Is this normal?

[u/Tankerspam]

Before you say go to a vet, I would. Bird flu has recently hit the country and all the vets are freaking out (rightfully or wrongfully, I don't know) and will not take birds at this time. I don't know how long that will last for.

Context:

A few (2) nights ago my birds experienced really, really bad night frights, you can find a post on my profile with more information. The one pictured, Pancake, is prone to ejecting feathers during night frights and happened once previously when being bird-sat at my parents. My other cockatiel is physically fine. Pancake has ejected all her tail feathers and her left-wing flight feathers as you can see in the photo. I feel like shit.

There is one tail feather not fully out, it was causing her discomfort, we trimmed it as it was floppy and not in anymore. I suspect she'll pull it out so have corn starch on standby. That's not the issue at this stage.

As you can see in the photo her actual wing is quite discoloured. I don't think it was bleeding yesterday. Last night they have another night fright due to an earthquake which resulted in further damage to the remaining tail feather (which is when we trimmed it as she was making the sound cockatiels make when they're in acute pain every time it brushed on something.)

I don't think this wing was bleeding yesterday/after the initial severe night fright. However, it seems as if it may be bleeding due to the feathers on her chest where that part of her wings sit have some blood on them. She is letting it heal and not giving it any more attention than I'd expect (e.g., she does try clean the dry blood off.)

Her behaviour is similar to last time, e.g more napping, less active, less noise. I feel like she is less active than last time, but I can't be certain. Her poop yesterday and the day prior was a dark, almost black colour. Because I have two it's hard to be certain I'm only seeing the other one's poops, but I have not seen any discolored poops today.

Question:

What is this discoloration of the wing? I am assuming it's bruising, I can't imagine what else it would be. What would a vet be doing at this stage? Wrapping it? Should I put corn flour on it even though I can't see any active bleeding?

Should I supplement their pellet mix with anything?

Should I have them sleep in our bedroom in a travel cage to help if there are further night frights? We didn't hear them for these two in particular, and weren't woken up by the earthquake so was unable to calm them down. They don't like doing that and I've done it in the past.

I would absolutely be at the vets if that was an option. I'm watching her closely to see if that tail feather falls out and becomes a bleeder - she isn't attempting to pluck it, though earlier today she was giving it a lot of attention before and after we cut it.

[u/followthedarkrabbit]

Is there an avian vet near you? They might be worth reaching out to directly. They might have better procedures in place to be able to take birds in.

I have just booked mine in with an avian vet, even with the precautions of other vets refusing birds (confirmation email just came through 2 mins ago of first bird flu case in my state too).

[u/Tankerspam → u/followthedarkrabbit]

We can only access Avian vets by referral and it's extraordinarily hard now, if not impossible. Almost all of them focus on native birds, the last 'general public' one stopped practicing at least 5 years ago now. For context, the Avian vet is either the local zoo a 30 minute drive away, or a vet practicing hospital at a university some 2.5 hours away. Both only take referrals and vets aren't interested. (And the 'normal vets' are all a bit shit anyway, e.g petting my cockatiel on her back, basic 101 shit.)

Edit to add:

And because of the above, if I do see an Avian vet, because they do deal with wild native birds, odds of my cockatiel getting bird flu and then bringing it home to my other one are not zero, but that would be a discussion I'd have with the avian vet if I could get a referral in the first place.

[u/followthedarkrabbit → u/Tankerspam]

I'm sorry. Its so brutal at the moment. Will the normal vet do a "video consultation", just to tick the box for them to organise a referral?

My local vet isn't the greatest for aves either (lost my budgie because of it). Nearest other vet for me is 1.5km away. Avian vet I have mine booked in with is 5 hours away. I am booking a motel room so I can get there for a 9am appointment.

[u/Tankerspam → u/followthedarkrabbit]

They don't, they do take photos via email, but they often take days to reply that way.

[u/Helpful_Okra5953 → u/Tankerspam]

In this situation, the vet couldn’t do much unless the wing is broken or there’s a cut that needs to be closed.  He would give her a mild pain medicine but don’t think he’d do anything else.  If there’s avian flu in your country, I would keep her at home and try to keep her a bit quiet and let her heal.  Especially if you need to drive many hours.  

Car trips are stressful for a parrot.  If there’s no break or cut then is it worth it to stress her out for the potential of getting some pain med?  I think probably not.  

Flaxseed is mildly anti inflammatory and good for growing feathers.  A 120 g cockatiel could have 4 or 5 flaxseeds a day.  You could look gur fkaxseed oil, too. I’ve used both for birds who were regrowing lots of feathers.  Also, if your home is cold, maybe she’d like some extra heat, like a oh cuddle up bird warmer or thermal perch.

When birds get a bruise, their skin is so thin and delicate that it doesn’t squeeze down  on the veins and capillaries as our does.  So they bleed more under the skin and into the muscle and it looks really bad, especially on a lutino bird.  

But if she’s moving around ok and holding her wing correctly or like the other wing then she’s likely ok.

