Blood dripping from beak - help please

[natv]

Kiwi jumped down to the floor from his playstand and landed badly. I noticed a blood drop on the floor shortly after and then maybe the equivalent of one drop on the bottom of his beak.

I don't see any visible cracks or bleeding from anywhere, seems to be coming from the inside or underside of his beak.

The bleeding stopped but as we were taking him back to his cage about an hour later he jumped again and the bleeding started again (a few drops)

I'm keeping an eye on him but not sure what to do. If the bleeding stops I assume there's no point in taking him to an emergency vet, but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to help him in the meantime?

This is my first bird and I've only had him a couple of months (he's about 10 months old)


If the bleeding starts again when he climbs around his cage for exampe, what should I do? At what point should I take him to the vet? (say it bleeds a drop when he aggravates it somehow but it does clot each time?)


I really can't tell where it's coming from, I suppose it may be cracked on the inside?


Any help/advice much appreciated.

Thank you in advance

 

[weco]

Look at his tongue...he may have bitten it.....

Healthy birds normally have fast coagulating blood, so you probably won't see any more blood drops, at least not from that particular wound.....

 

[Peeker]

I would keep an eye on it but it sounds like something minor if it's only a drip now and then. I would offer soft foods for a few days and make sure he is eating and drinking. He may be little sore. It is sounding like he may have chipped the tip off. Can you see anything different just looking at him?

 

[natv]

Thanks for the replies. I don't see any damage to his beak tip or his tongue. The bleeding did stop again. The tip does has some blood stain on it so perhaps that is what was bleeding but the crack is so small I can't see it. He was licking it so maybe that's why I also saw blood inside his mouth a bit..

Can birds crack the inside/inner beak or does this sound most likely like the very tip of his beak cracked a bit?


He seems his normal self, saying hi and climbing around his cage (where he uses his beak a lot)


I'm just concerned that it started to bleed again when he jumped down a second time but maybe he keeps hitting his beak when he lands.



We feed him chop mix so it's all soft food (veggies, rice, beans, etc). Lots of beets in it (red) so waiting a bit before feeding him tonight so I can monitor for bleeding.




Thanks again for the quick replies, I feel better now (still guilty though because I accidentally startled him earlier which caused him to jump.

 

[weco]

If you see a crack at the very end of his beak, be real careful about anything hard you give him.....as you can tell, a beak tip is not braced and can split further back, much like a torn fingernail.....what you want to do is let the beak tip grow out & wear off, so you probably need to keep an eye on it.....if it does show some splitting, you can get a tube of fast setting super glue (not gel) and put a drop on the split...it will be drawn into the split & set.....

It's not dangerous to the bird (as long as you don't get glue on his tongue (even then it's only a problem) & vets use the same stuff to temporarily repair cracked beaks, though when they rebuild beaks they use dental acrylics.....

 

[natv]

Thanks, I will definitely be keeping an eye in it.

Are sunflower seeds too hard? (The inside seed I'm referring to).

 

[aliray]

If you are talking already shelled sunflower seeds they are pretty soft and shouldn't be a problem

 

[mrgoogls]

definatly keep up what the others have said. if he cracked his beak hard food might make is worse. he also could have bit his toung as said above which will take a few days to heal. otherwise as long as there is no more bleeding and he is acting normal i wouldnt worry to much. just look closly for bleeding and not climbing with his beak, not eating, ect.

 

[natv]

Re: Blood dripping from beak - help please (UPDATE - pictures of worsening beak)

Hi guys,

Need some advice. His beak hasn't bled since I first posted, and we've kept him off hard foods (not that we give him seeds anyway, he eats chop mix)

But his beak tip seems to be splitting now and I'm wondering if at this point I should bring him into the vet to be fixed.

I tried the other day to put some crazy glue (not gel), but he moves too much and I couldn't really get any on. Then he started to sneeze so I felt bad that he was getting fumes from it.


I took two pictures of his beak just now, and could really use feedback. I'm afraid it's going to crack off if he bites into something hard like wood/perche and then I'd really have a problem. Should I take him to the vet tomorrow?

Here are the pictures...

 

[MonicaMc]

As long as the bleeding has stopped and he continues eating (soft) foods, he should be fine. I would suggest calling the vet and asking if he needs to be seen rather than taking him in - if the vet is willing to speak with you.

If it gets worse, I would say otherwise!

 

[Peeker]

I agree that as long as he is eating and playing normally and it isn't bleeding I wouldn't worry. Keep an eye on it watching for changes JIC, but hoping it heals completely and the damaged tip grows out and wears smooth.

 

[natv]

What if that end of the beak cracks off? (it looks like it easily could, as it's now quite thin there)

Just to be prepared in case this happens when the vet is closed... what should I do to try to stop the bleeding, flour? Or should I get quik-stop (or whatever it's called).

If he bled when I could barely see any beak damage this is quite worrysome.

Thanks again

 

[Sassy]

Flour or corn starch should work.

 

[Peeker]

Flour or corn starch should work.

Yes. Do't use the quik-stop. It stings. I use corn starch here.

 

[MonicaMc]

As long as the damage is minor, it should grow out just fine. If it's major, then the beak may not be able to grow back properly... From the images you provided, I would say the damage is minor!

Charlie, my mitred conure, has major beak damage, which is the result of him trying to bully a blind ruby macaw...

Here's a page on various beak disorders and problems... user beware, there's some graphic images!
http://www.scottemcdonald.com/pdfs/Bad Beaks.pdf

 

[natv]

Thanks very much everyone for the replies.

I wimped out a few days ago and took him to the Vet, mostly to make myself feel more at ease as I kept worrying it was going to crack off.

The vet agreed it was pretty minor but said she can lightly sand it down to smooth it out, so she did that and put on some beak conditioner.

But I made the most out of the Vet visit... I confided in her that I was unsure how to handle him if I ever had to, for example, hold him still to apply pressure to a wound, as I don't exactly know how to wrap him in a towel.

Their behaviourist was there that day and she had her come in and spend a bit of time with me working on that, and I practiced wrapping him up and holding him. It was really nice, he doesn't mind it so much either.

It's much easier I find to put a towel over him when he's on the floor or a table, I still need practice when he's on his playstand, I can't seem to get it tight enough and he wiggles out. But I least I know how to practice this with him now

 

[MonicaMc]

Barbara Heidenreich also has a DVD on training parrots for the veterinary exam!

Glad you were able to get the most out of the vet visit and learn new things! It definitely helps to know how to do something if you ever need to!

 

[natv]

wow that PDF has some scary pictures! It's amazing all those birds could still eat.