• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here
  • This forum is for advice about initial treatment given to your injured/sick bird until a qualified avian veterinarian is available.
    THIS IS NOT MEANT TO REPLACE VET CARE

Emergency: Tiel stepped on, please help!

Status
Not open for further replies.

kiiarah

Moving in
Joined
3/30/11
Messages
5
I was just walking back into the living room and my 6 month old cockatiel, Zephyr had flown onto the floor. He does this all the time and I have always just been able to walk up and grab him. Well this morning he was not where I expected him to be and I felt his head under my foot as I stepped down. I didn't step down hard but it did take a second to register what I was feeling. He ran away and acted very shocked. I did manage to pick him up and he sat on my shoulder for a bit while I watched his behavior. He was fluffed and closing his eyes, but no tail drooping and no shaking or anything like that. I don't think my foot touched his body so I don't think he has any broken bones. He didn't shriek, just sort of a scolding squawk. I am also very petite, my entire body weight is only about 90 lbs and I didn't put my full weight on him. When I did put him back in his cage I gave him a millet spray, but he wasn't interested. This is the point at which I called my mom who has had birds and asked if she had any advice. While I was talking to her he did decide to nibble on the millet. I also watched him preen, fluff, flap from one perch to another. He seems to have no trouble climbing the cage walls and even hung upside down from his perch to play with a long dangly toy. I know he would try to hide any injury by not looking sick, but it seems like he wouldn't eagerly eat and wouldn't go so far as hanging off his perch to play. Still, I am concerned because between things like snacks and toys he is fluffed up and shutting at least one eye. To complicate things further this is the usual time of day for him to nap, so I don't know what to attribute the behavior to. When he is active he seems almost completely normal, but he does seem to tire faster than usual. He has been doing a sort of strange thing where he will squint his eyes (almost looks like he is smiling) and look slightly up and around over his shoulder. I am not sure how to describe this but it is something I don't normally see him doing. Right now he is sitting on top of his cage on his microfiber cage cover his his beak tucked in his back feathers. When he hears a sound he will turn his head and open his eyes but does stay fluffed. He has a cage with a top that opens and a perch that props in between the flaps. When I opened this he immediately climbed out the top and spent about 20 minutes chewing on the stem of his millet spray. I just don't know what behavior would indicate a problem and what behavior is a sign he is probably alright, but just shaken up. Normally I would be in the vet's waiting room already, but there is no avian vet where I live and my car won't make it out of town. I love the little guy and I am scared to death that there is something wrong and I wouldn't know how to tell. Please let me know what sort of things I need to watch for that would indicate a serious injury and how long I should expect before he calms down and returns to normal if he is just mildly stressed.

Update: I just went over to check on him and he was resting on one foot (a good sign?). When I put my hand up for him he stepped up right away. He is currently sitting on my shoulder and has stretched his wings. He also pooped and there was no blood or discoloration. It was a very normal consistency as well, not at all runny.
 
Last edited:

Birdiemarie

Feather Snuggler
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/14/09
Messages
42,502
Location
Ohio
Real Name
Marie
Hello and welcome. From your nicely detailed description I would say Zephyr is doing very well for the accident he had. Watch his eyes for pinning that does not change and I would keep watching his poop and how he is moving around and eating, etc, for the next couple days. If there is no change I would think it is safe to say he was just shaken up with no real damage. From the sounds of it you are a very conscientious bird parront. Keep up the good work.
 

~birdybea~

Rollerblading along the road
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
10/20/09
Messages
2,341
Location
Australia
Real Name
Belinda
Keep a close eye on him, my lovely Cookie got knelt on by one of my best friends a few years ago and overnight started to look very sleepy with a droopy tail. A day at the vets with some anti-inflammatories and time in the hot box got her feeling a lot better...though she's still got a bit of a droopy tail to this day. :)
 

kiiarah

Moving in
Joined
3/30/11
Messages
5
Thank you so so much for your replies! I have been refreshing this page every two minutes since I posted :faint:. He does seem totally back to normal now, but he still will hardly let me pet him, which breaks my heart because just yesterday I was noticing how cuddly and trusting he had gotten. :sad11: I hope he won't be afraid of me forever. I have been talking to him and keeping him on my shoulder so hopefully he knows that I didn't mean to hurt him. I just wish I could explain that I didn't see him there, I am sure he thinks I was angry at him or something. He is preening a ton more now that he was before and I have been offering him water, which he seems happy to drink. He has a toy that is like a coconut thread pouch with nesting material and Popsicle sticks in it that he loves to tear apart. I put it back together for him and he immediately hopped over to his playpen to nibble at it, though he didn't remove all the sticks. He seems to have good balance and flight ability still. I guess I will try to stop worrying a bit and just observe him for the rest of the day. I will post if his behavior changes.
 

