Broken Blood Feather

[clem.and.luna]

Hey everyone,

This is my first post here, and I am a new bird mama to 2 cockatiels, a 10 month old named Clementine, and a 2 month old named Luna. I just came home from work tonight and found a lot of blood on the wall behind their cage, and blood on the grates. Naturally this freaked me out a lot, and I inspected both birds and found that Clementine had broken and pulled out a flight feather. I called the emergency vet and told them the issue, but I have more questions as I am still a bit frazzled. The bleeding seems to have stopped on its own, but she keeps preening the area and im worried she'll open the area back up to bleed more. Even though the bleeding seems to have stopped, should I still put KwikStop over it? And is there anything I can do to make her more comfortable? She was acting a bit more tired and settled than she usually is, but it is later at night and close to the time I would put her to bed so I don't know if it is that or the ordeal she went through. Excuse my rambling in this, but any advice would be appreciated as this is my first time dealing with a blood feather and any bleeding at all

 

[LaManuka]

Welcome to the forums, clem.and.luna, but I'm sorry for the very worrying circumstances!

Broken blood feathers can indeed be very dangerous since little birds don't have a great deal of blood and can't afford to lose very much! If Clementine has indeed managed to extract the feather herself that's probably a very good thing - an avian vet would most likely have pulled it out if it had broken part way down the shaft in order that the follicle it grew from close over and stop further blood loss. As well as Kwik Stop you can also use plain flour or corn flour to stop bleeding if it does start up again. I would keep a VERY close eye on her, particularly if she is scratching or preening at the spot. It appears that KwikStop contains benzocaine in it's formulation that may assist with any pain or irritation she is feeling. I think it would still be worth a visit to her regular vet when you are able, just to make sure all remnants of the offending feather are gone.

Wishing Clementine and you all the very best and thanks again for joining and reaching out for help for her!