Bent tail after clipping.

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Bent tail after clipping.

by Vickie
(Illinois)

I just clipped my budgie's, Mishka, wings, only half-an-hour ago or so. I noticed moments ago that her tail was bent down vertically while on her perch, unlike my other girl, Danya, whose tail goes out on an angle like every other budgie.
Is this just an issue with her balance? Or is holding her tail down straight just a way to show her discomfort.
She reacts to me and my family like she has done in the past, and I don't see a change in her attitude so far.

Comments for
Bent tail after clipping.

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Oct 06, 2010

Bird with balance issue
by: The Avian Vet

It is very likely a balance issue. Wing clips can cause a bird to be off balance especially when too many feathers are taken off.

Dr B

Oct 06, 2010

Bent tail after clipping.
by: Linda

If you only clipped the 6 long primary flight feathers at the end of each wing, the clipping has nothing to do with the tail. If you clipped up any higher, on the wings, then she is in chronic pain and crippled until they grow back in in 6 months or so.

It could be that one or more tail feathers were bent and possibly broken during the wing trim which is not a problem unless one of them was a blood feather, and you'd have already seen blood. Anytime a blood feather is broken, it must be pulled straight out from the body, the way it is growing out, using needle nose pliers or bird will bleed to death. Broken blood feathers do not coagulate and keep bleeding until pulled out. Always keep a pair of clean needle nose pliers handy in case you ever have to pull a broken one out.

Otherwise, bird will be okay in a few days unless you cut too much wing feathers in which case, bird will be in pain for a long time.

Linda

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