Emergency! Bleeding!

[Bladesmith]

Jarvis, he of the self mangled and heavily scarred wings, startled today for no apparent reason I could find, and fluttered off his cage perch. He's done this before, with no ill effects, but THIS time, when I got him from the floor, both of the "underarm" areas of his wings were bleeding up a storm. Unfortunately, I'm still working with him on handling him, and being in pain and bleeding, he wouldn't let me see his injuries very well, and it's hard to do one handed while he's biting at me.

I DID manage to get him turned over on his back so his wings would relax a bit so I could get some sterile gauze into the areas that looked to be bleeding the worse, and gently hold pressure and keep his wings closed on the packed gauze until the bleeding stopped. I've got my ex wife (AKA Ellie May Klampett the animal whisperer) on the way to help me with him. She's got the styptic powder, and I've got the other first aid supplies. He's settled down, and he's back in his cage, hiding and resting in his bedroom. No new bleeding I can see, he nibbled a bit at a favorite treat, but I can tell he's not feeling well and that his wings really hurt.

From what I can tell, he's torn the scar tissue under his wings, and from personal experience I know that hurts like hell.

If he survives this (I can't get a avian vet until Monday), any suggestions on how to keep his scar tissue from doing this again? I know he'll never fly again, but he doesn't seem to realize this.
He's my buddy and brave boy, and I dont' want him to hurt again ever.

 

[BeatriceC]

I said this in another post, but my vet says that *any* amount of bleeding in a bird is urgent, as they have so little blood volume to begin with. If you can get the bleeding stopped, that's a great thing. I hope your ex-wife gets there soon (and my hubby is the Bird Whisperer too, so I know what it feels like to call somebody in a panic because a bird isn't cooperating with me and needs something right now!). If you can't get the bleeding stopped, is there a 24 hour emergency vet that at least sees birds and can help you with that? My vet works on an on call basis with another avian vet for the emergency vet in my area, so they have somebody to call when birds come in. Maybe there's a set up like that near you? Or does your vet have an after hours answering service you can call for advise?

Good luck. I hope everything turns out okay.

 

[1Spongebob]

I was told to use flour to stop bleeding if styptic powder isn't available. It worked great when my mac bit the nail off my zon. Please keep us posted.

 

[Bladesmith]

Bleeding is stopped, no new drips or leaks seen...Who new Army emergency medical training would work on birds? Let's hear it for direct pressure. He's resting, he's had some water, and she's almost here. I'm afraid now that if we open his wings to look at his injuries, we'll start it bleeding again. But we gotta look and see how bad it is and where.

Arggh. My poor baby.

 

[BeatriceC]

Oh! I forgot about flour. Our vet told us to use that first on Charlotte's beak (or cornstarch) to slow down or stop the bleeding before bringing her in.

And I'm so glad to hear you have the bleeding stopped. I'd still bring her in tomorrow because of infection risk. The wound should still be checked out.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Myself, I've always used corn starch. I've heard some not so pleasant things about the styptic powder and corn starch works wonders. As far as the scarring though, I know with people rubbing vitamin E on a scar can soften the skin so it's more elastic. I was told to break open a vitamin E capsule and rub the liquid on the scar. However, definitely consult an avian vet before even considering doing it with a bird. It is something you could ask about though.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

[Allee]

Poor Jarvis, I'm sorry that happened. I would choose cornstarch or flour over styptic powder, it works just as well and doesn't burn.

I hope Jarvis recovers quickly. I think I would consider a vet visit to avoid infection.

 

[Bladesmith]

Thanks for all the input and well wishes.

He's freaking me out. After a couple hours of rest, he's out of his hut and eating, walking around, and preening himself.

Like nothing happened.

WTH?

 

[Anansi]

I'm so sorry to hear that poor Jarvis is going through this. It's great, though, that you managed to stop the bleeding. I'm also an advocate for corn starch over styptic powder, btw. Just as effective without any of the potential drawbacks.

Like others have said, I definitely suggest that you take him to the vet as soon as possible.

I don't know if there's a way to make scar tissue less prone to reopening, but perhaps the vet could say one way or the other.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Bleeding: My AV says to use a cold compress and definitely not flour. It does mean the wound stays clean and you can see whats going on I suppose.

 

[Bladesmith]

I'm seriously perplexed. Ok wait. Re: Flour and Cornstarch, etc. I'll try those next time, but this time, Direct pressure worked well.

OK perplexed. He's FINE today. Same old Jarvis. Eating, chirping, talking, kissing, climbing, and pooping. Water intake is fine.

Only sign of yesterdays emergency is the dried blood on his feathers, and soreness in his moving his wings.

Other than that, nada. What the heck? I KNOW he was bleeding, because it was all over my hands, but otherwise, there's no sign of any issue with him.

I don't get it.

 

[Bladesmith]

UPDATE:
Sorry this took so long to get back to, but it's been a little chaotic.

So Long Story Short, After a trip to the vet, we confirmed the scar tissue under Jarvis wings (From the plucking he did with his previous owner, about whom the less said will prevent me from cussing) ripped all to hell and gone when he had his little freak out, and her ripped a blood vessel with it. A small one, not a major line, but enough to scare the crap out of all of us.

Not much to be done but keep it clean, let it heal, and smear vitamin E on it to soften the scar tissue as much as possible. Also to secure him in his cage before doing anything that might startle him into panicking and fluttering his wings.

My poor brave baby boy. If only I'd met him a few year earlier before he went plucking.

Thanks for the concern, everyone.

 

[Terry57]

Thank you for the update! I'm so glad that Jarvis is doing better, what a scary thing that was!
I hope he doesn't get startled and do that again.
I wish he had been with you before as well, but I am so thankful he has you now

 

[SirEdwin89]

Glad to hear that he is doing better, and that no major harm was done.

 

[jenphilly]

If the wounds open again, there is treatment with an avian specialist called cold laser therapy. It's not cheap or quick, but with wounds opening and any meds between body and wing needs to be cleaned often to prevent bacteria worries.

Cold laser therapy was the only option to save a grey at the shelter... it was a long road, and again, not a cheap endeavor but just a thought if you find yourself at the end of your rope.

Bree did make a full recovery and bonded with a vet assistant that helped with his treatment. So he had a double happy ending, he's happy and found his forever family.

Best of luck and hope your guys breaks the cycle before it ever comes to a crisis. Keep updating!