FINCHforum

I see the bone feather tips on the wings only on one of the 3 juvenile gouldians. I was wondering if this part of the molt or maybe some type of mite issue.

Looked at the feathers again and saw that new greener feathers are developing. So i guess its part of the molt.

Looking at your picture, I cannot see any bones but I think what you may be seeing are the "feather shafts" that have not released the new feathers yet. Those are a very normal part of moulting.

feather shafts... that's the word i was looking for. Thanks.

You're most welcome. The sheaths protect the newly emerging feathers as they develop. As the feathers grow and become more prominent the birds will preen and open/remove the sheath encasing the feathers.

Technically I guess the shaft is the centre portion of each feather and those do not get removed but rather hold the feather in place on the bird's body.