnt molted there yet i am fairly sure

 

[ParkersMom]

Tab...if you find out let me know, Keiko has the same thing... just one feather...

 

[tab_xo]

Tab...if you find out let me know, Keiko has the same thing... just one feather...

Oh wow! Really, how strange!
Is it in the same area?

 

[Finch_Breeder]

Thanks guys!

Joe, if it was stress marks wouldnt it occurred in more than just ONE feather?
I have no idea what he could be stressed about, he has the best life hahaha

When I got him he had veryyyy ratty and messy feathers but he has molted most of them out! His feathers are so healthy looking now!

He did have a cow-lick sort of a feather on his face when i got him, it curled around instead of across, but that molted out, and grew back perfectly, so maybe he just had another weird feather again?

I am not sure if this is a new or old feather, its on the top of his wing/back, and he hasnt molted there yet i am fairly sure

If it is stress marks it could be related to your recent post:
http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/28900-horrible-experience.html
Mike.

 

[tab_xo]

Wouldnt the feather have to be in the shaft and growing, then have the 'stress' and then it would have problems in the growing stage ?

This has been out for way more than a week, has no shaft or anything on it, the experience was only a week ago, so im not sure it would be related to that ?

 

[JJones1719]

Tab, Yes, My Neleno too had this marking on one of his Feathers when he was very young and after his molt, the Feather that came in was also perfect that why I stated that it appears that everything is fine.
I agree, your B&G is perfect in feather with nothing to worry about.

I have seen some amazing things and marking on many Macaws with really no reason for it. I guess this happens now and again but as long as your B&g is not acting differently and eating, playing fine, then no worries. Thanks Joe

 

[Cami]

These were Spencers feathers several years ago, stressful time for all.

 

[SandyBee]

Hi Tab,
I found this when googling, It may answer why just 1 feather.

Feather Discoloration
There are several reasons why a feather could have a section of discoloration. If the discoloration is found on just one feather the most likely cause of the discoloration is an abnormality while the feather was growing. When feathers grow in, they are covered in a protective sheath. If that sheath is not fully preened away, it can cause a band of discoloration on the feather.
However, if an owner finds bands of discoloration along all of the bird’s feathers, the marks are referred to as stress bars. Stress bars are an indication of something much greater than feather abnormality. When a bird produces a stress bar, it is indicative of an illness, or time of malnutrition. The presence of a stress bar does not always mean that the bird is sick right now, but it does mean that at the time when the feathers where growing the bird experienced a major stress.

Read more at Suite101: Using Feathers to Determine Parrot Health | Suite101 Using Feathers to Determine Parrot Health | Suite101

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