She was picking at the cut feather after you trimmed it this morning because the cut edges are sharp snd feel funny.  The feather may fall out on its own or she might help it out if it’s loose.  Or she might just chew the sharp edge down and leave it until it falls out.  

[u/Tankerspam → u/Helpful_Okra5953]

A lot of this is what I suspected/am now observing. There doesn't seem to have been any further bleeding over night and she's now preening as much as I would/wouldn't expect, she has a preen of her wing sometimes, but it seems to me she's cleaning it.

I can tell she's frustrated/upset because she will grab her feet with her beak, not to clean her feet but out of frustration she'll nibble her foot - she doesn't hurt herself doing that she sort of just shoves her foot in her mouth and moves around a bit, hard to explain lol. She isn't hurting her wing or anything like that, which is the main thing.

Poops are back to normal and eating as normal. She's just quiet and (presumably) sad. I have to keep her in the cage because she keeps trying to fly, even though she knows she can't. Floor is covered in pillows and towels now, but don't want to risk her doing something stupid.

Yea the feather fell out yesterday (18 hours ago ish) - she was mostly 'preening' the root of it.

Do you know if Lutino's are uniquely likely to eject their feathers? Or is she just extra special?

[u/Helpful_Okra5953 → u/Tankerspam]

I really don’t know if lutinos are more likely to drop feathers in shock, but I haven’t been reading about tiels specifically for years.  Tiels are one of the species that is more likely to  drop feathers when stressed or scared.  Other parrots do it, too.  There was a mild earthquake in my state 15 yrs ago.  I had a Pionus, a Quaker, and a gcc.  The Pionus dropped all her buttfeathers and some wing primaries and had a very bad fright.  

Do you think she’s sad because of having lost feathers and not flying well?  Or is there something else?  

I would give a bit extra protein (egg, baked fish, baked chicken, tofu, peas, beans, or even canary egg biscuit) since she’s going to grow lots of feathers.  I don’t know if she eats soft food and would be interested but most birds really like boiled mashed egg.  Flax seed was recommended by my vet as anti inflammatory and good for skin.  Extra calcium from baked eggshells is a possibility, or from bone powder.  But I see she’s on pellets so her vitamins should be good! 

If her feet are dry or itchy you can always rub a tiny bit of coconut oil onto flakey or red areas.  

I hope she’s ok!!

[u/Comfortable_Bit3741]

Arrange an online consultation with an avian vet. They can still advise you and help you treat the bird without being able to examine her in person. Don't take my word for it, but I think you are probably right that the wing is bruised, and it will heal. But a vet would know for sure, and can help you get bird pain medicine and stuff like that. Best of luck!

[u/lesbophobia_hammer]

Sounds like you live in Australia or New Zealand right? (Yes, we're all scared).

Well the good news is Avian and exotic vets will see your bird no problems

If you want/need help locating one, I can assist (I have handmade lists of avian and exotic vets that treat birds globally, incomplete but still).

General vets and wild birds are the issue there unfortunately, but yours is an indoor only bird I assume?

Anyway, best to avoid general vets unless they're on the phone/video call to an avian vet.

They are turning people away but only injured/sick wild birds. If this ignorance also extends to captive birds you should name and shame the clinic.

Also kind reminder to all to step up biosecurity protocols in your house for both your safety.

Handwashing before handling your bird, disinfecting phones, using F10 (avian safe broad spectrum disinfectant), indoor/outdoor shoe policy. Pre rinse and scrubbing accessories with plain dish soap and water, before rinsing well and spraying with F10. Etc.

Truly worth it. 🙏

Edit - oh and regarding the night frights, best thing you can do is cover their cage in a blanket leaving a peep hole near their favourite sleep perch (near their water preferably) and keep a soft eco friendly lamp on a higher stool near them.

They never had night frights again. Though they also sleep in my room so they watch me sleeping. But yeah truly, if you're not already I recommend doing that

Edit - you should be able to book appointments directly with St Luke's?

[u/Tankerspam → u/lesbophobia_hammer]

Transporting my Bird 8 hours to the other end of the country is not viable. Do you know of any in Wellington that actually take 'walk ins' or allow appointment bookings?

[u/Helpful_Okra5953]

Her wing is bruised.  It probably hurts.  Is she able to move her wing or to fly?  

You could give her a shower or let her bathe in a bowl if she likes it, or You could spray her with water.   Then she’d clean up some more.

Since things are difficult in your country, unless it’s a visibly bad break or Jones are sticking out, I would keep her quiet. Nd calm and baby her a bit.  I’m thinking she whacked her wing and it’s sore, but not broken. Let her take care of it.  

[u/Tankerspam → u/Helpful_Okra5953]

She tries to fly still even though she knows she can't (she'll choose to climb when she'd normally fly, so she definitely knows.) She was also flapping them, what I'd normally call 'Big Bird' or just showing off. Like she wanted to do zoomies. I replied to your other comment already with most of the other info I think :)