BROKEN BLOOD FEATHER FIRST AID

Birds normally replace old or worn feathers through molting. A pet bird on a good diet containing lots of fruits and vegetables and an adequate supply of protein usually has no problem growing new feathers. Most feathers are replaced on a yearly basis, but many pet birds molt gradually, losing their feathers for several months. When a bird loses the long shafted feathers on its tail, wings and, particularly in Cockatoos, the crest and back of it's neck, the newly emerging feathers receive a supply of blood from the body. Growing from a follicle in the skin, these feathers contain blood until they are fully developed.

Blood feathers present a problem only if they break or bleed. This can happen if you trim your bird's wings without checking first to see if it has blood feathers. Or a feather plucking bird may chew a blood feather, causing it to bleed. A bird that becomes startled may fling itself off its perch or fly off its cage and land wrong, smashing the growing blood feather. You must check your bird carefully if you see a blood on the perch, in the cage, in the area around the cage, or on the bird itself. Sometimes a blood feather will be damaged but will not break completely, so it bleeds a little. The bleeding stops, but may start again when the bird changes position of its wing or tail. This occurs most often with tail feathers.

A damaged blood feather should be removed because it can cause severe blood loss. To do this, catch your bird and hold it properly. Locate the source of the bleeding. Sometimes I use a small flashlight to help me find the broken feather. Wrap the bird tightly in a towel, making sure that the towel fits loosely around your bird's face. Once you have the bird in position, pull the area around the broken (usually a wing or tail) feather out of the towel. Carefully hold the fleshy area and gently separate the broken blood feather from the other feathers so that you can clearly see the break. Carefully grip the bird's body as close to the blood feather as you can without touching the feather itself. If the feather has broken at the skin level, apply a styptic powder, and place pressure on the area with your finger.

Keep pressure on the area until you get your bird to a vet. If you see enough feather shafts sticking out of the skin for you to grasp it firmly with a pair of pliers, you should be able to pull the feather out. Grip the blood feather as far away from the skin as possible without putting the pliers too close to the break. Securely hold the body area to it doesn't move when you pull out the feather. Once you have a firm grip on the feather, pull it out quickly and smoothly. Don't jerk the broken feather out or wiggle it around, because this could result in a break closer to the feather follicle.

Normally the feather will pull right out, and the bleeding will stop because you have removed the "blood faucet." If the follicle continues to bleed apply pressure with your finger until the bleeding stops. If the bleeding continues, apply a styptic powder, and continue applying pressure. A follicle usually does not continue to bleed after the feather is removed. If the bleeding continues, part of the feather shaft may still be in the follicle and the "faucet" will still be open. In this case, continue to apply pressure to the follicle and take your bird to a vet ASAP.

(Courtesy of Fancy Feathers of Arizona as Reprinted from Tropical Bird Fanciers of Arizona).

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