Broken blood feathers

[Asue]

Okay, it's been a while since I've posted, but this seemed like something important, and there isn't a spot for it in the "Emergency" section.

Birdie is a cockatiel that's been living with me for a few months now, last night I forgot to turn on his night light before bed time. Well, I got up to plug it in and heard Birdie thrashing around, I turned on the lights and found him flicking bright red blood everywhere! :x I almost panicked, but then I grabbed him and tried to stop the blood with a bar of soap. That didn't work because his wings are clipped and it was the base of one feather on each wing that was bleeding. I had to pluck atleast two feathers out to stop the bleeding.

I had to call Birdie's owner, Stephanie and she slmost lost it. She was happy that he was alright afterwards. I wanted to know if anyone else has been through this... ?

[Elle]

Blood feathers can be a nightmare to deal with and I am relieved that Birdie is doing well.
The only experience I've had was a few weeks ago, with my new lovebird Phoebie. She broke a blood feather that was growing and it was bleeding.
I had the tweezers and the corn startch ready as well as clean towel in case I would need to pull it. I was dreading having to do it myself. I understand that removing a blood feather can be extremely painful for them.
Luckily, after a few minutes and little blood loss, the bleeding stopped. I won't remove it unless I absolutely have to but even two weeks later I am still keeping and eye on that blood feather. We never know :)

Regards,

[linda040899]

Hi Elle,
This is a very common occurrance with Tiels, which is why a night light is so important with them. When something frightens them, they flap wildly around the cage and can do some serious injury without quick intervention. When I had Tiels, I kept a container of cornstarch as close to their cages as possible just so I didn't have to go looking for it when I needed it!

Glad that Birdie is OK. Good work on your part.

[bellarains]

Hey,

Tiels are prone to night fright, so you will always need a night light for him. If you cover the cage, I would also leave one side uncovered so that he can see, this will help with the thrashing about.

To stop bleeding, use cornstarch or flour. If you pulled both bloodfeathers from the shaft the bleeding should have stopped immediately, if not, he will need to see a vet. You can use Witch Hazel to clean him up and disenfect, then use Neosporin to help with the healing and to deter any bacterial infection.

I hope all is well with him now. Please let us know how he's doing.

[Asue]

Birdie, the tiel, is doing great since the blood feather incident. I've never had this kinda problem with Mikey ( my lovebird ). Maybe I had clipped too many flight feathers from the tiel's wing? Anyway, now I'm better prepared for such a thing. I have a small bar of soap and some flour in the bird supply box.

[linda040899]

Tiels are prone to night frights so it's not anything you've done wrong. I make sure I use night lights with them and covering the cage is usually a great idea. Instead of soap, use either flour or cornstarch. My daughter has a Tiel and you can believe there's a container of cornstarch in plain sight not far from her cage!!