Stopping bleeding

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Earlier today Casper had a tumble in his cage because he was expecting a perch to be longer than it was. He seemed OK at the time but later we noticed blood drips all over the place and a pulled out blood feather. It was a new tail feather. He has blood on his beak so presumably it was causing him distress and had to go.
We got the cornflower and cotton bud kit and wrapped his top half in a towel. It was very hard to see where the injury was because of all the other plumage on a wriggling bird so I just dabbed the cornflower all over the bloody area and hoped that some of it got to the source.
Casper is now confined to barracks and has settled down for a sleep because he is bored.
We will monitor him and the cage tray for new blood and hopefully he will be all right because it is a public holiday today and the vet is shut.

So... is there a better way of getting the cornflower where it is needed, perhaps a puffer of some sort? Or is there a surgical spray that can be used?

[Dragonlady2]

If you pulled out the feather, it should stop bleeding. If it is still bleeding could there still be a piece/root of the blood feather left and it will need to be pulled. Keeping him confined to barracks is a good idea to keep movement down to a minimum. If there is continued excessive bleeding you may have to towel him again and apply pressure and more cornflower. Hopefully Casper will be fine.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

He seems to have done a good job of pulling the root of the feather out on his own and there are no more drips of blood on the floor of the cage. I have put acrylic discs on the ends of the perches that don't go right across the cage in a "health and safety" effort. He is now pretending he can't reach his forage toy. :)

[PlaxMacaws]

Jean-Pierre: Was the purged feather quill intact (i.e., in one piece)? From your description, I'm taking the impression that it may not have been. If it wasn't and you haven't located its tip portion, there is a chance that it is still planted somewhere in Casper's skin. If that happens to be the case, any dried blood/clotted matter that has plugged the remaining quill's hollow shaft base may be at risk of dislodging, especially if Casper begins manipulating it. You can think of such a remaining broken blood feather base as having a fresh hole bored into your flesh and then jamming a drinking straw into the wound. It would have potential to become a blood faucet, especially if disturbed. The thing about corn starch is that it works best when packed into a wound. Dabbing it over an area would at best be minimally effective, and may not reach/penetrate the intended site at all. (And it would be quite ineffective for a remaining broken blood feather quill.) I would recommend a vet visit to have Casper inspected as soon as your vet is available.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Here is the offending item
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What do you think?



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[Dragonlady2]

Hard to tell since it is a new feather. Still wouldn't hurt for a vet visit even if it has stopped bleeding.

[PlaxMacaws]

Yes, that's quite a new feather. As such, my guess would be that any remnants from its base that may not have been released should be so soft and moist that clotting and healing should progress fairly well. But, as Helena said, a vet check certainly can't hurt.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Thanks, appointment made with clinic nurse as all vets appointments already filled. We have just had a public holiday on Friday and Monday so there must be quite a backlog.
If the nurse has any doubts she will consult with one of the vets.
He seems well and normal. It is difficult to tell whether, when he preens his butt feathers, it is just to get the blood off or because there is soreness or irritation. We did bathe him yesterday to rinse off some of the blood stains.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

All is well, the vet came out of his surgery as soon as he heard and recognised Casper's voice. :)

[Lady]

:th_yah:, I'm so glad to hear Casper got a good report from the vet!!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

And nothing to pay :) :namen_paul: