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INTRODUCTION:

Bleeding in avians may be an emergency. It is important to recognize which situations can be managed at home and when veterinary care should be obtained as soon as possible. Don't panic. Stay calm. Concentrate only on stopping the bleeding. Birds can loose up to 10 % of their blood volume without becoming symptomatic.

When handling a bird to control bleeding, good restraint technique is important to ensure that the bird is not getting overheated. Holding the bird in a damp towel will help reduce the risk of heat stress.

Failure of bleeding to stop with appropriate first aid measures may indicate underlying liver disease. Transport the bird as soon as possible to a veterinarian. The bird may require treatment for shock.

Have the phone numbers of your avian veterinarian as well as an after-hours veterinarian readily available.

BLEEDING FROM BROKEN BLOOD FEATHERS:

Apply cornstarch or flour to feather shaft and observe.

Tissue glue, if available, may be used instead. Take care to avoid getting on surrounding feathers.

If this fails to stop bleeding, take bird to veterinarian. Pulling blood feathers should not be done routinely because of risk of damage and prolonged bleeding from follicle. May be required if feather is cracked or bent badly (bird may chew feather and start bleeding again.)

If veterinary care is not readily available and bleeding is not controlled:

Pull the blood feather from the base of the shaft using a hemostat or needle tip pliers ( Hemostat is better if you have one).
Place thumb and forefinger across the follicle prior to removing the feather to minimize risk of damage to follicle.

Apply PRESSURE with finger tip across the feather follicle for a few minutes.

If pressure fails to control bleeding from the follicle, apply cornstarch or flour. I use Gelfoam (obtain from avian vet) instead of cornstarch or flour. In RARE situations, I have had to apply tissue glue over the Gelfoam to control the bleeding from a follicle.

DO NOT use silver nitrate sticks or Kwik Stop to control bleeding from broken blood feathers or on any part of the skin. Silver nitrate is used as a cauterizing agent and destroys skin. Kwik stop can cause tissue damage. Both silver nitrate and Kwik Stop can cause systemic poisoning.

BLEEDING FROM NAILS:

Apply silver nitrate stick with pressure. Silver nitrate does not cause damage to toe nails.

Apply ground black pepper wtih a wet finger and hold in place on the nail for 2 minutes. Can also apply cornstarch or flour and apply pressure.

I no longer use Kwik Stop. I inadvertently got Kwik Stop powder in the eyes of one of my birds and the bird developed severe conjunctivitis.

If nothing else is available, apply PRESSURE until the bleeding stops.

BLEEDING FROM BEAK:

Apply pressure, cornstarch or flour.
If available, apply Gelfoam and cover with tissue glue.

Do not apply silver nitrate or Kwik Stop to beak. While silver nitrate can stop bleeding from beaks, the risks of inadvertent toxicity from touching the tongue to cause burns or systemic effects are too great.

Bird should be assessed by avian vet to determine extent of damage (most damage is not visible externally). If the tip of the beak has broken off due to trauma, there may be cracks higher up. Stabilization of the beak with an acrylic may be helpful.

Beak injuries may be painful. Provide a soft diet until bird can eat normally.

BLEEDING FROM THE MOUTH:

Serious emergency. Large blood losses can occur quickly.

Keep bird warm and quiet. Transport to veterinarian as soon as possible.

BLEEDING FROM THE VENT:

Causes include egg-binding, polyp, ulcer. May see bloody diarrhea.

Serious emergency. Keep bird warm and quiet. Transport to veterinarian as soon as possible.

Gillian Willis
Vancouver, B.C.

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Copyright © Gillian A.Willis. June 1997. Permission to re-use any part of this text (whole or in part) must be obtained from the author.