Blood bath!!!

[SpotsandSally]

So my IRN won't stop breaking her blood feathers >.< I want her to be fully flighted, but it seems its NEVER going to happen.
I left her alone for what... 5 minutes? In the bathroom & I come back to this ! :11:

Talk about a scare. No injuries, but several of her blood feathers are broken.
How do I get her to stop doing this? I just want her to be fully feathered, beautiful & happy. She loves to try and fly. Though I don't think it's ever gonna happen... >,<

 

[Kalidasa]

Just wondering did she chew them or fly and bump into something?

 

[SpotsandSally]

I think she was on the curtain, flew down, and they broke. There's blood everywhere on the ground.

Even if she is chewing them, any ideas on how to get them to where they're actual feathers and not mangled, bloody remnants of a feather?

 

[JerseyWendy]

I can very much relate. No, not with an IRN, but my Niko did this to his flight feathers for almost 4 years! He was clipped when I got him, so he NEVER learnt how to fly properly. I SO wanted him to grow out his flights and learn how to fly. Each time he would have 2 or more flight feathers growing out, he'd crash land and bust them wide open - also blood baths, just like yours.

I was so sad and disheartened each time it happened. Now, 4 years later, he FINALLY has all his flight feathers on both wings, and he can finally take to the air, no longer clumsy.

Hang in there with your baby, eventually she will grow them successfully without breaking them.

 

[MikeyTN]

I'm sorry to tell ya but the only way to stop them from doing so is do not let them take off or leave them unsupervised until all are grown out. If you were to leave the room, leave them in their cage! If you were to hold them, stay low to the floor so no crash landing. Lola only have one feather left to grow back to be full wing feathers. She's only been with me since this summer. All of my adult birds are fully flighted.

 

[SpotsandSally]

Ok, ill keep her low to the ground. She loves climbing up on the curtains, that's the only real reason she's up high.
If I were to wrap the blood feathers do you think that'd help? It'd only be the 4 flight feathers.
On her other wing the 2 blood feathers grew in just fine and now she has one perfect wing.
Just have to fix this wing, grr.

How long, app. , should the 'no high surfaces' ban last?

 

[MikeyTN]

Wrapping it isn't going to help. You need to ban from high area until the blood feather is done growing when its no longer a blood feather.

 

[GaryBV]

Oh my God I would have a heart attack if I saw that much blood on one of my birds - I have never seen anything like that. I'm glad you knew what it was and didn't panic. I still have not had any luck in locating an avian vet in the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area - can anybody suggest one? I'm going to keep asking this question periodically until I find one. I really don't want to be in an emergency situation and not have a vet lined up.

 

[SpotsandSally]

I think she may be chewing them too, though I've noticed lately she's been doing a lot grooming where her blood feathers are at, and this morning I found a bloody feather as her chew toy.

Gary - I know. I really guessed blood feather right away since this has been persistent, but then I started cleaning her and thought it was a cut. And then I started smelling the blood (blood doesn't make me nauseas but the smell does) and well... Lets end it by saying a 5 minute bath ended up taking half an hour, haha.


Mikey - how long does a blood feather usually last in blood form? Just to get a rough idea.

 

[bittybird527]

you should probably go to a vet

 

[SpotsandSally]

We have. Not for these reasons, though I've voiced my concerns and the vet simply said to do what MikeyTN said.

 

[Kimma]

Oh my God I would have a heart attack if I saw that much blood on one of my birds - I have never seen anything like that. I'm glad you knew what it was and didn't panic. I still have not had any luck in locating an avian vet in the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area - can anybody suggest one? I'm going to keep asking this question periodically until I find one. I really don't want to be in an emergency situation and not have a vet lined up.

Are any of these close enough to you?

The Association of Avian Veterinarians | Association

 

[kanundra]

Oh hun, I am so sorry this is happening.

I had very similar issues with Bobby when we first got him, but the blood loss wasn't as bad. If she's broken them and they're bleeding a lot they need to come out. A vet will pull them. Mine pulled three of Bobby's as he broke them when he first came here.

It took about 2 months for them to start growing back and his flight was restricted, he also started to over preen and chewed them a bit too. So one side has beautiful flight feathers and the other side has a few shorter ones.

You really need to take him/her to a vet and talk about the blood loss and the feathers. It might be best to take them out. Only you and your vet can decide this not any of us on here. There are pros and cons to doing it, but looks like a lot of blood and I freaked out when Bobby was losing a few drops. (when his blood feathers were bent, broken, they would just keep on bleeding as he was chewing it or knocking it.

Hope you'll both be okay. thinking of you.

Dawn