Chewing feathers Q

[Tinka]

Zuri is now 10 months old. I've had her since she was four weeks old and hand-fed her. I don't know if you can say I am still hand feeding her, but she sure loves organic oatmeal and will eat all of it if I feed her with a spoon, but will leave about a third to half if left to eat it on her own. She is on a regular birdie diet of pellets (Zupreem fruit), fruits, veggies, cooked meat (whatever we have for supper) and some seeds. She's a very good eater.

If we are home, she is out on her play stand. She plays well by herself when I'm busy, but of course loves the attention when she can get it.

She started talking when she was about five months old. Her first words were a full sentence: "What are you doing?" And she hasn't quit since then. She mixes words and noises in some unusual ways - all very pleasant to listen to.

Now for my question (bet you thought I'd never get to it lol): When Zuri was brought home (at four weeks of age,), the breeder told me that the day she learns to fly to bring her back and she would clip her wings - don't allow her to become accustomed to flying. Well, at 8-1/2 weeks old, Zuri took her first flight, right out the door of her cage to make a perfect landing on the back of a chair. So off to the breeder we went to have her wings clipped.

THE VERY NEXT DAY we noticed that the feathers of her left wing along the bottom had a ragged appearance like it had been chewed on; the right wing still had a nice clean cut line along the feathers. I watched her very carefully all that day and never saw her chew or pick on them while she was out on the play stand.

But while she is in her cage, she somehow puts her left wing over her head and slips the tip of her wing between the bars to hold it steady while she very carefully "clips" the feathers of that wing. But she only chews along the bottom of her wing, not the top and only her left wing. And she has persisted in this to today. She doesn't do this anywhere else on her body - although I can't say that her "grooming" of the rest of her body is up to par because there are times when she looks like she's had a "bad hair day" and her feathers look just terrible. When I watch her try to groom it seems she gets frustrated after a few minutes and after a few harder pokes at feathers that don't seem to respond the way she wants she gives up.

She has many toys to play with - lots of soft and hard chewing ones included - and doesn't seem to ever be bored. She still talks up a storm and is very loving. I just don't know what to do about her chewing her wing or how to help her improve her grooming methods.

I am thinking that we made a mistake by not allowing her to fly for a couple weeks, but I don't know for sure. She was so young when she had her first wing clip. If I could do it over I would never have had it done. Can anyone come up with anything - suggestions, comments, to help Zuri get over this? Please help.

[Lisa B]

It could be the cut feathers are poking her in the side. sometimes when they are raggedy, they fill fuss with them. once they grow back in, she should leave them be.

[Tinka]

That's just it - she doesn't give them a chance to grow back in. Her left wing has been bare naked since it was first clipped. Why do birds have to be so difficult to understand? I want to help her, but I don't know how or what to do for her or what she might need that I am not supplying. (sigh)