Avian Feathers

Question 1

What is the purpose of feathers? (4)

Answer 1

1. Protection-stop birds from getting sunburned, keep them dry
2. Camouflage- protection, courtship
3. Communication
4. Thermoregulation

Question 2

Thermoregulation in birds? (3)

Answer 2

• metabolic rate is high, allows birds to use more muscles to fly
• temperature is high to help maintain their high metabolism, and feather growth (104.0-108.0)
• don’t have sweat glands

Question 3

Cool heat facts about birds? (3)

Answer 3

1. Feathers provide heat insulation
2. Scales on legs regulate heat loss
3. Can voluntarily constrict blood flow to their legs to reserve heated blood for their core

Question 4

What is a quil?

Answer 4

Whole feather itself

Question 5

What is a rachis?

Answer 5

Shaft of feather

Question 6

What is a barb?

Answer 6

An individual strand of feather material extending from the rachis (another shaft)

Question 7

What is a barbule?

Answer 7

Another extending part of feather from the barb

Question 8

What is a hooklet?

Answer 8

Little hooks coming from the feather edges

Question 9

What are the 5 types of feathers?

Answer 9

1. Remiges (wing feathers)- asymmetric
2. Retrices (tail feather)- symmetric
3. Contour- cover the birds body
4. Semiplume- semi fuzzy
5. Down- keeps the bird warm, insulates

Question 10

What happens if a primary feather drops on one wing but not the other?

Answer 10

The wing that did not originally loose as feather will have the same feather drop to make both wings even for flight.
- captive birds may not do this because they don’t have a need to fly.

Question 11

How do feathers grow? (4)

Answer 11

1. From skin follicles
2. Blood feathers- if broken a bird can bleed out
3. Pin feather- white, newly grown feathers
4. Keratin sheath- covers new, growing feathers

Question 12

Why do birds molt and other facts? (5)

Answer 12

1. Vital for healthy feathers
2. Species specific patterns
3. Maturation phases
4. Requires a huge amount of energy- rely on fat and protein storage
5. Water birds are not waterproof when molting, have to have a land source.

Question 13

What are some feather problems? (5)

Answer 13

1. Stress bars- from hitting the fence causing damage
2. Mites
3. Broken feathers
4. Viral diseases- can mimic mites, affect feather quality
5. Feather picking (behavioral)- usually not medical

Question 14

Broken blood feather problems/what to do? (5)

Answer 14

1. Trauma
2. Can cause serious blood loss
3. Apply pressure
4. Styptic powder
5. Veterinarians can glue it sometimes

Question 15

What is imping, why? (4)

Answer 15

1. Known as the ancient art of feather mending-Fixing a feather so that it is not plucked so that it can fall out on its own naturally.
2. Falconry, rehab- so that the birds can still fly.
3. Skill set
4. Goal is to molt.

Question 16

Viral diseases and aftermath? (4)

Answer 16

1. Budgie fledgling disease
   2.Psittacine beak and feather disease
2. Both are contagious
3. Both can be fatal

Question 17

Why do birds feather pluck and how you can fix it? (2)

Answer 17

1. Usually behavioral
   - enrichment
   - quality time
   - training
2. Can be medical