Birdiemarie

Feather Snuggler
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/14/09
Messages
42,502
Location
Ohio
Real Name
Marie
If you have a regular vet it is always a good idea to call and let them know what happened and get their advice and so you can also get an emergency number (always a good thing to have handy).

Remember he will react to your stress so as you calm down so will he. Please give us an update before you retire for the night and another one in the morning.
:hug8:
 
Last edited:

suileeka

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
12/6/10
Messages
4,743
Location
New Jersey
Real Name
Lindsay
I found these two links about things to watch for in case of concussions in birds:

Link 1


Link 2

I almost stepped on my tiel Cookie once - I had NO idea she was on the floor! I hope your little guy remains perky and doesn't suffer any ill effects from his accident. :hug8:
 

ncGreyBirdLady

They call Me crazy like its a bad thing!
Administrator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/15/09
Messages
11,676
Location
Feathered Funny Farm USA
Real Name
Bonnie
Healing thoughts and Prayers that He will be OK and :hug8::hug8::hug8:for You:hug8:
 

prettyinpink

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
11/3/09
Messages
5,791
Location
Washington
Real Name
Erica
Just wanted to give you some :hug5:
 

Conurekidd

Jogging around the block
Joined
7/27/11
Messages
788
Location
Los Angeles
Real Name
Ryan
Aww. I hate the stress and anxiety You get when something happens. Everyone gave great advice. Great forum to be on!! I'm just here to give you a big bear hug!! And let you know it's ok You did good as a 'parront'. Keep us posted. I'm a tiel lover!!Well bird lover period!!!!
 

kiiarah

Moving in
Joined
3/30/11
Messages
5
Well I called the vet's office that I have been to in the past (before I had him) and it turns out they don't see birds. They did, however, give me the number to another place in the same town that does and I was able to at least call and talk to the doctor. For the sake of anyone who may read this post looking for help with the same problem I will post what she told me. First she pointed out that birds have fairly weak blood pressure so are not as prone to internal bleeding problems as other species. She also mentioned that the thing that usually makes cases of birds being stepped on so bad is that their air sacs can rupture. She said that this is usually near instantaneous. She thought he should be fine since he is alert and active. Whew, it is a huge relief to be able to actually speak with a vet and explain in detail what he is doing. Thanks for suggesting that I try calling, I was stuck figuring I had no options since I can't make it out to the next town to be seen. I will post again in the morning just to update everyone on his progress, but for now it looks like he is going to be alright.
 

mrstweet

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
1/25/11
Messages
4,233
Location
NW Florida
Real Name
Amanda
Oh no, I hope he is okay. :hug8:
 

April

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
3/21/10
Messages
23,894
Poor guy,I hope he feels better soon.
 

birdlady

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
15,562
Location
NJ
Real Name
Leslie
I am so happy to hear he is doing well and really relieved that you spoke with a vet. Since you know they hide illnesses, a visit or phone call is always so important in a situation like this. I will be checking back in the morning to hear the update....praying all is good!
 

Anne & Gang

Riding the Skies
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avian Angel
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Real Name
Anne
thank goodness..it does sound like he is going to be ok..how scary..all the more reason..try to keep him off the floor if you can!!
 

Birdiemarie

Feather Snuggler
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/14/09
Messages
42,502
Location
Ohio
Real Name
Marie
Glad to hear you were able to speak with your vet. :)
 

Sparky04

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Joined
5/15/11
Messages
1,595
Location
Virginia
Real Name
Kiersten
Glad that he seems to be doing okay. 2 weeks ago, I stepped on my 5 month old Green Cheek Conure, Westley. He died almost instantly. :sad7: It's incredibly scary and I'm glad your story had a happy ending.
 

Ziggymon

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
7/2/10
Messages
5,796
Real Name
Heidrun, or Mouse
:hug8::hug8:for Zephyr and you.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top