Questions about one of my birds wing feathers

[skiponies]

So I have been doing extensive internet searching as well as reading forums etc and haven't really come across what I was looking for. So I will ask here.
I have 4 lovebirds, 2 green black masked and 2 blue black masked.
The green ones we have had for about 2 years, and the blues just under a year. We got them at the pet store, so I don't know how old they were when we got them.
When we brought the blues home they were clipped by the pet store, but were both flying frantically around the cage before they were caught. So I know that they both could fly and had all their flight feathers.
So one of the blue ones over the next few weeks proceeded to break all of her flight feathers. She has no flight feathers of any length on either wing. Her body plumage is normal, she has tail feathers growing in but I am concerned about whether she will be able to grow flight feathers, or if she is just going to continue to break them as they grow in. The other three are growing flight feathers and are almost fully fledged again, but she does not appear to have molted the broken ones yet to try to grow new ones. I am concerned as to whether she will break the new ones trying to fly because the other 3 can.
They eat Zupreme Fruit, Natural and Fun mixed together, and we have been trying to get them to eat fruits and veggies, but no such luck yet.
They have calcium blocks, and I put egg shells with their food.
So I am wondering if I should just let nature continue to do its magic or think about trying to limit her activity until her new feathers can grow in, or what else to try to do for her?
Except for flying like a rock, she is happy and playful and climbs all over the cage, picks fights with her sister, and generally seems as normal as the other three.
Thanks for the advice in advance.

 

[SailBoat]

Feathers of the Major Flight Structures molt in very precise patterns. When all or near all of the feathers have been cut or broken it can take as short as six months to as long as three years to replace all of the feathers depending the health of the Parrot and the total number that are broken or cut.

We have always allowed Feathers to grow back based on the Parrot's own schedule. This limits the stress place on the Parrot's available resources to produce feathers.

 

[Anansi]

Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forums family!

Sometimes parrots react badly to a clip. I get the feeling this is what happened with your female blue. Often this is caused by the angle and/or choice of feathers clipped, as the wings no longer sit right... or the edge of the feather shaft rubs against them, causing irritation. So they bite off the offending feathers in the hopes of making the discomfort go away.

If she's falling like a rock, you may want to take measures such as cushioning the areas around her cage or tree stand. Other than that, more frequent baths might help with the irritation.

 

[skiponies]

Thanks for answering. I am just concerned that as the new ones grow in she will break them too. Is this likely? She was clipped very minimally as she and her blue sister were new and we wanted them to have the advantage over the green ones, but still be able to catch them if they got out of the cage. We do not plan on clipping them again as they are fairly tame and easily handled. She just flapped so hard that they would pop out and then after a few times of sticking out at odd angles they would break. She didn't seem to care if they stuck out funny or not. I am just worried that as new ones come in she will break them since they don't have any protection from other flight feathers.
Thanks again.

 

[skiponies]

Well, what I was afraid of happened. She started to grow a feather, and it broke yesterday. It didn't bleed that much though. But there are three distinct bars across the feather where the shaft is weak and the feather itself is see-through, like it is missing the barbs to zip it together. So the next step I guess is a trip to the vet for testing for PBFD. Thanks for the answers to my questions.

 

[Anansi]

Wow. I really hope it isn't a case of PBFD. It could be, however, just a case where she is simply biting the feathers off. Some birds allow the feathers to grow back after a clip, while others keep gnawing at the new growths as they come in, preventing them from growing back out.

Another possibility is that she just accidentally broke it.

Please keep us updated as to the results from your vet.

 

[skiponies]

Took her to the vet. He says she checks out fine and to just let nature take its course. Over the past couple of weeks she has started to grow a bunch of new feathers and has several half started on both wings, so crossing my fingers enough survive to give her wings again. Thanks again for all your advice.

 

[LordTriggs]

sounds like she was uncomfortable/frustrated with the rubbing from the clipped wings, or possibly the stress of the move made her do it. Hopefully her wings grow in okay, when you notice the new ones coming in make sure to step up the bathing to help with the itching which should mitigate the problem. Aside from that I'm not sure, she may potentially just have to be a walking bird if she so decides

 

[skiponies]

Since its been a couple of months and I find searching for answers/experiences of others frustrating to not find a follow up or end result I thought I would post an update. A couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, our rock-flying female decided after breaking all of the feathers she grew when everyone else was molting, that she would grow a new set. So far she has most of the feathers on her right wing and about 3/4 on her left and they seem to be healthy and holding up. She is pretty pleased with herself and her renewed flying abilities. So once again, thanks for the input.

 

[Anansi]

And thank YOU for updating! That's wonderful news and I'm fervently hoping that her progress continues!

I think such amazing news calls for some pics, eh?