Blood Feathers!

  

  Today I had a little scare with my gray cockatiel. I opened their cage door so they could come out to play, the same as I do every day! My pearl teil' was the first one out of the cage as always, and my gray was working her way over to the door. I was startled by a VERY LOUD screaming like I have never heard from her before! When I looked over, she had her right wing stuck in between the bars of the cage! I quickly ran over to help her, but she managed to break free before I could reach her. But in doing so, she damaged a feather at the base of the wing. It was sticking straight out. She would occasionally try to fix it and smooth her feathers out, but would then cry in pain every time she touched it. And of course she didn't want me near it! It was breaking my heart to see her in pain, and being a new bird owner, I didn't really know what to do.

    I quickly went to "talkcockatiels.com", an online forum, and asked everyone there! I received several responses on how to handle the situation. Trusting the people and the information there, I quickly went to work gathering the things I would need. An old white t-shirt, a small pair of clean needle nose pliers, a couple Q-Tips, and some dry corn starch. I gently placed the shirt over her and picked her up in my hand, using the shirt to cover her head but exposing the injured wing and feather. I spread out her wing, all the while speaking gently to her which really seemed to help keep her calm. She didn't fight or resist me hardly at all while I reached in with the pliers and pulled the blood feather out, pulling in the same direction as the feather grows. Once it was out, I used the Q-Tip to apply a little corn starch and pressure to the wound for about a minute until I was sure the bleeding had stopped.

    Once the "procedure" was finished, I had never seen her so calm or trusting towards me. I removed the shirt and cradled her in my hands. She allowed me to rub her right behind her head, and she began to make small grinding noises with her beak. I do believe she was grateful, as the injured feather was obviously painful to her. I was relieved to have helped her, and also proud of myself for handling the situation like I did.

    Being a new bird owner has been a learning process, and with every day I feel even more close to my cockatiels. I care for them like my babies and I will do anything to keep the safe, healthy and happy. Now if I could only decide on their names!!

The removed blood feather!