A blood feather is a new feather that is growing from a follicle in a bird's skin. It contains an artery and a vein with a circulating supply of blood running through the quill. The quill is the part of the feather shaft closest to the body. Blood feathers are often called pin feather because when they first emerge, they look like pins or spikes.The drawing on the left is of a mature feather.


This is my drawing of a growing blood feather.On your cockatiel, the differences between blood feathers and mature feathers are quite visible. A blood feather has a dark bluish/purple quill which is shaped like a very thick tube. The dark color is blood. Mature feathers have an opaque white/gray colored quill and are thin, because as the feather grows, the blood recedes.

Blood feathers are tender and sore.Handling your cockatiel roughly,moving the feathers, or if the bird bumps into something, is painful for your bird. When a blood feather is broken, the bird bleeds profusely and can die. The broken feather needs to be pulled out from the skin, in order to stop the bleeding. Once the feather is pulled, the follicle in the skin closes, the bleeding stops and a new feather begins to grow. If the feather is not pulled, the bird must be closely monitored because as soon as it bumps into something the bleeding will start all over again. The only permanent way to stop bleeding is to pull the broken blood feather out.

How to Pull a BROKEN Blood Feather

Dr. Margaret Wissman,in an article written for the Humane Society, USA, describes the proper way to remove a broken blood feather: "It is easier for 2 people to do this, one to hold the bird in a towel, and one to pull the feather out. Use needle nose pliers or a hemostat. *Do NOT use tweezers they won't work* Gently extend the wing and support it so delicate bones are not broken during the process. Grasp the feather at the base, the part closest to the skin, and give it a one firm, smooth pull in the direction of feather growth. The feather should come out of the follicle. After the feather has been removed, apply Clotisol (or Kwik-Stop available at pet shops and avian veterinarians) sparingly with a cotton-tipped applicator, to the follicle. Apply direct and moderate pressure to the follicle the feather was pulled from using a sterile gauze pad for 1 minute. If you don't have Clotisol which is only available through your veterinarian, use styptic powder, cornstarch or flour. This should stop the bleeding. If a clot forms, be careful not to dislodge it. If bleeding does not stop within a few minutes, apply pressure with a sterile gauze pad and go immediately to your avian veterinarian." Broadview Animal and Bird Hospital in Seven Hills Ohio has added the following. The entire feather shaft must be pulled from the follicle in your bird's skin when pulling a blood feather or it will not stop bleeding. Before pulling a blood feather, find the exact spot where the feather goes into the skin on your bird's wing. You will feel a bumpy spot in the skin. This is where the follicle ends inside the bird's body. To ensure that the entire feather shaft is removed, apply pressure by pinching the wing, right above the bumpy spot. The finger you use to pinch with should move forward in a sliding motion, at the same time you are pulling out the feather with the pliers. This will force the shaft all the way out of the follicle. You will know for sure that you got the entire feather out if there is a round bulb at the tip of the feather. Dr.  Wissman states that birds with a liver or bleeding disorder, or an infection, may lack the ability to clot blood. She cautions that these birds may die from bleeding from the follicle after the feather is pulled out.

NOTE: Kwik-Stop is a styptic powder that contains Benzocaine, an anesthetic. It can be used on broken blood feathers, beak, toenail injuries and topically on minor cuts of a bird's skin. It is NOT the same as styptic powder you purchase at a pharmacy.

If you are afraid to do this, can't get your cockatiel to a veterinarian immediately because it's very late at night, a weekend or just too far away for an emergency situation,  spread your bird's wings and apply Quick Stop, styptic powder, cornstarch or flour with a Q-Tip dipped in water to the break. Apply sterile gauze using pressure until the bleeding stops. This should stop the bleeding until you can get to an avian vet to have the feather pulled out properly. If you don't have an avian vet and live in the USA or Canada, you should be able to find one CLICK HERE

What Causes Broken Blood Feathers? Feathers can be broken accidentally when the bird is preening, itself,  has a flying accident, or when it thrashes around in the cage from being frightened or having night frights. Broken blood feathers also occur when a growing feather is accidentally cut during wing clipping. Feathers being clipped too short are a contributing factor to frequent breaks in blood feathers. While  not the primary cause, very short feathers do not allow the proper amount of protection for new  growing feathers if the  bird accidentally hits them . Instead of the longer flight feathers taking the brunt of the impact, the blood feathers that have grown out past the length of the exposed, short feathers, break on impact when hit. Lesson here is that when clipping, be conservative.

If you suspect that your bird may have broken a blood feather while you were out, but the bleeding has stopped,it is still advisable to pull it out. Bleeding can start again if the bird bumps into something. Check your bird carefully under the wings and tail feathers daily. Take note where blood feathers are and the condition they are in. Look for signs of breakage. This is really the only precaution you can take. By knowing the location of blood feathers, if your one does break one, it will be easier for you to find rather than searching through a mass of bloody feathers.

       

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