Is this normal, I'm upset!

[wwendy104]

So on New Years say we took in a rescue B&G and today was her first vet appointment. Now I knew she would need a beak trim it was very over grown due to the previous owner not giving the bird anything to chew and her diet of crappy seed. This is one of two avian vets in my area and I won't say a name but after her beak trim she has what appeared to be bruising in the white area behind her beak. This is the first time we have gone to this vet who is an avian vet but I'm sad cause in the check up I really liked him but this made me very upset. I feel so bad I want to cry. They did tell me they were going to towel her but toweling has never done that to any of my other birds. Here is a picture.

http://www.parrotforums.com/members/wwendy104-albums-rescue-macaw-picture6554-image.html

 

[WharfRat]

I'd be kicking someone's a$$ over that!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Poor baby Did they use a dremmel? The vibration might of caused it.(or maybe fingers holding the head steady *sad face*l) Also did they allow you to watch the whole thing? My avian vet lets us watch the entire check up including beak trimmings(if you need it, Rosie doesn't), drawing blood. Anything except surgical things. This is a very important feature to me and if I vet won't allow me to watch I won't go to them.

 

[wwendy104]

No they took her in the back to do it. Im so upset and feel so bad she has already had such a rough life. Here I believe I am helping her and she comes out looking like this. I thought my husband was going to knock the guy out my daughter grabbed his arm. The assistant said it is normal sometimes it happens from the restraint. OW my this will NEVER happen again!

 

[Merlee]

I would say this is just bruising from the face being held so tightly in the towel. It'll go away.

 

[plax]

Aww, the poor girl . My suspicion is that the veterinary assistant didn't know how to grasp her head properly. It's usually an assistant who restrains the bird while a veterinarian performs the procedure. That's no excuse though IMO! I think the trauma to her facial skin was quite unnecessary, whether due to an accident or incompetence (or both).

Believe me, I've experienced my share of incompetent vets and assistants, as well as unnecessary and, in some cases, both unnecessary AND dangerous procedures .

Of course her bruising will heal... and she will hopefully be able to keep her beak in shape by herself from this point forward (with your assistance and the proper provisions)

 

[Cami]

Plax is correct, this happened to Spencer six years ago when I moved to Phx, although not as bad, it was slightly pinkish on each side. At the vet, Im always with Spencer in any capacity. He was so strong and fighting and it was the vet assistant that was holding too tight while the doctor dremmeled his beak and nails. This was the only time that it happened, the vet assistant adjusted her grip back to his jaw instead of the white part of his 'cheek'. It does heal, but looks devastating.

One day Six months ago, Spencer always fought so hard and got so stressed out that he started to seize, I thought I was gonna lose him that day. From then on, he put him under for a few minutes just so Spencer wouldnt suffer the stress of being held down and the loud dremmel. I don't like putting him 'under', but it is the lessor of the two evils.

 

[triordan]

Poor baby~ it looks like it is bruised around her nose too, is that the case or is it just the picture?

 

[JerseyWendy]

I agree, that bruise is from not being held correctly, but MUCH to harshly. Poor girly! She will heal quickly....but she may not like going back there - EVER!

And DITTO, Wharf....I would have done the same thing, NO doubt in my mind.

 

[PetoftheDay]

I would not only never go back there again, but file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and chamber of Commerce if they take complaints. Other people should be warned away from them! Your poor, poor birdie!

 

[BeakersBro]

I'd imagine the bird was struggling in the towel. Those large birds can probably wriggle quite violently. It's not like he's just going to sit perfectly still while some big loud scarey grinding wheel attacks his face. If it's scared enough, the bird can probably squirm hard enough against it's restraint to cause blisters like that.

Think about that before you let your husband punch a vet for doing her job.

That said, I would rather go to a vet that allows you to watch -- just in case you have a nasty vet who gets frustrated and abuses.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I'd imagine the bird was struggling in the towel. Those large birds can probably wriggle quite violently. It's not like he's just going to sit perfectly still while some big loud scarey grinding wheel attacks his face. If it's scared enough, the bird can probably squirm hard enough against it's restraint to cause blisters like that.

Think about that before you let your husband punch a vet for doing her job.

That said, I would rather go to a vet that allows you to watch -- just in case you have a nasty vet who gets frustrated and abuses.

Sorry, I disagree whole-heartedly. No matter how much the bird struggled, if held PROPERLY there would have been absolutely NO bruising at all.

