Concussion?

My wife let me know our parrot flew into the window pretty hard this afternoon. He was stunned at first, but let her pick him up. He wouldn't leave her shoulder for about 2 hours, had trouble swallowing water initially, and his footing was off (he seemed very clumsy and off-balance). He was very quiet and fluffed out, but no drooping wings or vomiting, etc. She said he did seem a little jumpy for about an hour after - small noises made him panic. It's three hours since this happened, and he's just starting to be vocal again, preening, and his voice just now appears to be returning to normal (he was initially cooing strangely and also sounded hoarse at times). Is this cause for concern still? Should he see the vet tomorrow when they reopen or is his returning to normal behavior enough? I would have taken him today, except the vet was closed by then. Thanks in advance!

While he appears to be doing better, you couldn't go wrong by visiting the vet as soon as feasible. You describe a variety of symptoms that could be related to temporary sprains or tissue damage, hopefully nothing worse.

It is always helpful to consider strategies to reduce the hazards in the future. But they can surprise, no matter how docile or predictable.

Hope he continues to improve, please keep us informed!

I was thinking the same thing. It's the first time we've had the blinds and windows open since bringing him home, and he doesn't often fly around - so it was a very big surprise. We are looking into ways to make the windows safe for him when summer comes. I'll let you know what happens. Thank you so much for the quick reply!

I can't add a thing to Scott's wise advice but I wish you the best, I hope your little guy recovers quickly.

I agree with Scott. I'd definitely want to take him to the vet just to be sure.

How is your guy doing, now? Any updates?

Hey folks. Uglow's behavior seems to be back to normal. Vet's closed today too, but my vet checks his email regularly so I'm drafting one after this update to shoot off to him.
So far so good though. he's been eating, playing, flew to his tree successfully twice, hung out on both our shoulders, he's been chatty and we believe he started saying "hello"
Yesterday was a big day for him. with the windows open (first warm day since he's been born) maybe it was too much stimulation for him. He's also been way more adventurous, so we have to start thinking about hazards that he wasn't prone to before.
Two days ago I went to take out the trash and our door popped open from the wind, I came back in and called for him and he was gone. I went back into the apartment building hallway and he was in front of the neighbor's door preening himself, looked up at me with his adorable "hey, what's up?" eyes, completely oblivious to the small heart attack I had.
I'll keep you posted with what the vet had to say.
Thank you.

So glad Uglow is feeling better! He seems healthy and adventurous, and that poses challenges for his parronts to keep him safe! There are so many potential hazards, thanks for taking stock of the dangers in his environment!

My vet wrote back last night. He said that as long as he's returned to normalcy with his voice, movements, able to use his legs and grab things, able to fly and successfully land, able to use his beak as usual, preening, playing, his droppings appear OK and his social behaviors are normal, that we he should be good to go and there's no need to stress him out by bringing him in.
We've been with him all weekend and with the exception of a one hour errand. Uglow seems happy and as curious as ever. Thanks for the replies and the good vibes. We were terrified a couple of days ago. I did manage to locate an emergency 24 hour vet yesterday. It's good know there's a place to go when his regular vet is closed.

Excellent! I'm so glad that he's back to normal. Your vet's take on the situation seems solid. At this point I reckon you'd be seeing signs if there were any neurological damage. Flying and landing takes quite a bit of coordination, after all.

thanks for all the comments and advice guys.
Uglow's doing fine. a few pics of him hanging out on his tree today.

I had two amazons that did the same thing. They were lethargic and woozy for a day or two afterwards, but then recovered just fine.

Nothing much you can do about a concussion anyway, in terms of treatment. It generally resolves on its own.

Uglow is certainly looking none the worse for wear! And looking all happy and playful. What a sweet expression in that first pic!

It's funny, I'd forgotten how dark male ekkies' eyes are when they're that young.

Magnificent pics, glad to see he is doing well. How young is Uglow?

thanks guys.
Scott, Uglow hatched on September 23rd. He's 5 months to the day. We're so happy and thankful he bounced back as quickly as he did.

Uglow said:

thanks guys.
Scott, Uglow hatched on September 23rd. He's 5 months to the day. We're so happy and thankful he bounced back as quickly as he did.

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Great news! I knew he was very young, but didn't know Uglow isn't even 1/2 year old!!