Urgent Conure injured by Severe Macaw

[AraSevera]

Hi,

My Penny (YSGC) was grabbed on her R side by my severe macaw, Q, when Penny invaded his space yesterday. I was in the bathroom and heard Penny shriek - and found her at the bottom of the macaw’s cage. Nothing even close to this has never happened in the over 30 yrs I’ve had parrots. Trust me - I will never leave large and small “out” unsupervised - even if I am just going to go pee! I’m beyond sick that this happened. I know it’s my fault.

Right after it happened she was quite shaken up and had obvious pain in her right upper wing and near her eye. There was no blood, And I cannot see any marks on her skin. However, she will not let me look that closely because of the pain that she is in. She’s eating, drinking, picking at toys that are in front of her and she’s talking a little bit. This afternoon she is staying on her higher perch and we are having to give her food and water by hand. She doesn’t want to move her neck downward to grab food out of the bowl, much less climb around in the cage to reach the bowl. She lets a little squeal of pain out every time she tries. Heartbreaking.

I’m not comfortable going to any of the vets around us - they are all dog/cat vets. We don’t have a “real” avian vet nearby, and the times we have tried to bring our birds to the self-proclaimed “exotic vets” in our area for well visits it has not gone as it should.

We are keeping a close watch on her - I’m troubled by her little yelps of pain, and I want to give her a bit of analgesic. From the research I have found, it seems that acetaminophen is now considered safer then regular aspirin. I know there’s prescription medication that’s recommended as well, but again, finding a competent vet is not a possibility.

Does anyone know if there are any genetic or metabolism restrictions for specific breeds of parrots?

Also, does anyone know of a link that has the dosage calc for the mg/gram dosing of Tylenol to birds? (I was an EMT and worked in medical research so I’m not afraid of doing a little math).

thanks so much for listening- I’m off to scour the interwebs for more info.

 

[Birdbabe]

Bump!!

 

[macawpower58]

Please post country/city you're in.
Someone may know an Avian vet in your area.
Your bird really does need to see one, and probably x-rays to see if there's any internal damage.
For now, keep in a smaller area, keep warm and calm, you maybe seeing some shock.
Handfeed if that works.

 

[AraSevera]

Thank you.
I’m in Marlboro MA.

Tufts University vet school is nearby… However their ER specializes in wild birds. This area had some wild birds with that strange neurological/eye disorder that’s killing wild birds. I’m really concerned about cross-contamination.

If anybody looks up our general area - there will be an “avian vet” listed (affiliated w/Angell/Tufts) but she was the one that traumatized the hell out of my cockatoo in macaw the last time - so no way will I go back to see her. Also - every time I’ve brought wild animals into their clinic over the past 6 yrs - they die. Even with minor injuries, that we’re doing fine in my care. It’s kindof weird.

Windhover Clinic will also come up on any search. A bad experience there led to me going to Angell/Tufts.

Honestly I haven’t had a good avian vet since 1994 in CT.

Perhaps a virtual vet?? (I have virtual doctors and I’m ok with that…)

Penny IS talking, eating and drinking. Her poop is very normal. She still seems hesitant to move about - as if she’s achy. (I can personally relate to a post-trauma soreness as I have had my share of injuries and surgeries.)

 

[Hankmacaw]

Please don't give your bird Acetaminophen or aspirin. No dosages have been established for birds for either. Birds a commonly given metacam for pain. There are others such as Celebrex, Tramadol and Gabapentin, but all are by prescription.