Feathers in general

Hello all!

It's been a while since I've had time to post. Anyways, on to the question at hand.

Bella has been growing in some new tail feathers, and her old ones are getting quite tattered. I'm concerned about this...is she unhappy and overpreening, or do you think she's just trying to rid herself of them so she can have the new ones?

Also, I always assumed Bella is a "she," even though she favors women, but some of her new tail feathers are growing in all red (no pale grey) while a few have some grey at the edges. Any ideas?

Overall, her feathers look pretty good, but a few of them have white "spots" on them (probably made through feather-to-beak contact) and a few look "nipped."

Do you think she's happy? Or overpreening? Or sick? Or am I just an overconcerned mommy? If I could figure out how to post pictures, I could probably post a few for you to look at.

Thanks!

Alyssa

P.S. She's 8 months old on Friday, and for those of you who are interested, she's talking a bit..."Bella, uh-oh, hello, love you," etc. ;D