Diana does all of that. Plus she squeezes the blood out of pin feathers and swallows it. Some mornings her pins that were on her breast last night are gone, but are not in the cage. She has to be swallowing them. She's a vampire bird.

I told you she is naked. I wasn't kidding. She keeps her entire body sleek and smooth except for wings and tail.

Annie

 

My goodness, I of course had heard a fair amount about different birds who pluck their feathers... and I think I even recall Annie or someone mentioning once the little pin feathers would be "gone" (eaten)... but I guess I envisioned that being like kids who bite (and then chew up and swallow) their finger nails (instead of just biting them off and tossing the fingernail tidbit away).

 

But I NEVER realized some birds suck the blood out of the feathers they pull.

 

So much is said about birds plucking their feathers out of boredom or stress or medical illness reasons... but once that habit starts and it continues on & on- has any thought been given to it being related to the bird thinking it "needs" something (i.e. blood) from those feathers ?  Like an outdoor cat sick with leukemia will lick the rust off a 55 gallon drum burn barrel to get minerals or something it feels it's body is lacking.  Are some of these birds perhaps now addicted to the feather shaft or blood or think there is something in there that aids their body (as opposed to them doing it only for mental stimulation reasons) ???

 

Not sure I phrased that correctly.  Does my question make any sense ?