This is the second feather we’ve had to manage during a molting season.

last year it was Jak, and with a different tool on hand, we plucked the problem out.

You cannot remove a broken blood feather with tweezers. They do not grip and pull but instead shred the sheath.
We had a multitool last time and used the needle nose pliers.

This year I was ready with hemostats! You can find them at Petsmart for less than $10 among the medical items near the dog stuff. You can also find vet tape to keep on hand as well 😉

Koi has had a full flight feather only on one side. The question is, “do you cut it until the rest come in?”

One flight feather leaves you with both an imbalanced bird as well as a hazard for injury. It can often catch on something during play.

I found Koi’s feather on the floor with blood still in the tip. These particular feathers need to be removed to prevent further injury. They still have a blood source to the body and aren’t hollow like a fully mature feather. The tip is soft and still growing.

You may need two people and a little bit of water. One person restrains your bird while the other person with the tool may have to wet the surrounding feathers to see where the broken feather is that needs pulled. Hemostats have a lock to them and all you need is to hold the wing stationary and apply a firm pull to the damaged quill.

The bird will not appreciate your “help” and may not “speak to you” for at least an hour.

PS… Did you really do it?
Or did you contact your veterinarian?
If you were successful with this at home and did not harm the bird and have not yet had them sexed…
This may be a great time to contact your DNA lab and find out if your bird is male or female. There should be enough blood here to fill out the specimen card without having to go through the motions of cutting into the quick in your bird’s nail in order to collect the blood sample.

The Arizona Lab for Pet DNA Services