i was helping ross get some stubborn pin feathers he had and im afraid i might've picked a blood feather....seeing how ive NEVER actually seen one and not sure what im looking like, id rather be safe than sorry....the tip of it looks greyish/blue kind've dark...but when i looked at the tip it didn't look broken, so when i squeezed it, a bluish liquid came out of it...not blood tho. so do i need to worry? he appears to be fine, but ive heard horror stories bout them coming out improperly.....should i worry?

I think you are fine. Take a look at the skin and make sure it isnt bleeding. I have done that before too (actually I sent one of those in for a DNA test when I pulled it by accident.) The problem can be when a blood feather BREAKS and is still attached. That will cause them to keep bleeding until it is pulled all the way out. You just pulled a pin feather all the way out. It shouldn't be a problem (but Im sure he yelled at you!

As long as the whole quill came out it will be fine, as Nikki said its when a blood feather cracks or breaks that the problem starts. Think of it as a cut to a major blood vessel...on us. it will bleed like crazy and if left untaken care of, the bird can bleed to death in a relatively short amount of time, if its a large feather such as a primary flight feather or a tail feather with a large shafted quill.

A birds feather is like that of an ink pen cartridge. if you bend and break open the tube where the ink is it will leak out... but if the whole quill is pulled the blood source is gone so it won't continue to bleed only a drop or two. The feather remains a blood feather until it is totally grown in and then the blood supply stops.

ohhhh thank you both for the help!!! i def. did not see any blood on him or the feather, and i really looked too....it just scared me being a new bird owner.

Andies mom you are soo good describing things for us "newbies"....thank you!

So how exactly do you identify blood feathers?