Pictures Poor cockatiel has blood spots on his wings, picks same spot (not feather plucking)

[Metakrystal]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for looking.

My poor cockatiel has been making squawking sounds and picking at the same spot on his wing. He turns around to his left and goes into the feathers on the top of his wing, sort of the equivalent of our shoulder blade, starts picking at it.

I was wondering what he was up to so I put some water on the area and pushed the feathers back to find dried blood spots around the area!!!

There’s no feather plucking except for the occasional loose feather like normal molting. No visible bald spots when the feathers aren’t wet and pushed back either.

Can someone please help to identify what is going on? Should I be really concerned? Please help..

He’s 14 years old this year, a very happy bird, no behavioural issues, comes out to fly around a few times a day. He eats mainly pellets with dried fruit, some sunflower seeds, occasional bread and wheat snacks, lettuce and sometimes fruit.

 

[painesgrey]

Unfortunately, it's impossible for us to say what could be going on. It could be a reaction to mites or another skin irritant, or it could be indicative of some kind of self-mutilation/psychological behavior. Your best bet would be to take him to an avian vet so they can put their hands on him and do any required tests.

Given that it's an open, bleeding wound, I would have him seen ASAP. Infection can set in and quickly become devastating.

 

[Metakrystal]

UPDATE

I went to see my avian vet, didn't want to leave anything to chance!

Just here to update everyone or help someone with a similar issue:

Good news! Mont, my cockatiel, is okay!

The vet said that he may have incurred a small trauma at that part of his wing, through a night fright or something like that. Mont may initially have been trying to fix the feathers himself, but every time it healed over and got itchy, he may have picked a scab off and restarted the cycle. The vet cleaned off all the blood spots and scabs, so they got pretty flat, which he said would help Mont stop picking at it. The vet was happy with the condition of his skin (no infection, parasites etc.).

I will have to observe him and try to stop him if he's picking at the area. Other than that, the vet said that it should heal up in about a week!

If he does continue mutilating himself, the next step would be to fashion a collar and/or give him some anti-anxiety medication. But the vet was very reluctant and unhappy about these options, and didn't quite want to put Mont through any of that if there were other ways to help him heal.

As for the photos, the vet said those sticks are what new feathers growing out normally look like. So for anyone who sees them, those are NOT ingrown feathers, they are perfectly healthy new feather stems. There are also no follicle issues or cysts. The skin is flat and healthy, no open wounds, and those scabs on the skin are initially from flight/fright trauma, then from continuous mutilation of the scabs.

Thank you for your support!

 

[sunnysmom]

I'm glad he's okay.

 

[pawfectly]

UPDATE

I went to see my avian vet, didn't want to leave anything to chance!

Just here to update everyone or help someone with a similar issue:

Good news! Mont, my cockatiel, is okay!

The vet said that he may have incurred a small trauma at that part of his wing, through a night fright or something like that. Mont may initially have been trying to fix the feathers himself, but every time it healed over and got itchy, he may have picked a scab off and restarted the cycle. The vet cleaned off all the blood spots and scabs, so they got pretty flat, which he said would help Mont stop picking at it. The vet was happy with the condition of his skin (no infection, parasites etc.).

I will have to observe him and try to stop him if he's picking at the area. Other than that, the vet said that it should heal up in about a week!

If he does continue mutilating himself, the next step would be to fashion a collar and/or give him some anti-anxiety medication. But the vet was very reluctant and unhappy about these options, and didn't quite want to put Mont through any of that if there were other ways to help him heal.

As for the photos, the vet said those sticks are what new feathers growing out normally look like. So for anyone who sees them, those are NOT ingrown feathers, they are perfectly healthy new feather stems. There are also no follicle issues or cysts. The skin is flat and healthy, no open wounds, and those scabs on the skin are initially from flight/fright trauma, then from continuous mutilation of the scabs.

Thank you for your support!

Thank YOU for being so responsible and taking him to the vet on time! I’m so glad he’s okay.

 

[painesgrey]

UPDATE

I went to see my avian vet, didn't want to leave anything to chance!

Just here to update everyone or help someone with a similar issue:

Good news! Mont, my cockatiel, is okay!

The vet said that he may have incurred a small trauma at that part of his wing, through a night fright or something like that. Mont may initially have been trying to fix the feathers himself, but every time it healed over and got itchy, he may have picked a scab off and restarted the cycle. The vet cleaned off all the blood spots and scabs, so they got pretty flat, which he said would help Mont stop picking at it. The vet was happy with the condition of his skin (no infection, parasites etc.).

I will have to observe him and try to stop him if he's picking at the area. Other than that, the vet said that it should heal up in about a week!

If he does continue mutilating himself, the next step would be to fashion a collar and/or give him some anti-anxiety medication. But the vet was very reluctant and unhappy about these options, and didn't quite want to put Mont through any of that if there were other ways to help him heal.

As for the photos, the vet said those sticks are what new feathers growing out normally look like. So for anyone who sees them, those are NOT ingrown feathers, they are perfectly healthy new feather stems. There are also no follicle issues or cysts. The skin is flat and healthy, no open wounds, and those scabs on the skin are initially from flight/fright trauma, then from continuous mutilation of the scabs.

Thank you for your support!

Awesome! So glad you had him seen and now have some answers.

 

[Chickadee85]

So glad your baby is okay, and thank you for updating us!