Bird of no Feathers

I always knew that my big feet would cause great misery and misfortune one of these days.  Yesterday was that day.

Before I tell you this, I just want to make sure you all know that Nimbin is OK and has no serious injuries.  Now that I got your attention...  the story!  Nimbin (my cockatiel) was sitting on my shoulder like he normally does when I'm at home.   I wanted to grab something to eat, so  I put Nimbin on top of his cage and walked over to the kitchen.  Unbeknownst to me, Nimbin flew to the floor and followed me into the kitchen.  I turned around and stepped back towards the living room when and I heard a little shriek.  I looked down, and saw Nimbin running away from me... well, most of him ran away from me.   His tail stayed in the kitchen.

Oh I have never felt so bad about anything in my life!  I caught up to Nimbin and he didn't seem to be hurt... there was no blood on him (or on his feathers).  I am sure his little bum smarted, it's probably like getting a chunk of your hair pulled out (or like being waxed against your will).   The poor little guy!  He looks so strange without his tail!  Here are some pictures:

My poor sweet birdy.  Look at how many feathers came out!  It's unbelievable that all of those feathers were pulled out and there was no blood at all!

The vet wasn't open yesterday when it happened, but I took him in today and the doctor said he will be perfectly fine, although it will probably take a few months before his feathers start growing back.  Thank goodness!   Of course, now every time I look at his little pear shaped tailless body I feel just as terrible as I did when it happened.

Now, in memory of tails lost, here is a picture of Nimbin with all his glorious feathers!  (He is the one on the left).

Oh, and the wild birds must have caught wind of what happened.  This morning, my car was covered in bird poop.