Fell on the floor:(

[Tosha]

Hi,

 

My grey doesn't fly because of a terrible wing clip by his previous owners. So today he got scared of something in the window and "flew" on the floor. When I came to pick him up I saw that his chest had a little blood on. He doesn't let me touch him so I couldn't see much. But it looks like the skin is split and there is a wound 3 mm (=??inches) in diameter. I had to use a stick with a cotton ball with hydrogen peroxide to clean it as he doesn't let me do anything to him, but I am worried. The avian vet in my area will be in the office only on Monday. I have never faced anything like that with my birds, so I don't know how serious it can be. The bird is playing, eating, talking like always and it doesn't seem to bother him much. Here is a photo:

Does it look serious? Can it heal itself or I need to take him to a vet?

Thanks...

Edited May 8, 2011 by Tosha

[Dave007]

Your bird may have damaged his keel (breast bone).Right now, go to the pharmacy and buy some aloe gel. Coat the area with the gel, don't let him out of the cage until you go to the vet so he can see how serious it is. He may suggest a temporary wrap to use.

In the future, surround the floor that the cage is on with a 6 ft square piece of old rug so any future jumping won't damage the bird.

[Birdnut]

Tosha, hope your birdie is all right. Unfortunately, it will take a while for the previous owner's bad clip job to grow out. This is exactly why these heavy-bodied birds should only get a light clip, if any. :mad:

[Tosha]

Dave007, thank you. I will definitely go and look for the aloe gel tomorrow, but now it is too late in Denmark and everything is closed. Is it not dangerous if a bird swallows some of this gel while preening?

 

Birdnut, He seems to be fine now, playing, talking, singing, eating and wants to get out of the cage really badly. When I got him (3-4 weeks ago) he didn't have any flight feathers on his right wing and now there are 4-5 feathers growing and Anton thinks he can fly now, so he tries to do it. Here you can see his bad wing:

Edited May 7, 2011 by Tosha

[Dave007]

Dave007, thank you. I will definitely go and look for the aloe gel tomorrow, but now it is too late in Denmark and everything is closed. Is it not dangerous if a bird swallows some of this gel while preening?

 

Birdnut, He seems to be fine now, playing, talking, singing, eating and wants to get out of the cage really badly. When I got him (3-4 weeks ago) he didn't have any flight feathers on his right wing and now there are 4-5 feathers growing and Anton thinks he can fly now, so he tries to do it. Here you can see his bad wing:

 

No, the gel is perfectly safe. It's used for many different kinds of wounds, serious plucking which usually leaves raw spots and other problems. The gel is totally harmless. If a bird ingests it, no harm will occur. The gel basically sinks into the skin and softens the area keeping it from drying out. Actually, you should always have a bottle of aloe gel around all the time because birds periodically injure themselves in different areas. Some of those areas are accompanied with blood. It's also good for different areas that dry out making the skin scaly such as legs and feet. It can be used on all parts of the body. Basically, it acts like a first aid ointment that has absolutely no chemicals in it. Some people have aloe Vera plants which also contain the gel but it's messy to use and it needs to be applied properly. The gel has helped many people who's birds that have injuries. Here in the US, a 16 ounce bottle of the gel costs about $5.

 

I can tell you that it's gonna be quite a while for your bird to get back a full set of feathers and my advice to you is to not have the bird clipped again. Remember the rug---in case he decides to jump off the cage. A rug will allow your bird to bounce off the floor with no shock.

PS--don't use peroxide. It burns the skin and a bird will wanna pick at the skin which is no good.

 

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/DSCN0113.jpg

Edited May 7, 2011 by Dave007

[Shelly Yokum]

Bless its little heart, that looks so sore and painful. I hate to hear things like this. I am getting my baby right after I move, so I am hoping the first week in June. I hope she will not have these boo boo's, it will scare me to death, and where I am moving, the avian vet will be over an hour away. So the macs are getting a check up before we go.

[judygram]

That does look like it may be painful but Dave has given you some sound advice, it will be quite a while before Anton has a full set of flights but until then do take Dave's advice about putting cushioning around his cage until he can fly again, poor dear.

[Tosha]

Shelly Yokum,

Congratulations on your new baby and good luck!

 

Judygram, it actually doesn't look so painful, because he is as happy as usual and doesn't even touch the wound. He wanted to go out desperately and was staring at me and calling his name (he actually thinks it's mine!) all day and was hyper active in the cage, so I let him out. But I put blankets around the cage and moved the sofa close to his corner. He was very glad, today I even heard him "laughing" for the first time

 

I wanted to get an appointment at the avian vet today, but she is busy until the end of the week. She is one of the few avian vets in Copenhagen and maybe the best, so she is quite busy.

I think he has had it before. When I got him I noticed there was something like skin flakes in that area and a couple of weeks later I saw that there was a bald area and I thought that he had fallen down and injured himself. And then he did it again.

Edited May 9, 2011 by Tosha