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Urgent Night fright - blood

Khizz

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Hi guys,

So I have had an awful night filled with nightmares about my poor Mabel being really sick and dying :unsure1:

At 1am she had a night fright. When I got there (she was not squawking that loudly so it took me a few mins to figure something was up) she was on the cage bars clearly freaked out with a few drops of blood on the bottom of the cage and Jeff also looking freaked but physically fine.

She had streaks of blood on both wings and by the time I had gotten there the bleeding had already stopped. Unable to do anything else (she is not tame and I feared towelling her would cause more panic), I slept in their room, checking on them periodically. Shortly after she climbed to her favourite perch and went back to snoozing. I just woke up after 5 hours to see the area clean and she looked OK (it's very early morning here so it's too early for me to assess her behaviour).

I am quite new to birds, and my research suggests that this is not bad as long as the bleeding has stopped and there is no change in behaviour. What do you guys think?

Sorry for the long post!
 

iamwhoiam

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It's good that the bleeding has stopped. That is the most important thing. Have some Kwik Stop or corn starch available in case this happens again and you have to stop the bleeding. You can apply either one of those and then put light pressure on the area. If you can't get the bleeding to stop then sometimes the blood feather/s need to be pulled but that is a last resort and probably best to take to vet if the bleeding doesn't stop.
Do you leave a night light on for your 'tiels?
 

Khizz

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Thanks for your speedy response. We always have corn starch on hand so that's good to know. The bleeding seemed to stop quite quickly, which I am happy about.

I don't have a light, but I will start to rethink their sleeping arrangements. At the moment they are in my spare room/office and the curtains are closed at night without a cage cover. I figured a combo of nightlight and partially covering the cage might do the trick?
 

iamwhoiam

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Thanks for your speedy response. We always have corn starch on hand so that's good to know. The bleeding seemed to stop quite quickly, which I am happy about.

I don't have a light, but I will start to rethink their sleeping arrangements. At the moment they are in my spare room/office and the curtains are closed at night without a cage cover. I figured a combo of nightlight and partially covering the cage might do the trick?

My 'tiels are partially covered and I leave a dim light on for them at night. Every now and then Kuiper will still have night frights but at least they have decreased. I do think partially covering the cage and leaving a night light on is helpful. It's good that Mabel is doing OK and sorry that she went through a night fright and broke blood feathers. Also look at the cage. Is it roomy enough so that when she goes through one she is not banging her wings on the bars?
 

Khizz

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The cage itself is big enough (in fact when it turned up it was bigger than I expected LOL!). I don't have the measurements to hand but people here have said it's a good size. However I think maybe the top area where they sleep is too crowded with perches/toys, so I might also rearrange things there too. I've got the day off tomorrow so I'll go hunting for a nightlight.

Thanks again, they have been the most lovely, easy going birds...even when I end up on the receiving end of an 'angry nip' from her it's so gentle I always end up laughing. So seeing her like that upset me, then I went on to have these awful nightmares of her bleeding to death which really shook me up!
 

iamwhoiam

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Understandable to be upset. I've been upset when Kuiper has broken his blood feathers. One time I couldn't get the bleeding to stop and wound up rushing him to the vet. I had to pull out blood feathers because no matter how many times I tried I couldn't stop the bleeding. There was blood coming from one more feather but I couldn't find it and Kuiper was getting very stressed. Called the vet about 30 mins. before the office closed and was able to make it there in time for vet to still be there and take care of him.
 

Khizz

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Aww poor Kuiper, it must have been scary for everyone involved! Glad you could make it in time! What kind of bird is Kuiper? He's not the one in your profile pic right?

It's slightly later than usual, but they are starting their morning "scream-a-thon" and they are moving around. She's still a bit ruffled-looking and hasn't really touched the millet stick but she seems to be on the mend from the racket they are both making! (EDIT: she is nibbling the millet now)

Here she is from the day before, enjoying a sprig of sage flowers.
IMG_20190617_091255.jpg
 

enigma731

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Occasional night frights are just part of life with tiels no matter what you do. Certainly night lights help and it's worthwhile to play around with sleeping arrangements to see what works best, but don't beat yourself up. They'll probably be a bit more tired today, but as long as she's eating/pooping/perching like normal and not acting weak, she should be fine.

ETA: It's possible she didn't actually break blood feathers but instead bashed the tips of her wings against the cage bars in a panic and caused the skin to bleed. That's also common and would make sense with your description. Also, she's adorable.
 

Lady Jane

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Khizz

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OK so I went and bought a kid's night light. Its right next to the cage, but maybe it would be better to plug it in a bit farther away (on the floor?). The sensor has been disabled btw.

IMG_20190619_145736.jpg

Also, would a shower curtain (100% polyester) suffice as a cage cover? They've never been interested in nibbling material through the bars.

I found one blood feather for sure, and I think the other wing either managed to get smeared with blood or get some small skin scratch like somebody mentioned.

They are both definitely quieter and more skitterish today, a bit sleepy (join the club!) and Mabel is a bit ruffled up looking. However, she has had some millet (ok lots!) and is moving around regularly so I think she's just a bit shaken up. She even yelled at me a bit earlier for making too many unpleasant noises while I was cleaning up :lol:
 
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Begone

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I hadn't cover their cages because I know that doesn't help. And they have not been covered before so why start now?
The only thing that helps is blue LED night lamps. I have 3 in their room. They do not disturb their sleep.
Cover the windows instead. You don't want any light from outside at night freak them out.
 

Lady Jane

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Not the best night light. The blue ones are better for birds like I gave you the link for.
 

enigma731

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Mine are similar to the one you already got and they work fine.
 

Lady Jane

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That one looks very nice. Must be a newer kind.
 

iamwhoiam

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Aww poor Kuiper, it must have been scary for everyone involved! Glad you could make it in time! What kind of bird is Kuiper? He's not the one in your profile pic right?

It's slightly later than usual, but they are starting their morning "scream-a-thon" and they are moving around. She's still a bit ruffled-looking and hasn't really touched the millet stick but she seems to be on the mend from the racket they are both making! (EDIT: she is nibbling the millet now)

Here she is from the day before, enjoying a sprig of sage flowers.
Kuiper is a cinnamon white faced. I do find that partially covering him has been helpful. I use a lightweight blanket although for my other birds who are covered I use towels or sheets. He and Callisto (other 'tiel) are in the dining room and the main light is on a dimmer switch so I just dim it so that there is very very low light at night/bedtime. It's not 100% effective but I feel that his night frights have decreased. How old are your 'tiels? Sometimes they grow out of having night frights as they get older.

 

Khizz

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I just wanna say thanks again guys, I feel much better now. I'll update you on her behaviour when I get back from work today. They were still kinda quieter than usual and skitterish this morning, but didn't seem particularly inactive or unwell, and they had a good night despite a really fierce thunderstorm last night.

@iamwhoiam they are 2 years old. This was the first bad one. They had one a few months ago shortly after I got them but nobody was injured, and they were fine after. I put it down to being in a new place at the time.
 

Khizz

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My little fluffenchops seems to be doing much better. After a good night's sleep she's back soliciting cuddles from big selfish Jeff and doesn't scuttle away at the sight of me.

I even managed to get the derpiest picture I have of her:
IMG_20190620_173714.jpg
 

iamwhoiam

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That's a cute photo. Silly 'tiel. Great that she is doing better!
 

enigma731

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OMG she's so cute. I love tiels.
 
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