 

[Customcasket]

Poor baby so unnecessary to have that happen. I guess people make mistakes :/ hopefully they learn to properly hold a bird while doing the beak trimming.

 

[MeganMango]

Always watch anyone who works with your animals. This way you know if its an accident or not. I would suggest making an appointment and taking a hard copy of that picture to the vet who worked with you and requesting an explanation. When they try to tell you that its normal, I would very strongly state that you have had birds for some time and it most certainly is NOT normal. I would explain that you dont want compensation, but that you want to make it very clear that this is why you will NEVER be allowing them to see your animals again. I would further state that they need to be more careful while handling other peoples animals. I had a vet punch my horse in the face once. She no longer works for her previous employers. Getting angry wont get you anywhere, you need to approach very calmly and professionally.

 

[HappyHummingbird]

I am so sorry this happened to your bird. May your bird heal quickly!

 

[BeakersBro]

Sorry, I disagree whole-heartedly. No matter how much the bird struggled, if held PROPERLY there would have been absolutely NO bruising at all.

Your very right that if it was done properly there would not be a bruise, as beak trimming is done all the time without bruising.

What I said was, with a large and well-enough motivated bird, it can be hard to do it properly, and therefore the bruise was most likely accidental (due to difficulty or inexperience or improper positioning of the towel, or any number of factors) rather than some kind of malicious act that you implied in your previous post:

that bruise is from not being held correctly, but MUCH to harshly.

Don't get me wrong -- I do feel sorry that this bird had to go through a scarey and painful ordeal. But with all this talk of kicking the a$$ of the vet who did this, I thought I'd point out that the bruise was not necessarily caused by malicious intent.

I hope we all don't advocate punching anyone who makes a mistake, or else I'd be certainly be punched quite a lot.

Finally, I'll state again -- I'd prefer to go to a vet that lets you witness the procedure. I think vets tend to do a more careful job when somebody is watching them.

Cheers

 

[Turquoise]

Oh poor baby!! Yeah, sometimes when you are not there they don't seem to be as careful as they should be. I am limited to one avian vet. (the old vet at this hospital I always went to retired last year) that I have already had a bad experience with. And for me it is close to 200 miles one way to the next closest avian vet., but I do think that the next time I go to this vet. I have available they will be more willing to listen to me when I tell them about my parrot's disabilities.

I hope you can find a better place next time you need to take your baby to. And I hope that you did let them know how displeased you are with the seemingly rough treatment they gave your macaw. Especially since she has had bad life experiences already & this does not help her attitude one least bit!

 

[MikeyTN]

I would not go back to them like PetoftheDay suggest....In the years I've taken Willie to the vet to have nails done, that has NEVER happened. IF they bruise Willie in the cheek, someone is gonna get a bruise outta me....Even when my friend held Willie for me this past summer so I can do his nails, he was fine cause my friend was holding him properly. I'm sorry your baby got a booboo.....

 

[plax]

What I said was, with a large and well-enough motivated bird, it can be hard to do it properly, and therefore the bruise was most likely accidental (due to difficulty or inexperience or improper positioning of the towel, or any number of factors) rather than some kind of malicious act that you implied in your previous post:

Point: I don't see anything in JerseyWendy's posts indicating that she believes there was any 'malicious' intent on the part of the vet or the assistant. Instead, she has indicated it's her belief the Macaw was grasped both too harshly and incorrectly. That doesn't mean she thinks the veterinary personnel intended to harm the Macaw. The term malicious means: of or relating to an intent to cause harm, (e.g., the resulting harm from an act was its goal). Belief that the incident involved malice was not implied as far as I can see.

 

[MikeyTN]

I see both side of the story, BUT the main point is, this should never have happened IF they held the bird properly! Yes I do agree things happen out of our control, but since they were being paid to do this, they should be more careful. I don't blame the vet for everything, BUT this is not something I go lightly on. It's most likely the vet tech that did this as the vet is usually the one doing the trimming. Most likely insufficient training, I would NOT allow them to do it behind closed doors as I want to watch the whole procedure. The only time I was not there with my pets is during surgery or xray. I'm in the whole process through getting urine sample, stool sample, blood sample, or whatever. And I never listen to the vet 100% if I don't agree with them and a lot of times I am right not to. I actually ask my vet to prescribe certain medications to treat certain things through my studies on it and it have proven to work for me over and over. Sometimes you just need to take things into your own hands, I have owned enough pets to know better. At the end of the day, IF they hurt my baby in any way shape or form, it is considered their fault!!!!