Injured Bird Wing Treatment

QUESTION:

My bird injured his wing and it bled a lot.  Do I need to bring the bird in or is there something I can do at home?

ANSWER:

There are several reasons why a bird’s wing may bleed: (1) a bleeding mass or tumor; (2) trauma to the wing (of any kind, but commonly because the cage is too small and the bird is banging its wings on the cage); (3) a clotting disorder from congenital causes or toxicity; (4) or even an advanced skin infection.  This article will focus on the most common cause of a bleeding wing — damage to an emerging feather.

When a bird is molting or replacing old feathers, the new emerging feathers have a well developed blood supply.  At this stage we say that the feathers are “in blood” or are “blood feathers”.  Once the feather is fully developed the blood supply regresses and the feather eventually becomes similar to a human’s hair (dead material that can be trimmed).  This is the stage at which you can trim your bird’s wings to prevent it from being able to gain elevation (this is a topic for another article as there are good and bad ways to trim the feathers).  While the feathers are in blood they are more prone to injury and, if damaged, can bleed quite heavily.  In fact, if a blood feather is accidentally trimmed or badly injured it could even lead to serious amounts of blood loss.

When a blood feather is actively bleeding the bird should be restrained and direct pressure should be applied to the bleeding site for several minutes.  If a clotting powder (styptic) is available, it should be applied to the site prior to direct pressure.  Alternatively, a blood feather can be pulled (in its entirety) from the wing to hasten clotting.  There is some risk in fracturing the wing if this procedure is done carelessly, so I recommend that all bird owners be trained by an avian veterinarian in the proper technique.  In addition, sometimes the follicle will bleed briefly after feather removal, so direct pressure and styptic powder may still be necessary.

Anytime a bird has lost a significant amount of blood (more than a few drops) it should be examined be an avian veterinarian to ensure that it is stable and does not require further treatments.

 

If you have a veterinary question that you would like to propose for an upcoming edition, please send it to email@catandexoticcare.com with “ask the vet” in the subject line.

Max Conn, DVM is the owner of Cat & Exotic Care of the CentralCoast, a full service veterinary hospital dedicated to the special needs of cats, birds, reptiles and small mammals.  Cat & Exotic Care is located in PismoCoastPlaza, 565 Five Cities Drive, 805-773-0228.  More information can be found at www.catandexoticcare.com.

 

Disclaimer: The informational handouts and website links above are for informational purposes only, they are not intended to replace veterinary care.

Feather Picking/Over Preening Disorder

QUESTION:

My 18 year old male cockatoo recently starter feather picking and now has several bald areas.  Is this a behavioral problem and what can I do about it?

ANSWER:

Feather picking or over-preening of the feathers to the point of feather destruction and plucking is a common and frustrating disorder in many parrot species.  In particular, many cockatoo species, African grey’s, love birds, and cockatiels are over represented.

There are many medical and behavioral considerations as underlying causes.  We can help many, perhaps even 70% of the birds that pick, but the journey to achieve this is sometimes frustrating, time consuming, and expensive.   In general, a full medical work-up is needed to eliminate the possibility of a medical underlying cause.  This is not a simple task, as some conditions will not show up on routine lab testing.  If a medical condition exists, behavioral therapy alone is doomed to fail.  Only after all medical causes have been ruled out or eliminated can we truly diagnose behavioral feather picking (which by itself has many factors and causes).  In many instances, even if the underlying cause is determined, a complete cure may be impossible

Medical causes of feather picking include: Toxins, other skin irritants, infectious diseases, allergies, hormonal disorders, reproductive disorders, parasites, nutritional deficiencies, metabolic disease (organ diseases), tumors/masses, and skeletal disease.

Common behavioral causes include: anxiety/stress (from humans or other pets), separation anxiety, over bonding with one person/jealousy, boredom/attention seeking behaviors, and fear/phobias

It is the job of your avian vet to sift through the medical and behavioral causes, form a diagnosis, and properly formulate a treatment plan that may include medical therapies as well as behavioral “homework” for you to initiate at home.  The time and dedication often required to manage this syndrome takes a very dedicated owner.  Unfortunately many avian sanctuaries and bird-friendly humane societies end up with many of these pets, or they are bumped from one home to another, all of which can compound the behavioral aspects of the problem.

If you have a veterinary question that you would like to propose for an upcoming edition, please send it to email@catandexoticcare.com with “ask the vet” in the subject line.

 

Disclaimer: The informational handouts and website links above are for informational purposes only, they are not intended to replace veterinary care.

Homemade Diet for Parrots

QUESTION:

I have a 2 year old African Gray Parrot.  I primarily feed it seed but a friend recommended that I try a homemade diet.  What do you recommend?

ANSWER:

Parrot nutrition can be complicated because each parrot type is a different species.  This means that a Congo African Gray and a Blue and Gold Macaw are as different as a dog and a cat.  The list of popular pet bird species is huge!  Although different types of parrots have different nutritional requirements, as a general rule the nutrition found in most high-quality pelleted diets is much more complete and healthy than what is found in a seed diet, seed mix diet, average table food diet, or even a homemade diet.  Manufacturers of high quality formulated diets have taken the most current information on parrot nutritional requirements and designed products that have all of the necessary nutrients blended into each pellet.

A homemade diet is typically inferior because it is nearly impossible to get all of the correct nutrients together, much less have the bird eat the correct proportions of each.  When you give a parrot choices most will go for the sweet and/or high-fat items first.  If offered, seeds are usually devoured while other items (including pellets) are pushed to the side or thrown on the ground.  When pellets are offered exclusively, no matter which pellet is selected and consumed (i.e. the green one vs. the red one), each has complete nutrition.

Seeds are deficient in many vitamins, vitamin precursors, minerals, trace minerals, pigments, amino acids (proteins), fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids.  Feeding your bird a high seed diet is like feeding your child McDonalds’ food every day.  As a consequence many parrots will eventually become ill or run down (and there are many manifestations of this).  Simply adding healthy foods to a seed diet is not enough to make up for the poor nutrition.

I recommend feeding most parrots (and there are exceptions) a high-quality pelleted diet for 75-80% of the bird’s intake, with the remainder consisting of healthy vegetables and, to a lesser extent, healthy fruits.

So now the difficult part– converting your bird to pellets.  Conversion can be stressful and should be handled very carefully, ideally under the supervision of a veterinarian.  For more detailed information on parrot nutrition and tips for safe conversion go to www.catandexoticcare.com, select the references tab and see the downloadable handouts: “parrot nutrition” and “converting your bird to a healthier pelleted diet” under the avian heading.

 

Disclaimer: The informational handouts and website links above are for informational purposes only, they are not intended to replace veterinary care.