eating feathers ????

[ac12]

I've seen my societies eating feathers
Not all the time, but occasionally I see a feather shaft sticking out of their beak as they chew on it.
Why do they do that? Is something missing?
They have seeds, pellets, egg mix, miracle meal, egg shell, cuttlebone.
So I don't know what they are missing to cause them to eat feathers.
BTW they are fostering 3 goldian chicks.

[L in Ontario]

I wouldn't think they are 'eating' the feathers but perhaps softening the shaft so they are more pliable to put in the nest maybe. That's my guess.

[atarasi]

I mentioned this a few months ago and no one said anything! Maybe they thought I was crazy. Societies are the only birds that I've seen chew feathers. I think they are eating the feathers....just playing with them. I didn't know what it was until I caught the bird and then pulled it out of it's mouth to examine it. I can't imagine it's a way to prepare them for the nest because they get it all wet.

[ac12]

Based on what the feather looks like in its mouth, only the shaft/quill left, I am guessing that they are eating the rest of the feather.

[CandoAviary]

I have seen my zebras do this and usually I notice that there mineral cup is low also...I just always figured it had something to do with that. I renew the mineral mixture and they drop the feather and go for that..... and end of feather chewing.
In my mineral mix I put ABBA mineral grit, charcoal, (morning bird)mineral powder, eggshell (hatched and my own crushed) and kelp. I also always have a cuttle bone available)
I assume it is a result of a mineral defficiency.

[cindy]

Candace, how do you preserve, clean and prepare the hatched eggshell?

[CandoAviary]

Hatched is a brandname that I buy when I am low on my own.
When I cook raw eggs I rinse the shells in running water. I then microwave them for 1 minute. Once they cool I microwave them for another minute. I do this 4 to 5 times until the shells are really brittle and crush easily. The eggs that I boil for my birds, I sometimes feed as is or I microwave them too for easier crunch.

The eggs that hatch under my birds...well they usually consume the eggshells, every once in a while they will discard a few pieces. Unhatched eggs I always toss.

[cindy]

I was reading that some wild birds eat feathers to help line and protect the stomach from fish bones...any finches sneaking out to eat wild salmon lately?