OMG! How could THAT happen?!? Still in shock!

We went for a great bike ride to the beach with my hubby to enjoy the last warm sunny days… What a horrible surprise we got when we came home - blood all over the play rope, windowsill and the bird ladder! The budgies and cockatiel had some blood on them too, and Parry was sitting on the ceiling fan hiding. (Parry is cage free whole day and stays on his play stand/rope and on the other birds cage). So when I asked Parry to step up I found out his whole toenail was missing and there was blood all over his feet!!! :11::11::11:
He wasn't bleeding anymore and was very active as usual, just scared, so I had hard time holding him to clean the wound, but I was totally horrified and so seemed all the other birds…
Then I found his nail on the windowsill! WHAT on earth did HAPPEN?!?!:11:
I called the vet and she scheduled me for tomorrow morning and told me to keep close eye on him and go to ER clinic if he gets worse.

So I have no clue what had happened!!! I thought out home was pretty bird proof - we have them out all the time and NEVER EVER anything happened! My only guess is that he could get somehow get stuck with his toenail in the curtain rod that consists of two metal parts that overlap on the middle. But we always had those rods and there was never any problem. He might have gotten caught with his nail into that overlapping spot and had to chew it off. However these two parts are attached pretty loosely and he could easily just pulled it out. I taped that spot just in case… Anyway, that's totally crazy, and the worst thing is that I don't know what happened to prevent it from happening again! Any ideas??? Please? Did anything like that ever happen to your bird?

I thought that maybe my lovie had bitten him, but she bites the toe, not the nail..

The good thing is that he is still very playful and screaming at me because I put him in the cage. He is already perching on both feet and moving all over the cage like a spider. He acts as if nothing happened! He is a bit hyper probably because of the shock he had. I just cannot forgive myself that I wasn't there!
Anyway - just wanted to share this with you.

I'd give him some fruit and millet for energy though since he lost lots of blood and some pedialyte in his water, since dehydration is a worry after blood loss.

Have you cleaned the toe up? Some saline solution would be good to clean it, also to be sure to keep infection away.

Poor guy I hope he feels better!


I have to ask, is your lovie cage aggressive? Lovebirds are notorious for biting toes and nails off birds who land on their cage. I'm wondering if somebirdie bit your conure and he flew off and chewed the rest of it off at the window? Both my tiels have had their toes broken from munch, and tsuka's toe was dangling from a shred of skin (fixed with splinting and luck!)

I have no idea what could happened, but OMG that had to have been heart pounding! I can just imagine the shock with each gruesome discovery. I'm so sorry you and your fids had this happen. I think everyone deserves an extra treat and snuggle tonight. *Hugs*

Guess what, we are sitting in ER right now! He managed to chew off a part of his toe and stared bleeding so bad again.

veimar said:

Guess what, we are sitting in ER right now! He managed to chew off a part of his toe and stared bleeding so bad again.

Click to expand...

Dang really sorry to hear this...i know how ER visits can be, very stressful. I wish you the best outcome possible

sending good thoughts for both of you! keep us updated!

Okay, just came back - they gave him some anti-inflammatory and antibiotics… They put a collar on him so he cannot chew on his toe again, but now he is trying to get it off in his cage, and I don't know what to do! I covered his cage and turned off the lights in hope he would just fall asleep (it's almost midnight!), but he is just going on and on! I guess he cannot fall asleep with this thing on him and I'm afraid he'd injure his toe again. I fed him a little bit and gave him water and juice, so at least he is not hungry. Should I maybe put him in a small travel cage?

So sorry that happened.
hope lil dude will be feeling better today

a small travel cage would be best, or even an aquarium type hospital cage to prevent him from climbing around with an injured foot. line it with soft blankets and roll one up in the middle for him to perch on it. it will make it easier for him

Thank you Dally!
I'm so devastated again! We saw the vet in the morning, and everything seemed fine… until I went for a little nap after last sleepless night. When I came back his little travel cage, perch and towels were covered in blood again!! And there was a lot of blood on the collar! So he apparently stick his foot under the collar trying to take it off and injured it even more!! The blood has stopped for now, but I don't know how to prevent him from keeping injuring his toe again! I took off the collar and put Pary into a big cardboard box with holes in the walls… There is just ⅓ of a toe left right now.. I called the vet, but they were not really helpful - "keep a close eye on him, come back if he starts bleeding again, etc, etc.." I gave him his medication, and he ate well, but he seems pretty weak. He doesn't even try to get out of the box - just sits there with super offended look. I'm so scared for him! I don't know how to keep him - it's horrible for him to sit in the dark box the whole day, but that's the only place where he doesn't injure his toe… And I'm afraid to leave him even for ½ hour, but I need to do my work.. Oh gosh...
Please, please anybody - if you had a similar experience - how did you prevent your fids from injuring themselves over and over?

Birds have a particular talent for getting toes caught in things, breaking them, and occasionally, biting each other's off...

