First blood feather at home

[Sassyjaygrl]

So you all know how I took Diva's clutch mate Galifrey home. And her wing feathers are all shredded and she has been getting blood feathers. Welll she had a little nutty in her cage when I came home.

So I took her out and I didn't notice anything, then I put her back in her cage and then took off my scrub top ( I wear a tank top under) cam back out of my room and noticed larger red drops all over my hard wood floor.

I looked at her and could see a lot of blood on her side. I have all the medical equipment and hemastats, quick stop, corn starch gauze, I've pulled them out of birds at work I completely understand the concept. and I kept trying to explain to my boyfriend how to hold her, he has kevlar glooves.

I got a better look and freaked a bit said I was taking her now, I got her in the carrier, told the kids we were leaving now. I had no gas I was freaking, I did a 25 minute drive with getting gas in 15 minutes.

I took her to the store, to have a fave bird girls pull it, when she looked at it she was like oh wow the "big" one. I was like yeah that is why I freaked and instead of trying for another 20 minutes to pull it, I just drove there.

I know I could have done, I feel bad I didn't I just saw which one it was and was like I am not playing with this.

She is fine now.

So I have gauze, quick stop, corn starch, hemastats, and scissors.


what else do I need for a bird who is going to get more blood feathers??? What else would you have?

I am still trying to calm down a bit.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Do you mean get more broken blood feathers?

Blood feathers are natural and don't need pulling unless they break and bleed too much and causing pain.

For me, I hardly ever pull broken blood featheds unless I absolutely must. They tend to coagulate quickly for my guys.

And when I pull them I just use my fingers. If its broken at the base/near the skin, I make sure I powder it with cayenne pepper and coagulate it and leave it be.

I'd never use quick stop on a blood feather or any other bodily lesion or wound. Its meant only for toenails.

 

[Sassyjaygrl]

Yes sorry, I just re-read that and saw all my typos. with my adhd and dyslexia, and still being amped up. Yikes, sorry. Yeah I guess I am just going to expect more broken blood feathers from a clumsy girl who wants to fly but has no wing feathers

This one had to be pulled, she would have bled out if it wasn't pulled. I did let another coagulate.

I just know she is going to get them, and she had been getting a lot of them (more than your average feathered bird). I knew to expect them. My poor poor baby last night.

I just didn't know if anyone had any other hints or clues on other things I might find handy besides the normal things you would find in a bird emergency kit.

I am going to bring home another bag of ringers to keep on hand, I keep them around for the dogs and cats.

There was a firm rule put in place at my house unless it is a dire emergency I am the only one to handle her now, the bf had been the one trying to get her out when she flipped.

My co-workers make fun of me at work, there is something about my demeanor that most furry, hairy, or feathered animals gravitate to. My bff gets pissed at me when we go horseback riding and the horses just come over to nuzzle my hair, she wants to know my secret. I don't know what it is, just something about animals my whole life I have always gravitated more to them than to humans.


So that is why my freaking out last night was so out of character for me. She is my baby, and last night that really scared me. Which can explain it I was just being a parront and not someone with medical knowledge and freaking because it was my baby hurt.

 

[Anne & Gang]

I think you handled it very well and glad she is ok now.

 

[VickiNC]

A few things you might want to include in your emergency kit:
saline solution -- good for washing things out of eyes or wounds
betadine solution -- for disinfecting wounds
self adhesive flex wrap -- for holding gauze in place
a heating pad -- in case you need to keep an ill / injured bird warm
a flashlight -- in case the electricity goes out and you're working in the dark

Also, be aware that emergency vets sometimes don't know a lot about birds and sometimes don't know that Quik Stop shouldn't be put on wounds or broken blood feathers. I once took an injured parrot, who had broken a couple of blood feathers and torn several follicles, to an emergency 24 hour vet clinic where they SAID they treated birds -- and they packed the wounds with Quik Stop. By the time I got her to my regular vet the next day, she had blood poisoning and almost died.