Tail feather sheath questions

[MagicalMerlin]

Hello' I had some questions about tail feather sheaths.
Merlin won't preen his own, so I gently pull the sheaths away as I can.
I found a weird section of sheath, which Merlin readily let me peel off.

Last year his vet did take off similar sheath pieces, but she attributed it to poor diet and cage conditions.

Also as I was peeling the sheath away, I noticed a slight dampness and a slight smell. Which did not seem normal to me. Merlin let me get most of it off, even where it felt damp. He seemed relieved.

Has anyone seen anything like this? Thanks!

 

[s_car_go]

That looks normal to me.

 

[SailBoat]

As stated above, it looks normal - possible a bit thicker, possible a little darker, but not way-out of normal.

I think that the slight smell and dampness are related and likely due to the extended time that the sheathing was in place and it holding some moisture as a result of a bath or like moisture source. Be a bit more aggressive about cracking them a bit earlier.

MAC tail feathers are long and it is likely that Merlin (great name for a MAC) sheaths are a bit thicker than normal or he just likes his 'staff' to handle the small stuff!

Try to crush the sheaths a bit more targeting breaking them in half and not trying to slide sections off.

Hello' I had some questions about tail feather sheaths.
Merlin won't preen his own, so I gently pull the sheaths away as I can.
I found a weird section of sheath, which Merlin readily let me peel off.

Last year his vet did take off similar sheath pieces, but she attributed it to poor diet and cage conditions.

Also as I was peeling the sheath away, I noticed a slight dampness and a slight smell. Which did not seem normal to me. Merlin let me get most of it off, even where it felt damp. He seemed relieved.

Has anyone seen anything like this? Thanks!

 

[MagicalMerlin]

Thank you! That makes me feel so much better!