Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 6/10/2007

Question
Hello!

I work at a PetSmart and my co-worker brought in her cockatiel for me to look at since I am the one with the bird knowledge. However, this one kind of stumped me; she said that the cockatiel fell off his perch at 3am the other night and messed up his wing. Sounds like night fright. But the wing is bad. There are no feathers on a little portion of it and it looks like it has small cutes on it. When I looked closely or touched it to put styptic powder on it, it literally looked and felt like a raw piece of meat and was very red. It was also oozing some clear-ish liquid and was bleeding a little yesterday.

Now, I have the cockatiel at my house to watch it and I am thinking of adopting it since this co-worker can't take care of him anymore due to her health problems. So, this morning, I looked at it again and it has gotten darker; its not as red. Its more of a brown-ish color. Also, the feathers under that part of the wing appeared to be a little wet as if the wing was oozing some more overnight.

My co-worker told me that the cockatiel talks and gives kisses, but he isn't doing that. Perhaps that is just from being in a new place with a new person. But I don't want it to be something health related.

So, what should I do? Will he be okay? Will it get infected?

Please help! :(

Thank you.

-Tiffany

Answer
Hi, Tiffany.

I can't answer your specific questions because I don't know the extent of the injuries.  It may get infected, but this depends on how much damage their is and how you care for the bird.  You may want to consult with an avian veterinarian.

The brownish color could be the wound aging.  The bird could be in shock or at least under a lot of stress as a result of the night fright.  Keep this bird warm to help reduce the stress and effects of the stress.  Clean the wounds with Betadine (from your local pharmacy) using a cotton ball and you can apply a small amount of antibiotic ointment over any open wounds under the wing for a day or so.  Check for any broken blood feathers, which might be the cause of some of the blood and pull any broken ones.  This bird just needs to heal as long as their aren't any serious injuries.  If there are serious injuries, get the bird to a bird vet right away.  Use a night light at night so if/when the bird gets frightened, the light will help the bird keep from becoming too disoriented.  What happens during night frights is a bird flies aimlessly inside its cage often times injuring itself on its dishes, toys, cage wire, etc.

Chrys