Urgent Wound on wing worsening- has anyone used "Lick Guard" ointment before?

[RedFoxBlackSox]

Hello community - first of all, I apologize for my lack of knowledge - I am a first time cockatiel owner and quite new at this, so I'm not sure how life threatening this wound is and clearly I've been doing the wrong things.

So I adopted Peaches early November from a rescue foundation. Long story short, during his first week with me he startled and injured the front of his wings. I took him to a veterinarian that a friend recommended, but that wasn't bird specific. He prescribed a "lick guard" ointment and instructed me to apply it twice daily. At first it seemed to work and after a week and a half, I stopped applying it. However, I noticed the wounds reopening.

In hindsight this was a horrible idea, but I decided to start applying the ointment again because it worked last time. I started again yesterday, but today he started screeching in his cage- I realized it was burning him! (some rubbed on my face from when he hopped on my shoulder and I felt it burn me too). I flushed it out with water, and then I could see that part of his wing clearly and it looks a LOT WORSE than it did to start with. A photo is attached.

My current theory is that it worked at first because he was discouraged from nibbling the area because of the spicy taste- but once the taste was gone, I bet he was driven to preen the area even more and reopen it worse. I don't want to accuse anyone, but I feel like I was given poor advice by that vet.

Has anyone else been recommended this ointment before? I will call another vet tomorrow because I am afraid of going to the same place (tried today but they aren't open) - this time I found someone that seems to be more experienced with birds. Meanwhile, what should I be doing to treat this?

 

[enigma731]

I haven't used it. Right now I'm having good results using MediHoney on my girl who mutilates. You can also get Silvadene from the vet, but that's prescription only. I would also recommend getting a soft collar for him, because no topical is going to prevent him from picking and it needs to heal.

 

[iamwhoiam]

If you can give your approximate location maybe someone can recommend a vet.
You can try some Vetericyn Wound and Skin Care Hydrogel. Won't prevent her from licking the area, though, and he may need to be collared.

 

[RedFoxBlackSox]

Thanks for the advice! I saw this on the walmart website right now- is that the kind of collar you meant?

KVP Bird E-Collar, 3.25-3.5" Neck x 8" Outer Diameter - Walmart.com

 

[RedFoxBlackSox]

I'm in Southern California, in the Santa Clarita area, and this is who I found online:
Dr. Amber Wheelbarger
Meet the Cast – Cinema Veterinary Centre - 661-253-9300- A full-service veterinary hospital servicing Valencia, Santa Clarita, Stevenson Ranch, Saugus, Castaic, Newhall and Canyon Country.

Before I drove down to Sylmar to see my friend's vet. They were nice people, but come to think of it when I called to make an appointment, they asked if I had a dog or cat. I said "I have cockatiels!" and the woman replied "ok, so is that a dog or a cat?" <- I feel like such a fool and I am worried that I've killed my bird already.

 

[iamwhoiam]

You haven't killed your bird. Try not to stress. I don't know anything about Dr. Wheelbarger but she has training and experience treating birds. When you call ask how many birds they see daily or weekly and when you make an appt, if that is the Dr. you want to see then make sure they definitely set up the appt. with her. Hope all will be well.

 

[enigma731]

Take a deep breath. Your bird's wound needs to be treated but it's not immediately life-threatening. Actually it's relatively minor on the spectrum of mutilation. That kind of collar would work, but also take a look at birdsupplies.com for more comfortable options.

 

[rocky'smom]

Here is list of lick guard ingredients:
Ingredients
Anise Oil, Beeswax, Citric Acid, Cinnamon Oil, Garlic Oil, Lanolin, Lime Oil, Origanum Oil, Peppermint Oil, Petrolatum, Pine Oil, Polysorbate 80, Potassium Chloride, Sesquiterpenoid, Sodium Chloride, Spearmint Oil, Tricalcium Phosphate, Water.
I would find a avian vet
Keep clean, dry and seen by avian vet as soon as possible.

 

[Birdbabe]

Do you have access to Aloe vera? The goo from inside the leaves is non toxic and will help relieve the boo boo, even some Manuka honey , available at " sprouts" till you see the vet.

 

[Taylor_Echo]

Did you see an avian vet or just a regular vet? Because some vets don't have experience with birds. Not like i have much more experience but she could have given you stuff that wasn't for birds.

 

[Taylor_Echo]

How much does the wound bleed?

 

[Taylor_Echo]

how often i should say.

 

[RedFoxBlackSox]

I’m not sure where to get aloe Vera, but we do have a sprouts nearby so I’ll look for that honey!!! Thanks!

What had me confused at first was the wound would seem healed (with a scab) and then it would be open again and bleeding a little. The bleeding tends to stop pretty quick but :/ it probably is too much blood for such a little animal. Yeah, I think the guy gave me an ointment meant for dogs.

 

[Taylor_Echo]

Ok that's not very good. Birds don't have alot of blood in their small body's. Is there a chance that the wound could be infected? Like when she was injured was there rust or was it a bite of some sort?

 

[Taylor_Echo]

even if its not infected or anything i suggest taking her to a avian specialist, that looks like a bad wound.

 

[MauiWendy]

What about colloidal silver, applied to the wound. Look it up but I do believe that it is safe for birds.

 

[jmfleish]

Colloidal silver will sting and anything used that has a bad taste such as bitter apple won’t stop them from picking at the wound because birds have a limited amount of taste buds and generally anything made with hot peppers won’t work because they can’t taste the capsaicin in it. The wound does not look too bad but if it’s bothering him, he probably will keep picking it. Don’t worry too much about blood loss unless it’s a lot of blood. Parrots can lose up to 50% of their blood and be ok.

I think what you probably need is a collar so the wound can heal. You would be best to find an avian vet in your area so you get a safe collar and you might need antibiotics but most likely not. There is a list out there somewhere that lists avian vets in different areas and one of our members should be able to help.

 

[enigma731]

I've used colloidal silver on my vet's advice. It is safe, but it didn't give us particularly good results. Then again, results vary by individual.

 

[webchirp]

Manuka honey is amazing stuff. I've used it and a collar along with some pain meds for things like this. If they are picking, it's bothering them, likely painful or irritated. I have one bird who gets really bad if she has an injury. She will chew it open and keep chewing. So as soon as I see an injury or area where a plucked feather might look bloody, I whammy her with tramadol, celebrex and manuka honey. Excessive but I'd rather take a week of heavy hitting than have it advance. Of course having so many birds, I have this stuff on hand from the vet.

 

[RedFoxBlackSox]

Update on Peaches:

On Monday I made an appointment for him- the earliest I could get was Thursday. I decided to not mess with his wings anymore until I saw the vet, and they’ve already gotten loads better now that I haven’t been applying the ointment. (He’s also gotten more perky again!) They are scabbed over now, but I have a feeling he might pick again, so I will ask the vet for a soft collar and her opinion on applying the honey to the spots! Thank you guys so much for your help!!!