Trauma to cockatiel head

Hey everyone,


Earlier today my cockatiel got spooked from something and ended up flying frantically until she crashed and I guess hit her head. There is now a tiny bald spot around one eye and a little bit of blood is visible, and there's also a small red spot between her nostrils.


I've already scheduled an appointment with the vet, but some other opinions would be appreciated.


Has anyone had an experience with this before? The bald spot and blood has me worried, and it seems likely to be due to the flying accident. I'm curious to know the likelihood of it being her losing the from the accident, and that it's likely nothing something else like mites or an infections considering I only noticed it after her accident.


Thanks for taking the time to help!

oh my..I hope she'll be okay. I'm sorry that I can't give some advice but it's good that you've already gotten ready to take her to the vet.

Best wishes for your parrot.

Difficult to say from a pic. But my bird was in a similar condition (look wise) so I am guessing she will recover soon. But best to consult an expert at least by video.

she probably has a bit of a concussion at least which needs to be treated the same as you would with a human, so try to keep her in a darker quieter spot for the moment and keep an eye on her. Let her relax for a while and keep close eyes on her before your vet appointment. If she has a sudden downturn in her behaviour (lethargy, dizziness ETC) then give your vet a call and tell them you're on your way

Poor Lacie. I agree with LordTriggs, keep her quiet and keep a close watch until her veterinarian can examine her. I hope she recovers quickly, please let us know how the vet visit turns out.

As long as you are taking her to either a Certified Avian Vet or Avian Specilist Vet (NO Exotics/General Vets for this one), and taking her soon, then there isn't a whole lot you can do about a head trauma at home...She probably does have a Concussion just from the impact, as Triggs mentioned, so that's why you MUST take her to only an Avian Vet Specialist...An Exotics Vet will be a total waste of money for this injury, they will simply look at herl, tell you she'll be fine and to "watch her", and that will cost you around $100 or more...So an Avian Vet is a must, as they are very familiar with this type of trauma from flying into things, what the possible complications of it are, and what tests need to be run (an X-Ray is needed to look for broken bones in the head/face, especially the sinus cavities, as it's not uncommon for the delicate bones in the sinuses throughout their faces to collapse and cause breathing problems)...

In addition to an X-Ray to rule out fracture, swelling in the head or around the brain, damage to the sinuses, eyes, etc., they should also give her a prescription for an Anti-Inflammatory medication, usually it will be Metacam/Meloxicam, that way she won't be in any pain and the any internal/external swelling will be stopped. That's really all you can do if there are no fractures or other issues going on and it's just a Concussion, treat her for pain with Metacam or a similar Anti-Inflammatory drug and then keep her quiet...

Iin the meantime, keep her quiet (probably best to keep her in her cage since she's flighted, the last thing you want to have happen is a second blow to her head, because even a tiny little bang of her head at all after the first big one can result in her death)...So keep her quiet in her cage until she sees the Avian Vet, and if she has ANY vomiting, disorientation, signs of blindness or trouble with her vision, any extreme or sudden fatigue/lethargy or constant sleeping, or if she has trouble balancing on perches or if she starts hanging out on the bottom of her cage (which indicates she cannot balance herself or is disoriented and doesn't have the strength or capability to perch at all), then it's an emergency and you need to get her to an emergency animal/exotics hospital ASAP...

Following up on Ellen's vet remark...
Just in case you need these links ---
Most of us swear by our avian vets in the event of health concerns.
Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.
International contacts, too.

Good for you, for following up!

Good luck!

I hope Lacie is doing better by the time you read this!

Agree with above comments, a certified avian vet is your best bet for evaluation and possible treatment.