big rant incoming thats just me whining
it is SUCH a pet peeve of mine that a lot of artists/writers will mention wing/feather preening as a form of fluff and they ALWAYS mention plucking pin feathers. You don’t pluck them! Pin feathers are the process of new feathers growing in, and if they’re ready, they’re covered in a dry, flakey keratin sheath that originally provides blood to the feathers so it can grow. Preening a pin feather involves cracking this sheath and aligning the barbs on the feathers so they interlock and provide insulation/flight. Generally, plucking isn’t a needed thing, and you only see feather plucking in stressful situations, or other factors like infections, boredom, and hormonal imbalances. It’s usually written as just Character A plucks the feathers and smoothes them out for Character B.
If you’re plucking your friend/partner/family member’s wings, unless it’s needed, you are ruining them!! Feathers naturally shed when they reach the end of their lifespan! If they’re loose, sure thats okay, get it out so its not annoying them, but otherwise its always mentioned and it BOTHERS ME.
anyways im not 100% factual on a lot of these, i could be wrong so feel free to reblog with corrections because i dont own birds and i dont study them so yeah. I tried to do some quick research for this post.