White feather???

[Jessxoxo]

My cheech finally took a bath, he's not very happy about it, but he did! But I noticed he's got a lot of white feathers under his wings and under tail! Is this normal? Should I be concerned?

 

[Karigan]

Don't worry, it just looks like down, the white fluffy under layer. When they bath, the feathers stick together and hang just like human hair so you can see them better. You've probably noticed a puff of white feather floating around the room after he preens, it's the same thing.

 

[Jessxoxo]

Shewwww ok thanks! But I do notice it in patches under his wings when he's not wet!

 

[MonicaMc]

That's his insulation coat!!!

The white feather you should probably pay attention to, whenever you see it, is the one at the base of the tail/lower back region. It's the uropygial gland, aka preen gland. Not all parrots have it, but many do. The gland can sometimes get infected or impacted which can bother the bird. Seems to me to be a rare occurance, as I rarely hear of any birds with problems of the gland.


Preen gland from different species may appear differently. Here's a couple of articles. One about, one including diseases of the gland.

preen gland (bird anatomy) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Diseases of the Uropygial Gland

 

[Karigan]

You can see it at odd times, the feathers on my sennie seem to be thinner around the connective tissue under the wings.

 

[Jessxoxo]

Thanks all!