It happens more frequently than you realize, but they do generally survive.

I am so sorry you're going through this I know of plenty of birds who are missing toenails, but never one who wanted to chew their toe off after an injury Maybe it really itches or something (you know how sometimes a healing wound itches) and he doesn't know how to react.

If it gets worse, you should ask the vet if there would be some kind of tranquilizers or some form of medication that would make him a bit loopy so he won't bother the toe.

That's exactly what I thought too, Kiwibird! Tranquilizer wouldnt hurt. 't is very restless, and it doesn't make the things better. I put his "guardian angel" Franky with him - this budgie loves him more than anything in the world:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/81155678@N02/15258828056/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/81155678@N02/15278712571/in/photostream/

Parry seems much calmer after I placed Franky with him. Franky was screaming desperately since 6:30 am because he didn't see Parry around (although he is kept in a different cage).

Those pictures are priceless. He needed his little buddy in his time of need I think when they are bonded and one is injured, that causes an undue amount of stress to separate them. When my moms GCA had a stroke and was pretty much immobile for a few weeks, his normally active "mate" would not leave his side. I bet part of Perry's problem was being away from Frankie. Is there any way to put Perry near Franky tonight?

Awww, they look so sweet together. Franky is indeed a guardian angel.

Crossing my fingers for a speedy recovery for Parry.

Yes, they are together in the box and I just let them out to fly in my small art room. They had a good nap, and Parry is full of energy again. I'll put them to sleep together in that box too. They are really enjoying their time together.
However the really bad thing is that he is trying to chew his toe again! WTH?!! I'm literally keeping my eye on him all the time and scolding him when he starts doing that, but he keeps trying! I'm glad I just finished my painting, so I'm okay for tonight just watching him and doing small stuff. My hubby is gonna make the dinner.

Is there. Different vet in your area? You might have to try a different type of collar, or worst case scenario they may need to remove the rest of the toe since it's bothering him. Have they bandaged it?

He bit it and started bleeding so bad again!!! OMG… I tried to stop the bleeding with aloe vera and kwik stop, but it didn't really work. It was my mistake that I let him out - I didn't realize it would increase his blood pressure and therefore the risk of bleeding. I have fluoride free natural toothpaste, and I applied it to the wound - oddly enough it helped. I put him (and Frankie) to the box for the night, and called and left a message for Dr. McDonald, the best avian vet in our area. I hope he calls me back tomorrow.

I decided to keep Parry in a dark place and not let him out of the box for a couple of days. I just hope to see Parry alive tomorrow morning… It's so horrible that such a minor initial injury (loosing a part of his nail) turned into a disaster for him.

I have a question - can you give birds the Valerian root? It's a natural tranquilizer, and I have it as a liquid. It shouldn't be toxic in any way. Maybe it could help him to stay calmer?

What amazed me most of all was actually Franky - I've never seen a bird (even a dog) with such a heart! He never left Parry either sitting inside the box with him or at the opening like a guardian. When I was doing all this stuff with Parry and rushing back and forth from bathroom to living room he just quietly flew after me and then landed on my hand in which I was holding Parry and chirped gently to him… I almost cried seeing this - even humans are often not that loving and gentle! Just cannot believe that this tiny body holds such a huge loving heart!
Please pray for Parry - I'm so worried...

im not sure about the root, but do you have chamomile? like pure chamomile tea. try offering him some, no other ingredients BUT the chamomile. it might help calm him

try using cayenne pepper powder for his toe to stop the bleeding. he could be chewing because kwik stop is not meant for use on the skin and can actually burn their skin. also toothpaste may be toxic, so i would avoid it.

cayenne pepper powder, make a paste with warm water and apply it to his toe. its a natural antisceptic and also a pain reliever and should stop the bleeding very well. i use it on blood feathers and ive used it on myself as well for a few bad bites.

he needs to be kept warm, so the box is a good idea. try offering some pedialyte in his water, or offer a few drops for him to lick off the end of a syringe. you should be able to get it at a local pharmacy, or even the baby section at some grocery stores. if you cant get it, gatorade/powerade can be used in a pinch as well. keeping him hydrated is very very important. it will keep his energy up which he desperately needs if he is showing weakness.


ive had a few similar situations myself. mango had broken a nail off and bled everywhere and kept re-opening it. keeping him him confined to an aquarium type hospital cage with towels in the bottom really helped him.
and same with tsuka who had the dangling broken toe.

photos attached show he hospital cages ive set up for both mango and tsuka in the past.

the other is a collage that you might find handy

With some of the positions/ situations I've seen my Jenday in, I'm surprised I haven't come home to blood strewn up the walls. He hangs off the roof of his cage, swings like Tarzan on his toys' metal attaching chains, and climbs the bars like a monkey. I'm always terrified he'll injure himself, but all the precautions are in place.

Sometimes accidents happen