No idea what this is. Should I be worried?

[Trinny]

Hi all,

Currently have a green cheek conure and he has been fit and healthy since the day I got him (about 2.5 years now).

Today though I noticed a strange thing on his tail on the underside of it. I've included a picture as I have no idea how to explain what it is. It doesn't look like his usual pin feathers either. Also, just before his coloured feathers you can sort of see where it 'starts' and then where it ends towards the bottom of the picture, but it looks like it should not be there.

Should I be worried about this, or can anyone give me an insight?

 

[weco]

Off hand, it looks like it might be a barbed feather shaft, but it is hard to discern.....can you spread the tail feathers (fan them) & post another picture?

 

[Trinny]

Off hand, it looks like it might be a barbed feather shaft, but it is hard to discern.....can you spread the tail feathers (fan them) & post another picture?

Thanks for the quick reply. I tried to fan his tail feathers out earlier to get a picture but unfortunately he is not keen on me doing this, plus I couldn't see much more than what is in this picture (didn't help that he kept wiggling!).

What is a barbed feather shaft exactly? Just tried to look online but can't find much. He seems perfectly normal and happy, so that is the main thing I suppose.

 

[weco]

A barbed feather or feather shaft is where a bird has stripped the barbs from a feather & left just the shaft.....the barbs are the interlocking parts of a feather & the shaft is the thick center part of a feather. the part they used to make quills pens out of.....