Urgent Head trauma in little Japanese white eye

Hi all! I was just looking for a little advise on my little Japanese white eye. I rescued the little fledgling last Monday and he’s been doing great, eating really well (though not on his own yet), growing up into being a big boy singing all the time and happy. Well on Tuesday when I took him out to feed him he decided he wanted to fly and flew into the wall. I didn’t think it was too hard that he hit it but I was wrong. He had suffered a concussion I’m sure. He was flopping around and his head was spinning uncontrollably. I picked him up and wrapped him in a towel to keep him still and put him in a padded box with a cover over it. After a little while he even though he couldn’t control his head he wanted to eat. I kept feeding him. He never vomited or anything. Yesterday he seemed better, still off balance and head wobbling but not as bad as the day before only when he got excited his head would wobble more. As for today it’s still early morning hours here in Hawaii so he is still sleeping. I am on a small island with no avian vets here so as I was goggling what to do I stumbled across this wonderful forum! How long do I need to keep him in the dark box? What else do I need to do? Can he recover from this? Thank you in advance and I apologize for such a long thread.

 

Keep him warm, hydrated, quiet.

 

Is there a regular veterinarian on the island you can call? Even if they aren't listed as an avian vet, they might either have one coming in on certain days, be able to call one for advice on how to help, or send you to someone who can help. Vet clinics aren't just isolated shops, like a grocers. They often are a part of a network willing to help you in any way they can. Heck, they may even be able to put you in contact with a rescue who might be able to treat him themselves, if not give you the number of their vet.

If the trauma isn't too severe, he could recover, but it might be a while longer. Birds do mend their broken bones faster than people, but if there's swelling in the brain, he might need anti-inflamatories or antibiotics, maybe even calcium/vitamin supplements to help speed up the recovery process. These things are very tricky for the average person to help you with, as too much can make your bird sick and potentially kill them.

I agree that you should keep the poor little thing calm and quiet while you try to find someone to help. Try not to check up on your bird too often and set up something soft for him to lean against. You can also use an old pill bottle with the bottom glued to a wide lid to place food and water into to make it easier for your bird to eat and drink without having to bend down and potentially fall and cause more damage to their skull.

 

IF you're in HI maybe @tattoosiva or @iamwhoiam might be able to point you to someone who could help, vet-wise.

 

I hope your little bird will be okay!

 

“Poquito” has been seen by a vet but being he is so little weighing less than 7 grams the vet was hesitant to put him on medication because he isn’t to sure if it would do more bad than good for him. He said he is so little and he doesn’t know if his liver is functioning the way it should being that he is so small. Needless to say I got scared and didn’t want to kill him!

He seems to be slowly getting better. Still has a head tilt and his left eye is now open. I feed him regularly but I think he’s getting stir crazy in the little padded box that I am keeping him in. When I take him out to feed him he just cleans and cleans himself, still going off balance at times if he moves too fast. I’m not sure how long he needs to be kept in the box?

 

I don't blame you for not going for the medications. If he's that small, then you likely made the right call here. My vet also talked me out of surgery when Bull lost his leg due to how likely it was to kill him and scared me off of that route, too. It's not a guarantee that everything will be okay, but at least you know you're trying your best for your little flufferbutt.

Did he at least give you advice on how to help Poquito rest and recuperate?

 

He just told me to keep feeding him and to keep him in the box but I don’t know for how long.

 

Maybe you could call him back and ask? My vet was pretty chill with me calling her back to ask questions I forgot to ask while in the office. You're not the first person who's likely called him back for something.

 

Well the good thing is I’m a vet assistant and I work for the vet! Lol we don’t see birds though, actually none of the clinics here do. There was 1 doctor but she left practice. Tomorrow when I go back to work I’m going to ask another vet and see what her advise will be though.

 

I hope your little one will be OK. It's good that he was seen by a vet. Can take a while to recover from a head injury and he may not recover 100%. Sending positive thoughts.

 

Thank you and I hope so too! I’m doing my best with him but the poor guy is going stir crazy in that box! Today is day 2 post injury so I know he still needs time to heal. I just tried to give him a little bit of payaya and he sucked up some juice, he even took a bath in it! I figured maybe he was hot so I put a little bit of water in there and he was trying to bathe. I love the little guy! He is so cute and was doing the weirdest thing today with me, I took him out to clean his box and laid with him a little bit and he did this thumping thing with either his feet or wings then snuggled up real close to me pushing up against me. He’s never done that. Lol

 

Aw, I hope he gets better quickly. Sending healing thoughts your way.

 

How's his progress today?

 

He is making good progress. Thankfully! Our holistic vet took a look at him today and put him on some arnica? So hopefully that will help him. He actually ate some papaya on his own today! Proud momma status here!

 

Ooh, I'd be a little careful with Amica if I were you. How much are you giving the little fellow? I know that stuff's banned in canada because it can cause health issues in humans;

Arnica: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Dosage, and Warning

When taken by mouth it can also cause irritation of the mouth and throat, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes, shortness of breath, a fast heartbeat, an increase in blood pressure, heart damage, organ failure, increased bleeding, coma, and death.​

I hope you watch him for side-effects and continue to be very mindful of his health like you've been doing already.

 

Well I’ve never heard of arnica until now and i haven’t started him on it yet. The vet went to pick it up for me. And he will get 1 drop every 2 hours starting dose.

 

Anyone else have any experience with arnica?

 

When you see the vet you can talk about your concerns. What is your holistic vets name? I have talked to one in Colorado that I really like.