Over preening/ baby feathers?

[Skye]

Firstly is it normal for birds to have very soft white feathers under their wings when they are young? And ALSO I've provided lola with many toys and try to rotate them so she doesn't get bored. But I still think she over preens her tail feathers because they are all frayed and mangled. She doesn't seem to be plucking (knock on wood) but I just don't want this to become a huge issue. How do I nip is in the butt?

 

[jenphilly]

She may not be preening the tail feathers, but catching them on toys or between bars. How large is her cage? Are perches low where she drags her tail all the time? Does she roll and play? Look has a wood ladder made of beads and blocks, it hangs like a bridge in his cage near the top. I believe playing in that he got his tail caught last week. Victoria came out with him and one feather was bent out to the side.

Spend some time watching him in his cage or set up a camera so you can record a couple hours of what he really does when mom isn't looking! ! Might give you the answers to what is really happening!

 

[Skye]

Thank you for your response! When I first got Lola her tail feathers were already mangled and raggedy but I didn't care since I knew eventually new feathers would come in anyway. She checked out fine when I took her to the vet so I don't think it is a health problem. Her cage is pretty large for such a small birdie but her favorite perch is very close to the side bars so maybe this could be the culprit? She isn't very active, she prefers to stay perched on my shoulder or on her favorite branch, but she uses the bars to get from point A to point B in her cage and is very careless of the damage she continues to do to her tail feathers. In fact, she has broken one of her tail feathers already(not a blood feather thank goodness) and now another one is starting to look like it is ready to break off midway as well. If this is just from her being careless with her tail should I not be concerned about it? I