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Hi,
We adopted my daughter's cockatiel from a bird sancuary in July. We noticed she had a few, funky feathers, as we called them. Since then, as she has molted a few at a time, the new feathers coming in are also weird. They do not lay down normally like the others, rather, they have a curl to them, making her look like shes been in a windstorm. I pulled a couple smaller ones on the top of her wing today to look at the feather shafts, and they look normal, just the feather that curls.
She is a vey healthy and active 2 year old cockatiel that loves to play with my daughter and will squawk in protest if she is left in her cage alone while my son plays with the other one (they share a cage and did so when we adopted). The other cockatiel, who is supposed to be the same age and is also a female, does not have the werid pattern of her feathers.
Is this something we should be concerned about??? I've read up a little on beak and feather disease, but she doesn't seem to fit any of that, as it is not her downy feathers at all, she has not had any diarrhea, vomiting or off feed. They are on a healthy diet of seed mixed with dehydrated fruits and veggies and zupreem pellets (about half and half).
So, any of you out there have similar experiences that you could share with me??? My daughter and I would much appreciate it.
Thanks for your time.

Sadah,

It would be great if you could post some pictures of the feathers you are concerned about. My kids all have some feathers that are curved, and those are the ones that are much shorter than the flights, yet they are still part of the wing. If the feathers are "standing up" there could be a problem with the follicle, in where it makes the feather grow upwards instead of in line with the others.

Sam

There are also diseases that cause the feathers to grow weird. Photos would help, but a trip to an avian vet and showing them what you are concerned about and having a blood test can rule those things out. I hope it is just weird follicles!

Thanks for the replies!
I can try and take pics, but to be honest, to try and get them on here is going to be a huge challenge for me-I'm only computer savey for a few things!! The feathers are on her wings, the shorter feathers and on her breast. When I pulled the couple out, it looked like the follicle just twisted, but otherwise looked healthy. I will try and get her to the vet as soon as I can. Right now I have a driving restriction due to surgery I had on my knee a week and half ago. I'm also not back to work yet, so there is a little $$ constraint. I'll just keep a good eye on her for now and maybe my son can help me get pics up.
Thanks again!

There are varying symptoms of PBFD, and the only way to know for sure wether a bird has PBFD or not is to get it tested. Birds could be infected with a disease for weeks, months, even years before they show any visual problems... i.e. the disease can remain dormant.

Have you gotten pics yet?

I'd highly recommend an avian vet visit. A general checkup is usually about $40-$60, with tests rangings from $100-$300 if not more. Speak with an avian vet and see if they'll accept payments or???

I am really curious about what the vet would say about those feathers. Keep us updated