flight feathers

[tinker]

HI
Tinker is doing pretty good. He is certainly fast on his feet. I do have a question though. When his wings ( wing and a half ) starts to grow in is there blood in them like the other feathers that can bleed when cut and how long should you let them go before they are trimmed again. If he gets any flight at all I can see me chasing all around the house on the ceiling instead of tht floor like we do now. LOL

Thanks

[zlatushka]

I usually (haha) trim Friday's flights (or have them trimmed) just after the semi-annual molt, so twice a year. Of course, there are times that I miss one, but I try not to let that happen too often. There is a great diagram for wing clips in the Resource Library for the board Here. There are some great articles (with and without illustrations in that same section that would be good to read.

[tinker]

That shows me how to trim them. but it doesn't tell me whether there is a blood supply going to these feathers as they are growing in. I think Tinker knows I am talking a bout him LOL since he is quietly sitting with me as I type this. Usually he would be long gone. Loves to run the floors as long as I am behind him trying to get him to step up. :rofl:

[zlatushka]

There is a blood supply while they are growing in.

Here's a quote from one of the articles in that set in the Resource Section "Flight Feather Trimming:
Physiology, Psychology and Philosophy." By Layne David Dicker (http://www.netpets.org/birds/reference/behavioral/flitrim2.html)


A fully grown feather is like hair: cutting it does not hurt but pulling it out does. However, unlike hair, the growth process takes place externally during which time there is blood and nerves in the developing portion of the shaft. Cutting, breaking or damaging this area is very painful to the bird and the resultant blood loss can be fatal (although this is rare with a healthy, mature bird). These "blood feathers" can clearly be seen as the portion of a developing feather still encased in the wax-like karatin sheath. Nature, in it's infinite wisdom, has developed this growth process so that all "living" portions of primary feathers are hidden and protected by the coverts. In other words, if you just trimmed all primary flight feathers along the line of the coverts, you would never hit living tissue. Even with feathers that are still growing underneath the coverts, the portion that extends past the coverts is always fully mature and will have no nerve or blood supply.

and another quote from that group of articles. This one "Wing & Toenail Trimming." By Debbie Maneke (http://www.acstiels.com/Articles/BasicCare/wing.html)

Before you begin hold the bird "belly up" and stretch out the wing you wish to trim. In this position you will be able to see the underside of the wing, look for new feathers coming in that may still contain blood. Do not cut these feathers until they are completely grown in and the blood is no longer in the feather shaft. Be very careful not to cut into the under wing coverts, this will result in bleeding. When you begin trimming start from the outer most primary feathers working your way in toward the secondary flights, making sure to make a clean cut of each feather. (refer to the diagram).

(bold added to quotes)

Hope that answers your question.

[tinker]

Thanks for the info, Rachel Hopefully some day I will have most the info I need, but I doubt it.