I thought I was going to lose Boomer today :(

[BoomBoom]

Hello everyone. Today was a very scary day for me. Boomer had a freak out moment ending in him thrashing about the walls and floors. He hit my closet door pretty hard, getting winded, then was zigzagging around the room. Not sure what happened but he was soooo scared, even of me. I cradled him in a blanket till he calmed down.

I put him in his cage where he was very still and dozed off for half an hour. Chris (Boomer on the forum) came by later to see how he was doing. By that time, Boomer was back to his old self. Eating and climbing in his cage. I did not let him out because he tends to attack Chris in flight. Much later, I did take him out and surprisingly, he did not try to kill Chris.

5 hours since the ordeal, he's pretty much back to his old self. Flying, following me around, eating. He's missing some feathers by his nares and has a bruise but no bleeding on that spot. I am thinking of taking him to the vet tomorrow for an x-ray BUT I know they administer oxygen and I'm scared of this. Plus, he's been through so much that I don't want to stress him out any further.

I wanted to ask, can birds with broken bones or a head concussion be able to fly around the place like he does?

 

[faeryphoebe1]

OMG, I'm so sorry that you guys went through this today. How scary.

Sorry that I don't have an answer for you. Glad to hear that Boomer is acting okay.

 

[Boomer]

Yay! He didn't attack me today. He doesn't remember me anymore. I'M GLAD HE IS BACK TO NORMAL!

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Oh my goodness, how scary!! I think I am overly sensitive to this topic because that's my only theory of what happened to my Georgie (she died from "blunt trauma" in her own cage when I was at work--I think something startled her and she freaked out! But my vet told me although it happens on occasion to a bird, it is relatively rare and not something we should continually worry about.) But I so know that fearful, helpless feeling when your bird is startled and flying around like crazy, heavy breathing, etc. Georgie had a few bouts of those "panic attacks" in her life.

If you aren't sure about the vet, maybe keep a very close eye on him over night/tomorrow and if you are still in doubt, take him for at least an exam. Is your vet relatively easy to reach by phone for a talk? I have called my vet and just explained what happened and sometimes he'll say, "oh, if he is like that, he's probably fine" or "he is probably fine but this is a potential complication so you may want to have that checked". A call may ease your mind a little if the vet is accessible.

I'll keep you guys in my thoughts. Poor little guy.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

How scary! Today Kenji was acting freaking out too, he lunged off his cage falling to the floor, I ran over and talked to him, then picked him up and he was fine for a moment then he started flapping really hard and fell on my bed, I let him calm down some and when I picked him up he seemed fine, but then he tried flying again and crashed into Rosie's cage then to the floor very hard.

It's so scary when things like this happen, all we can do is try to avoid them no matter how unpredictable they may seem

 

[Kalidasa]

Nika has done it before, but it's always been in conjunction with something she saw outside a window....there are tons of birds outside including birds of prey. She had a freak out and I didn't understand until I looked out the window and saw an enormous hawk perched in the tree outside the window staring in. Or it can even be a shadow if a large bird that will set her off.

 

[kellie]

I'd keep an eye on his poop! Black poop or red poop signals internal bleeding (in case he has internal damage from the impact)

I found this article online about concussion symptoms and it seems pretty thorough
Birds Online - Health and diseases - Other diseases - Concussion

 

[BoomBoom]

Thank you so much for the comments, it means a lot. Sorry I could not respond to each at the moment.

I'm reading up on concussion. Boomer has a little bruising on the small bald spot right above his nares where the feathers came off. He has faint bruising in the farthest corner of the skin around his right eye. I checked his stool today, it was normal. No black or red, but I will check again tomorrow. If there is internal bleeding, how soon will the poop will change color? Is it immediately?

Even though he is acting normal, I am worried about the minor bruising. What if there is swelling in the brain that takes a few days for the symptoms to manifest? Hmm I probably should give the vet a call tomorrow and at least to see how I can approach this. Luckily it's the start of my 2 week vacation...

 

[MikeyTN]

Birds do freak out at times and go crazy like that for no apparent reason. I'm sure Boomer is ok but just needed time to hear those spots. They're stronger then we give them credit for. Just keep an eye on him, I'm sure he's fine!

 

[Calace]

Very scary for you! If he had swelling of his brain his behaviour would be affected within a few hours. I'm sure he's fine, but I agree a phone call to the vet will help ease your mind.

 

[Boomer]

How's the technicolor chicken this morning?

 

[BoomBoom]

The chicken is probably still sleeping. I don't take him out of his cage until I've had my shower at 7:15am. I haven't slept much and anxious to see his morning poop for signs of internal bleeding. He's been normal all afternoon and evening. Was even trying to wrestle my finger and was rough about it like usual.

Still can't shake off the worry though. I left a voicemail with the vet in Hawthorne just in case. I'm worried to take him I'm because of disease exposure from sick birds though.

Thanks for the comments, Mikey and Calace. It is very reassuring and appreciated.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Here's to hoping that Boomer is back to 100% normal today, and that it will NEVER happen again.

Please keep us posted. I think it's a great idea that you left a voicemail with the vet.

You must have been besides yourself when all this happened.

 

[Blancaej]

Hope Boomer is doing well today! Keep us posted!

 

[kellie]

Let us know how Boomer is doing as soon as you find out!

 

[BoomBoom]

Wendy, Blanca and Kellie, thank you for checking in on Boomer. He is back to his old self this morning, as if yesterday never happened. He is eating, playing and giving me jealous nips when I pay attention to the d-links more than him (was re-arranging his cage some). His poop looks normal to what he usually drops. Dark green, tubular with separate white urates and clear liquid around. I saved it on a paper towel and bagged it to bring to the vet if I do end up going. I'll post a picture later.

I haven't called the vet yet because they don't open till 9am. I want to call just to see what they might tell me. I still have reservations on subjecting him to a vet visit incase he gets stressed by the exam or catches something from another bird. I'll post an update, regardless of which route I take.

Thank you all.

 

[faeryphoebe1]

It's so good to hear that Boomer is back to his old self again. It sounds like you had a very long, stressful night.

 

[MikeyTN]

I'm glad he's all right!!!!! I've been thinking of Boomer this morning....

 

[Boomer]

Has anyone been to this Avian vet? This is where BoomBooms is with Boomer now and they wouldn't let him in the room during his examination.

 

[BoomBoom]

Thanks, Mikey and Phoebe.

I'm at the vet now. They just took Boomer in. They wouldn't let me be in the room with Boomer Standard procedure. I could hear him screeching every now and then. I hope they aren't man-handling him He must be so scared.

This avian vet had the highest rating in my area. Reviews upon reviews of 5 stars. The doc himself was really nice and listened to my whole story. Before taking him in the room for the exam, the doc said most likely Boomer is fine but theres the possibility of having to give him anti inflammatories or nasal flushing. Depends after he looks at him. I was confident coming in that Boomer would be ok from his accident, now I'm not so sure.

Sorry not making too much sense. I'm still waiting out here till they are done checking him. I'll let you guys know how it goes.