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Lovebird bit one of his toes off.

Jorji109

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Help please, the lovebird that I'm actually close to bit one of its toe off which made it bleed quite a lot and this happened 2-3 times, as in the bleeding stopped, but then it bit at it again, causing more bleeding. At the time it's not biting it anymore because there's almost nothing left for it to bite, I'm just afraid it's gonna start biting it's whole leg off for some reason.

Right, so here's the analogy to what happened before it started biting, my father found it's leg stuck between the cage's bars earlier in the morning, then he pulled the leg out by force opening the space between the bars. After that he let the bird out for some play time, then shortly after I came to play with it, but I noticed that it didn't want to climb on my finger like usual or even be touched, it avoided me a bit while biting at it's own toe (the one that got stuck). Thinking that it just wanted some space after the accident I left it while I did my business in the toilet, only to come back to a bit of a bloody floor, toe, and drape. Then we were like "Wtf happened ?", After some examination, we noticed one of his back toe is gone a bit, enough for it to bleed. Then we just gave it some betadine, cleaned the bird, and watched it to prevent it from biting anymore. Unfortunately, we can't keep an eye on it for 24/7 because we have other things to do, so we put it back inside the cage and hang it with the rest of it's friends outside.

Now earlier I went to check on it, surprise surprise I smell blood and the cage is bloody on the feeder, the place where he stands on, and on the floor of the cage. Now... It only has 3 toes on it's right leg, instead of 4.

Now, what should I do ? Bring it to a vet ? Let it be ? Or put a bird bandage on it to prevent any more biting ?
Thank you and sorry for the long post.
 

SumitaSinh

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I think, after securing the bleeding you should put a bandage on toe and a collar in neck. The collar will prevent her from further biting.
 

SumitaSinh

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Yes, but I'm no expert. Let other experienced friends suggest.
 

Zara

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Bring it to a vet ?
Vet ASAP.

It is not normal for a bird to bite it´s own toes off. It could be there was so much pain caused by having the foot trapped in the door and the bird is trying to ¨fix¨ that.

This bird is in pain, at risk of infection, bleeding and needs medication and professional help as soon as possible.

Do not try to collar this bird now. Let the vet decide the next steps.
 

Mizzely

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Birds don't just bite off their toes without a reason. I would take him to the vet. The collar will help but it's not solving the underlying issue.
 

Jorji109

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Right... I have bad news, my parents said that it's unnecessary to bring the bird to the vet because "the wound is dried up". I'm sad that that's their answer, but I already said that if this bird dies, I will not take care of the other birds anymore. Because this is the only one that I like and the only one that wants to play with me.
 

Jorji109

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I know... But I can't do much other than hope that it doesn't continue biting itself and give it more pats...
 

Zara

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I can only imagine the pain this bird is in. While the bleeding may have stopped, the pain is still there.
Wounds that are not treated properly leave your bird at risk of infection and possible necrosis or septecemia.

Maybe try to explain that to your parents?
 

Jorji109

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Oh, I'm sure my mom knows what can happen to untreated wounds... She's a doctor... But noooo, she doesn't think it's necessary to bring it to a vet.

At the very least, it doesn't seem to be in much pain right now because it's sleeping, but I honestly don't know because I'm far from a bird enthusiast much less an expert.
I can only imagine the pain this bird is in. While the bleeding may have stopped, the pain is still there.
Wounds that are not treated properly leave your bird at risk of infection and possible necrosis or septecemia.

Maybe try to explain that to your parents?
 

Zara

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I can assure you the bird is in pain.

Has your mum cleaned up the wound?

It may be a good idea to weigh your bird so you can monitor weight to watch out for weight loss.
Try to be sure they are eating food and drinking water.
Line the cage with a non pilling fleece, lower perches.
Try to keep the atmosphere as calm as possible to allow your bird to rest.

I wonder if a family member may step in and take you to the vet? Or at least have a word with your parents over the decisions they are making RE this birds injuries/access to medical care.
 

Jorji109

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I can assure you the bird is in pain.

Has your mum cleaned up the wound?

It may be a good idea to weigh your bird so you can monitor weight to watch out for weight loss.
Try to be sure they are eating food and drinking water.
Line the cage with a non pilling fleece, lower perches.
Try to keep the atmosphere as calm as possible to allow your bird to rest.

I wonder if a family member may step in and take you to the vet? Or at least have a word with your parents over the decisions they are making RE this birds injuries/access to medical care.
Yep, the wound was cleaned using water and she wiped it, after that she put some Betadine on the wound.
The bird is indeed still eating and drinking because I saw it do those things.

Don't think that's possible because there are no other family members near us and none of them likes birds or even have pets. Already talked to them a bunch about bringing Tori(the bird) to the vet, but they say that it's unnecessary every time I asked.
 

Zara

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How is your bird today?
 

Jorji109

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Tori's looking fine and acting like usual (before biting his toe off), he's not biting anymore, no bleeding, he eats and drinks and he wants to climb on my finger again. It's like he never bit off his toe.
I was planning to make a status update after a few days. Thanks for asking and caring for Tori.
 

Zara

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Did you weigh him?
Is he a good weight? Is he his usual weight?
 
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