James Harris, DVM
Stress bars might be from follicle damage
 My 5-year-old African grey is unable to grow mature flight feathers on one wing. They grow to three or four inches long, then the follicle gets really narrow at the end and the feathers break when he flaps his wings. They are still blood feathers when they fall out. They also have what I'd call stress marks; when you hold them up to the light there are strips (perpendicular to the follicle) where you can see light through the feather. He is so uneven he's unable to even glide and frequently crashes. I'm very concerned for his sternum, and the wing seems to pain him. I've been to five vets, two of whom are avian diplomates, with no success. Any ideas?
-- Trish German
 I SUSPECT the follicles of your bird's feathers have been damaged somehow, possibly when he fell or flapped his wing against a hard object. It's not unusual for a heavy-bodied bird such as an African grey to injure itself like this in falls after a wing clip. Damage to the germinal tissue can disrupt the blood supply or otherwise hurt the follicle's ability to grow feathers. The result is weak feathers that have stress bars or fall out easily, or both. And it can be a vicious cycle: birds with uneven plumage can't fly properly and crash more often, resulting in yet more trauma to both the wing and potentially the keel.
It may be possible to fix this problem by keeping your bird in a large smooth-sided aquarium long enough for his feathers to erupt and reach maturity without further injury. However, this may take months and may be difficult to manage. It's tempting to take the bird out to play with it, but then if it's startled and hurts itself again you have to start all over. Unfortunately, even if you're disciplined enough to give your bird time to regrow its feathers, it may not be able to. Many of these birds suffer permanent follicle damage and will never grow normal wing feathers again. Your veterinarian can surgically remove damaged follicles so the deformed feathers stop growing, but that, of course, won't solve the balance problem.
James Harris, DVM is owner and medical director of the Mayfair Veterinary Clinic in Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Australia. He founded Montclair Veterinary Hospital in Oakland, Calif., and has served as medical director and chairman of the board for the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Berkeley. Dr. Harris' numerous professional honors include California and National Bustad Companion Animal DVM Awards.
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