Okay so I should know all of this I'm sure. . . but I have a few questions.

What exactly are blood feathers? What do they look like and where are they located?

So growing up my older sister always said you should pluck "pin feathers" from your birds head if they don't have a mate to do it for them. Is this true? Should I be plucking out the little needle like feathers on Gracie's head? There are really big ones around her neck area. They don't look like normal "pin feathers". They are really big and dark. Are these "blood feathers"??

I'm so confused! lol

Yes, the darkness you're seeing is the blood supply. They're normally bigger in that area than the pin feathers on her head.

This site has a picture of a blood feather:
blood feathers

Do not pluck out blood feathers. When the blood supply has receded from the new feather you can gently help remove the keratin sheath from it in the areas they can't reach.

Here's another pic of a blood feather.

Attached Images

blood feather.jpg (5.5 KB, 27 views)

You DON'T pluck out the pin feathers (if I understand what you are saying)...you very carefully REMOVE the sheathing that is around the feathers...This is what the birds do in preening new feathers as them come in....as for the blood feathers, once the sheathing is WHITE, you can remove that part of the blood feather...just becareful as to not hit the part that still has the blood in it...the feathers hurt during this time and you can get bit!

Gracie has a ton of those little pin feather things around her ears. They look painful like little needles sticking out of her. So I should leave these alone?

Absolutely. Those are new. Has she been through a recent molt?

When the feathers are ready to be released from their keratin sheath, you won't see the active blood supply and the keratin will fall off at the slightest touch. Some birds love it if you help release the feathers and others don't.

When you're sure the blood supply has receded you can try to gently preen her and see what she says.

Well I don't remember seeing many feathers in her cage lately.

there are some blood feathers that are starting to grow out on her neck. However they don't look like they have receded the blood supply yet. I touched one of them and Gracie squawked in pain. Poor baby.

Poor Gracie, they are very painful and the molting process is stressful on their systems. Try giving her some extra showers to keep them soft and lots of TLC.