Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 9/27/2006

Question
My daughter and I just purchaced 2 parakeets from a local pet store chain.

When we got them home and into their cage, we noticed on one of the parakeets that it's wing was sticking out in a way that didn't seem right.  Also it's wing was shaking a lot.

We have been trying to wait it out day or two - but it is the same. We can't seem to get info from anyone at the store - they say we can exchange it, but we feel bad to do that.

Is a wind injury something that would heal on it's own?  Should we just exchange this bird?

Thank you for any help you can give.  

Answer
Hi, Eva.  Thanks for posting.

Was the wing like this when you bought the bird or did something happen on the way home inside the pet taxi/box that might have caused an injury?  Could it be a feather that is out of place and needs to be repositioned (sometimes a bird has trouble doing this itself)?  Did you see the store employee put the bird inside the box/pet taxi?  If so, was the employee gentle with the birds?  

I don't know what pet store you're dealing with here, but you should go there in person and speak with the manager.  You can take the bird if you want or leave it at home (back and forth will be rough on the bird).  Explain the situation to the manager and ask if they have a bird expert employed in the store or avian vet who can look at the bird before you make the decision to return it or not.  Speak only to the manager.  Tell them you don't want to necessarily return the bird, but you want to be sure something isn't amiss with the bird before your guarantee period runs out.  Be careful...they may try to put you off until the period expires, depending on the integrity of the store.  Some of these stores and/or the employees really care about the animals they sell and some don't, but that's no excuse.

Some wing injuries can heal fine on their own, but it just depends on the injury.  This could even be just a mispositioned feather.  Sometimes when birds are placed in small carry-home pet boxes and/or when they get flighty in pet carriers or small cages, they can get their wing feathers stuck between other feathers or get them turned the wrong way, etc., and they sometimes can't fix the problem themselves.  You might be able to gently fan the birds wing to see if you see a feather out of place (sometimes just fanning the wing puts a mispositioned feather back in place).  Sometimes a bird can pull a muscle on it's back due to a pull/catch by the wing (back muscles are connected to the wings), and behave as though it's a wing injury.  Usually a minor injury like this heals on it's own in a few days.  Parakeets are so small lots of things could have happened, but what you need to determine is if this is something minor or something more serious.

I'm wondering also if this bird could be stressed out from the move and new environment and this behavior is his way of showing fear/stress?  Is the bird eating, drinking and otherwise acting normally?

If you can provide more details, I might be able to help out more.

Chrys