split quils

[Guest]

does anybody know what causes this ive been told its due to a gland that stops producing something ive not seen one but was told its like running a stanley blade down the centre of the quil and sometimes if you hold the wing spread up to the light you can see light through the split,this means the feather is dead, the reason im asking is ive been advised to check this when at a sale and if a pigeon has this "No matter what its bred or how its performed not to buy it" so could you please advise me if i should heed this advice

[bewted]

and what are the other feathers like or is it just the one feather only ?

[Guest]

I was led to beleive it may only be 1 flight also only on 1 wing

[bewted]

at a guess;it could have had a knock sometime in its past while growing that feather !!!  or something like it,maybe missed meals for a few days !!!

 

do you own the bird or some one elses bird ?

[Guest]

No it was advice given to me to be aware of if buying in birds particularly at sales/auctions

[bewted]

ok tonyw.....going by instinct of what you say,,,i think someone is pulling your leg,but,i stand corrected as i have never heard of this before ,,,,,a split across the quill yes,but,not along the shaft of the quill !!!!

 

i hope someone can shed some light on this for you,but,at the moment i think someone pulling your leg and sorry if i am wrong on this !!!!

 

                               ted

[andy]

I was led to beleive it may only be 1 flight also only on 1 wing

 

Yes, Your absolutely right one of my best widowers over the last four seasons had his third flight, only, on one wing with this problem. As a youngster he was fine but after his first moult and thereafter each season the flight split about two-thirds from the end right down the quill. The cock won loads of federation positions and about £4000 in prize and pool money. So theres another  theory to be looked at. Only one thing you can sure of is, if your auntie had baws, she'd be your uncle!!!! ;D   

 

i dont think it would effect it any being the third flight ,, maybe if it had been one of the last 4 flights it would have, but as far as it being hereditory , i dont think so , unless its uncle or its aunty had it s well ;D ;D ;D [or brothers or sisters or its off spring] my veiw is its been slightly damaged at the base of the quill at some time or other ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but as far as that bird goes , i wouldnt worry about it ;D ;D ;D     i have seen birds moult kind of brittle flights , i have found this to be caused by poor feeding when moulting [i,e to much bad barley b4 theve finished the moult,] thats why i like seeds , oils etc whilst moulting plus a good mix of protein ,,,untill the last flight is fully grown , then its cut down a bit

[Guest j v ward]

yes i have seen split quils the pigeons with this are no good as they have been under stress and have stopped extracting goodness from linseed

[EAGLEOWL]

i thought it was quill mites that live inside the quill

[Guest]

I have never heard of split quills before, so I think Andy's post on it is a very good one as it helps us and also gives clues as to whether it should be a real worry or not:-

 

(1) Only one pigeon and one feather is involved. Doesn't seem to bother the pigeon at all - it has won with and without the condition.

 

(2) If only a single bird and a single feather, then it has nothing to do with feeding or digestion, or mites because other feathers / birds would surely also be affected?

 

Wim Peters has a few lines on it on page 278 of his book; 'believed to be of genetic origin'. From that I take it he means a defective gene (s) as he says it can be 'bred out'.  

[Guest]

Thanks for youre replies guys much appreciated

[Guest]

In showing circles a damaged flight of any kind would simply be cut off half way down,left for 2 weeks then pulled out completely,new flight grown in 6-8 weeks,so the pigeon would be back to normal again then.

[Guest]

The condition is described as split along the length of the shaft, rather than across it, or in it like a quill mite-hole (s).

 

Wim Peters [WP] says "the shaft is split down the centre, usually for 1 - 3 centimetres. The part which attaches to the body is intact and splitting starts about 2 centimetres from the bottom of the shaft "  [i.e. split is all above skin level].

 

Andy has described the affected feather being moulted and regrowing with the same condition - which bears out WP's belief that it is genetic in origin. There's defective gene (s) there so the bird will have this all its life.

 

Andy has also confirmed it has no affect on the bird's racing abilty, but I suspect that it is a condition which would fail a show bird.

 

[jimmy white]

in my experience chrissy,, if this is done , the new flight grows a fraction shorter of the original one [dont get on to me chrissy, only my opinion ;D ;D ;D]

[Guest j v ward]

have you seen page 61 in this weeks bhworld ask the vet about split quills