Do baby budgies lose their tail feathers?

Question

i have recently purchased an 8 week old yellow and green budgie, he is male and we called him Henry. he acts like all of the budgies we have had in the past, if there is any difference, it is only that he is daft. He cannot fly yet but is learning by throwing himself off his perch and flapping his wings. so he is learning like most budgies, but his lovely thick tail, he has pulled out. i am worried, is he just pulling out his baby feathers or will they not grow back. is there a reason he might be doing it? bethX

Answer 1

Perhaps he broke off the feather while doing his acrobatics!  In any event, even if he is molting, it's gonna take quite a while for his feather to grow back in.  

You did not mention whether his wings are clipped.  That would make for a very difficult flight experience indeed, and he would be crashing everywhere!

He'll be fine.  Enjoy him!

Answer 2

Well my friends have a bird called Jackie and she plucks her own feathers out i dont know why but it turned into a habbit to her. Its not hurting her its probarbly just a habbit yes they do grow back.

Answer 3

I don't know why he is doing it, perhaps he's molting and the loose feathers bother him. If he continues to pluck out ALL of his feathers, it could mean a disease called "French molt", which is really really bad for budgies. If he plucks out enough of his feathers to the point that you can see his skin, get a vet.

Otherwise, he's probably molting and yes, feathers do grow back.

Have fun! :)