Hello. I was woundering if arching the tail feathers is ok to do? I just mean cut a tiny bit off to get the scragly ends off. I just saw a video and when the guy did a flyback the tail looke horrid and it actually in my oppinion took away from the beauty of the effect. is this ok?

Hey Magic_Man,
It is fine to trim the tip of the scraggly feathers. Cutting the feathers will not hurt your bird. Feathers have no feeling, just like your own hair. They only hurt when you pull them out. I have never heard this procedure called "arching", but maybe you mean cutting the feathers in an arched shape.

If you are new to doves, you should also know the following info. If you ever encounter a feather that has blood in it, meaning a dark-shafted feather that looks thick and weird, avoid cutting it. This is a feather which is still growing in. This feather is called a "blood feather" and it will soon become white-shafted and dry like the others. All feathers start out this way when growing in, but if you cut them when they are full of blood they will bleed profusely. It really looks scary on the bird's white feathers and your bird can lose a lot of blood.

If this ever happens, you quickly must grasp the feather with your fingers or tweezers and with one sharp pull (like tweezing an eyebrow) extract the bleeding feather. The quicker and cleaner the pull, the easier for the both of you.

Then, when the bird has chilled out a bit, you can put her in the sink with about 3" of lukewarm water and let her bathe. She will enjoy the water and come perfectly clean.

Any more questions, please feel free to pm me.
Autumn

Excellent advice, Autumn. Arching is a term I've heard before and it does refer to the curve of the tail feathers.

Thanks, Dave! And thanks for defining the term "arching". I had not heard of it before.

Ya I just meant cutting them into an arche shae. thanks a lot autumn, great advise I will make sure to look out for blood feathers. also whn you arch the tail feathers will the ends stay non- scraggly or will they just look the same as they did before?

Magic_Man,

Arching the tail feathers will give you the nice neat appearence you desire. Kind of like getting a haricut. Over the course of time, the feathers will grow back out and then you can choose to trim them again. Hope this helps. Good luck with your doves!
Tony

Ok so why doesn't more people do thhis if it makes the doves look better?

I think they are afraid of hurting the bird. Or they run out of time. Or they just think the audience cannot see the cruddy looking tail feathers. I always want my birds to look their best. We all should, but sometimes magicians just get numb to the way our animals and our props look.

Some magicians use badly banged-up props, sooty flash pans, and dirty silks. Some close-up magicians run around with dirty nails and poor manicures. I used to work in a magic shop and saw this first-hand (no pun intended). I always had to get the guys to clean their nails. Geez! After 6 months they knew where to get a good $12 manicure and they discovered the pleasures of having a pretty woman hold their hand and file their nails.

Well I just did it it only took about a minut and it looks really good. I only had to cut off a centimeter or so so it still has the full tail look.

Now you must watch your birds all the time to keep them looking like that. It won't take long in a cage to make the feathers scraggly again. If you look at your other post about this, I have answered your question about trimming. I state it here again though. While we like to have nice looking birds, don't trim them just for that reason. Do the trimming before a show. If you get a chance to watch the Shimada video, check out his birds. They have the worst looking tails I have ever seen yet noone mentions it. That's because most people are just impressed with the production and not how the tail feathers look.

Thanks guys. you guys have great advise I am so glad I have the ability to call upon the endless knowleedge of seasond profesionals!

Our pleasure, magic_man204. Glad your bird looks nice again.

So true, Dave. Shimada's dove's tails are rather scruffy. I never saw Lance use a scruffy dove or parakeet. As for me, if my birds looked scruffy I would worry about lay people thinking that I was careless with or abusive to my birds.

Same here it just doen't look like you give a care!

Again, I don't believe the average layman really notices the difference. Using Shimada again as an example, he shows a lot of care for his birds on stage but still has very scruffy looking birds and he has been successful for many years. The tail feathers are only going to be visible if you do a toss out or excercise the bird in any way during the performance. The normal production and vanish doesn't give the dove a chance to spread it's tail feathers enough to be seen.

Now don't get me wrong with all of this. I too believe the bird should always look it's best and make sure the feathers are smooth and even, before every performance. It just makes me feel better.

I have also heard of using talcum powder or flour to help stop a bird from bleeding. This was recommended to me by a vet because it apparently helps the blood clot quickly. I'm not sure if this works if a blood feather is cut, however. Any ideas?

Nathan

Nathan, the best thing to do is pluck it out. A blood feather as Morning Star pointed out will bleed profusely and the time you spend trying to get flour onto the wound could be fatal. Plucking out the feather will stop the bleeding immediately and the feather will grow back.

There is a product on the market called quik or quikstop that is used primarily when clipping their nails and it will work on the feather is applied quickly and depending on how deeply you have cut into it. It comes in a powder and a paste format.

Hi,
I will trim the feathers before a show if they really look bad. If the feather is just a bit rough at the end I may not bother. It seems to happen because the bird insists on thrusting his tail between the bars of the cage. I have a plenty large cage with lots of room, yet the D*** dove insits on ruffling his feathers this way.

B

I rarely trim my bird's toenails. If I do, I am VERY careful. In the light, you can see that the toenail is transparent. You can see the pink living part, or the "quick". If the bird's toenails are doing the Howard Hughes thing, just trim the very tip. The white tip has no pain receptors and no vein. It is just like trimming your dog or cat's toenails. You gotta be careful and hold the critter very still.

Hey morningstar, seems like we are always on the same wavelength. You know what they say about great minds I never clip the toenails either. Instead, I use an emery board or very fine file to just remove the very tip of the nail. I usually do this just before a show. It's amazing how much that helps. Without the tip, they can't put the nail through a bag or holder. I also put a sandpaper bottom in my cages. As they walk around, the sandpaper gently files the nails. Of course this only works if you don't use a wire floor. Clean up is easy. Just dump the paper and their business and replace it.

Under waht sircumstances do you trim the toenails? and what is the Howard Hughes thing?