neoow Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Oh man. I feel so bad. I caused Alfie to have a little accident today. I came home from work to find water everywhere- not unusual, as Alfie had decided to bath in his water bowl. I mopped it all up, replaced his water and all was well. Alfie then went to have another bath in his water bowl. So I got the mister out as he obviously wanted a bath (but doesn't fit in the water bowl). I got to misting him and I noticed that he was REALLY keen, sticking his wings out and following the mister nozzle. He normally tolerates being misted (so long as he can have a bite of the nozzle from time to time) but never really gets into it. Well he was sticking his wings out to full stretch, rubbing his head on his back and really excited about it. So I moved to the other side of the cage where he had more space to spread his wings and misted away. All was fine until I noticed blood. I stopped immediately (letting him have one final bite of the nozzle) and checked him out. It was coming from the top of his wing, where it meets the body. Not much blood but it was there. It looked worse at first because it has mixed with water but this dropped off and I could see some flecks of blood still - photos attached. I'm assuming he must have just caught it on a toy whilst he was enjoying his bath. He did slip (without falling completely) a couple of times and jumped across the cage to chase the nozzle. I guess he just snagged a feather or something. I don't think it's serious, it's no longer bleeding as far as I can tell, though it is in an awkward position to see. Every time he moves or lifts his wings I try and inspect it. He's eating, talking, whistling, responding to both myself and my housemate and climbing around his cage just fine. He didn't seem to notice it, hasn't picked at it or paid any attention to it. So I think we got away lightly. I'm just upset because he was really enjoying his bath and I caused an injury from it. Lesson learned. Next time, remove the cats from the room and let him out of the cage. Assuming he doesn't immediately fly off then he can be misted up there without fear of catching on anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Aawww. Maybe you did. But it looks like a very little ding & Alfie doesn't seem to be feeling anything but clean & happy. Or maybe you didn't & are just being a text book guilt based parront. Like is it possible he'd dinged himself up beforehand & all the jumping around & water started another minor bleed? It's impossible to say, "Don't worry" when we all know we would. But as long as everything looks like it's back under control, maybe , just in case, you can give Alfie a really good treat to make it up so you can both feel better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 I know how it feels. A couple years ago Greycie and I were rough housing in the bathroom and she was all balled up in a towel. I accidentally dropped her to the hard tiled floor and she hit with a thump and let out a noise. She was not herself for a couple of days and it nearly destroyed me from guilt and worry. She bounced back though...and we still rough house it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 (edited) Even in the wild any parrot can damage a feather and have a little blood loss. The fact that he is doing all the thing that he dose on a normal day, playing, talking like nothing happened is a good sign that nothing happened. For your own well being just keep an eye on him for a day or two because I know you will out of guilt. YOU DID NOTHING WRONG except having fun with your parot and that's not so bad. Edited April 25, 2017 by Ray P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoow Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 Thank you all for the reassurance. Alfie has had a lot of fuss and attention this evening because both my housemate and I have been chatting away to him whilst trying to get a sneaky peak at his wing every time he moves it. Neither of us can see any blood. It's difficult to spot because we have to wait for him to move his wing away from his body. I've attached a couple more photos- you can see when the wing is against the body you can't see anything at all. I'm not sure if you can see it too well in the photo but when he lifts his wing there is a small white spot along the edge which looks a bit sore. However, it's not bleeding. He's currently doing his evening preening routine, making sure every feather is just so. He did give both of his wings a once over but didn't stop at the sore patch or pick at it. I don't think he even noticed it happen! I think the water probably made it look worse than it actually is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoow Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 I know how it feels. A couple years ago Greycie and I were rough housing in the bathroom and she was all balled up in a towel. I accidentally dropped her to the hard tiled floor and she hit with a thump and let out a noise. She was not herself for a couple of days and it nearly destroyed me from guilt and worry. She bounced back though...and we still rough house it up. Glad to hear Greycie made a full recovery.... and still loves to rough-house with you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 I feel for you but Birdhouse is right. Not your fault. It's so traumatic when anything happens to them though. I can commiserate! The important thing is that he is fine and all will be well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brat Birds Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 Neoow, please take a deep breath and remember accidents happen. They are not anyone fault. I do think some of the others are right. You really don't know for sure if the injury happened before you came home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 They play so rough all by themselves it is a wonder we don't find more examples of minor injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 I constantly find dings and small cuts on Bongos face. He wacks his steel bell around and it always ends up hitting him square in the face. He doesn't stop, just attacks it harder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoow Posted April 28, 2017 Author Share Posted April 28, 2017 Thanks all for the kind words. Alfie is doing just fine and I don't think he even noticed that he'd done it. I think I was just worrying a bit too much. I'm guessing he just got snagged on a toy or the cage bars and damaged/pulled a feather or two. You have to really look for it to see it now. The water definitely made it look a lot worse I think! murfchck - Alfie does exactly the same- beats the living snot out of a toy then gets annoyed when it swings back and hits him in the face! There's been several times when I've noticed a new red mark on his face. Never deters him though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 Josey loves to play fight with her heavy duty bell so a little ding on her face from time to time just tells me she is enjoying herself, don't sweat the small stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kya Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 Another thought...I'm all about losing the guilt...It may be that the blood was already dried in the injured area, and the misting just made it run and appear fresh. It could have happened before that wonderful enjoyable bath! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoow Posted May 1, 2017 Author Share Posted May 1, 2017 Another thought...I'm all about losing the guilt...It may be that the blood was already dried in the injured area, and the misting just made it run and appear fresh. It could have happened before that wonderful enjoyable bath! Another possibility. I hadn't thought of that. The water certainly made it look worse- I thought he was bleeding a lot when I first spotted it but on closer inspection it was actually mostly water carrying it away down the wing. Alfie is doing just fine - still trying to bath in his water bowl :rolleyes:. My housemate caught him in the act a day or so ago and gave him a bit of a misting. Alfie tolerated it, but didn't go wild like he did a few days earlier when I posted this thread. It was the first time my housemate had ever misted him, so Alfie might have been a bit confused as to what was going on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittykittykitty Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 Yes, we do worry when something happens and we blame ourselves whether they be our fids or kids. Glad everything is all right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 Pookie is into the kill the toy thing as well and she gets so angry when it comes back to hit her head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 I constantly find dings and small cuts on Bongos face. He wacks his steel bell around and it always ends up hitting him square in the face. He doesn't stop, just attacks it harder! Maalik gets little cuts on his face all the time. Couldn't figure out how he was getting them, but now I'm beginning to think they're from his tossing around his steel toys, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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