Hi first time bird mum and borken blood feather

[RohanL]

Hi guys Picasso my cockatiel got a scare and lost a feather I saw it had a tiny bit of blood on it, he's squawks likes he's in pain occasionally, not often. He's about 7 months old and going through his first molt. He's singing, giving kisses, cuddles talking and playing. He's all white expect the on his wings so I'd notice any bleeding. Today I was taking a video of him while he was preening and noticed a very light red stain on his wing. It's not bleeding. Will he heal on his own and how long will it take?
I took a picture of the feather and his wing. Sorry if I've posted this in the wrong spot I'm new and just learning my way around the site.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

He will heal just fine. Broken feathers are common and generally harmless. Cockatiels are well known for being prone to frights and panics. Maybe they're a hold over reflex from the wild to stay safe and is away from surprise predators quickly. You may want to purchase a small container of styptic powder. It safely helps stop bleeding from surface wounds like toenails and feathers. Vets offices sell it and it's inexpensive. If a broken feather is actively bleeding you can hold the bird in a towel, isolate the source of bleeding, dab styptic powder on the spot, and apply gentle pressure. It should stop bleeding pretty quickly.

 

[RohanL]

Thankyou so much for your reply I have been so worried. How long until it should heal do you think, just roughly. I noticed today especially this afternoon he wasn't making the squawk sound hardly as much. He had a good dinner of carrots, bean shoots, capsicum and pellets. So it certainly hasn't affected his appetite!. I just hate to see him in pain and being a new bird mum I tend to worry if I think something is wrong. I did read up about the powder and corn starch so will be getting that asap. Thanks again for putting my mind as ease.

 

[wrench13]

SO a blood feather is one where there is an active blood supply to a feather, once they grow fully, the blood supply stops. A blood feather is like a siphon into the birds blood vessels. When a blood feather snaps off or breaks, that siphon is open, but when its pulled out of the skin, that siphon action stops and so does the bleeding. SO first thing is to temporarily stop the bleeding by using corn starch (which is less caustic then a styptic powder) to help clot the break. Next is to determine if there is enough left of the base of the feather to remove it (the siphon part). Using a pair of hemostats (like surgical lockable tweasers) lock onto the part projecting from the skin and with a firm, smooth pull yank the base of the feather out. Sounds violent and painfull, but that has to be done or you risk the blood starting again. Once out, the follicle will close up and no further bleeding will occur.

 

[RohanL]

If he hasn't had any bleeding, and it happened yesterday and being in Australia it's almost 11pm so 2 days tomorrow will I still have to pull out any remaining base of the feather? I haven't been able to see anything left but then again I haven't had a close inspection. The best I got was the video I made and slowed down to look at where it had come out. Thanks for the reply I will be getting a bird first aid kit asap.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

SO a blood feather is one where there is an active blood supply to a feather, once they grow fully, the blood supply stops. A blood feather is like a siphon into the birds blood vessels. When a blood feather snaps off or breaks, that siphon is open, but when its pulled out of the skin, that siphon action stops and so does the bleeding. SO first thing is to temporarily stop the bleeding by using corn starch (which is less caustic then a styptic powder) to help clot the break. Next is to determine if there is enough left of the base of the feather to remove it (the siphon part). Using a pair of hemostats (like surgical lockable tweasers) lock onto the part projecting from the skin and with a firm, smooth pull yank the base of the feather out. Sounds violent and painfull, but that has to be done or you risk the blood starting again. Once out, the follicle will close up and no further bleeding will occur.

View attachment 62885View attachment 62886

Don't wild birds break blood feathers? They don't have anyone to pull out the rest of the feather. Are they at risk of bleeding to weakness or death, too? If so, that seems like a serious design flaw as my wise father would say, rest his soul.