Urgent Cosmo the Conure bumped his head

[Cosmo305]

I have read so much great info on these forums, but never posted. Have a 10 month old Green Cheek Conure who my son really wanted, but I of course have fallen in love with. His wings were clipped when we got him from Simbad’s Birds in Miami and he’s just finishing his first molt, starting on his second. But his flight geathers have pretty much grown in though not completely. And many of them are still long pin feathers that he is working the ends off of. He has never done more than hop from place to place or sort of soar a foot or less. Today he was sitting on his perch, he got spooked by a sound and took off! He flew right for the sliding glass door, which my son had just opened. And I screamed! Not sure if we just got real lucky that he missed the opening or if my scream distracted him, but he did not fly away. He did however hit the glass. He got a scrape on his head and some feathers fell out. I snuggled with him and calmed him down for a while as we were both really shaken up. Not he seems fine, walking, playing, just ate some pomegranate seeds (his favorite). Behavior totally normal. He never bled, it was more like he scraped off the first layer of skin and feathers (which you can see in the photo). I haven’t put anything on it, and as of now he is not picking at it. His eye doesn’t seem to be bothering him, he is opening and shutting it just fine. Should I just leave the injury be or treat it in any way?

Part 2 of the question - how do I prevent this from happening again? Obviously the sliding glass door will never be open again when he is out of his cage, now that we know he can fly! I have for now closed the blinds so he can’t see out the window (my son thought this would stop him from wanting to fly that way) but other than that how do I keep him safe? We got lucky that he didn’t snap his neck or get a concussion (I don’t think) but I would really rather not clip. I am new to this, very much a dog person (we also have 2) until Cosmo came into the picture!

See attached photos - 2 of the injury, and 1 of him what that area usually looks like Sorry for the ramble - just worried!

 

[Cosmo305]

The 2 Avian vets anywhere near me are all closed for the night now. He is still acting normal and it doesn’t seem to be bothering him. But it sure is bothering ME!

 

[MommyBird]

ouch! boy that really looks ow-ie!
I'm glad to hear he's acting OK, keep observing him tonight and tomorrow.
You could put some silver sulfdiazine cream on it. Get some from your vet if you don't already have it in your pet-med kit.

There are curtains that you can hang in front of a sliding door that you can walk thru but still discourage birds - yes they still sell beaded curtains!!!!!
you could get a sheer drape and still be able to see out fairly well.
some folks make or buy (google 'Parrot climbing net') a net for small birds with small net openings. This last is not as convenient, and I bet it would become a favorite place to play, maybe better to get one and hang it away from the door so he has a fun safe place to go if he gets spooked again.
Let us know how he's doing!

 

[Cosmo305]

Thank you and he is good! He has quite the battle scar above his eyebrow but I was able to contact a vet that night who said he was not concerned as long as there was no signs of neurological damage.

I will look into the parrot climbing net!