brain injury?

Hi, i have 2 b&g macaws. My male is a bull, strong and handsome. We fight like cat and dog oddly, but my wife and kids get along fine. Well unfortinately last nighy during our "fights" for routing cage cleaning when i quickly swept my hand to avoid the big bite he fell off his cage, he usualy would spread wings and glide almost as a haha i won. (please dont lecture me on abuse and i shouldn't have a bird, my female and i get along great, but my male is trying to be more dominant. These "fights" are routine and almost a game because he gets excited when i yank my hand back or run) . Now when he hit he hit he landed awkward and i could hear the thump. I panicked but he seemed ok. He ran tO the females cage where our routine fight would continue, but when i grabbed the female he went to bite and then seem to "freeze". No focus or care for food or movement, i thought he was going to die and scared me because he wouldnt let me gwt so close to him, i use a broom as a "perch" for movement. Well he recovered and started chasing me as usual. But now he has no reaction from his right eye, as if he cant even see out of it. He hasnt seemd to let it break his stride but could.this.be temporary? It happened last night and he was same this morning. My vet said just monitor if hes eating and drinking and energy. All seem fine but he wasnt quite the bull this morning but he was active. Anybody ever hear of this, maybe its temporary or.could he be permanently" blinded" on 1 eye. I feel so terribke as i had a major part in this. Im sad and beating myself up. Bring on the lectures and how im mean if you must, but most of all PLEASE give an insight on what may be going.on with his eye. There is NO visibleninjiry other than a slight blemish on his face. Thanks for any help in advance

Sounds as though he learned a bit of a lesson when he fell and that's possibly why he's being less aggressive. I occasionally have to put my male amazon in his place when he decided to test me with aggressive behavior, and he quickly turns his attitude around. It's pretty common after a 'incident' where the out of control bird is suddenly no longer dominating the human. In your case, it sounds like he already knows you aren't going to hurt him, but he also knows you tolerate his bad behavior. He's run the show for so long he wasn't expecting a 'consequence' for his bad behavior and it threw him off his game a bit. I'd expect his typical 'personality' will return soon enough if you don't plan on making any further changes in how you interact.

What REALLY concerns me is the possibility he can't see out of one eye. If your regular vet isn't interested in the bird potentially being blinded in one eye, you need to get him to a different vet who does take that seriously ASAP. That is not a good thing and needs to be examined, in person, by an experienced avian vet.

I do appreciate the reply. He is still very aggressive with his left eye. But his right i can put my habd within 2 inches and not a flinch or care, if he turns his head and sences i am there he tries to rip the finger off, this is why im scared.

I had a Jardine who had a brain injury.
Unfortunately I had to let her go due to her injury. How is his head? is his head a little bit droopy? And his foot? Does he use it ?

He needs to be physically examined by an avian vet. What you describe is not normal and followed a fall. If your vet thinks it's not a big deal, find a different vet who takes this for as potentially serious of a situation as it is. If you can tell use where you are (or nearest large city) people on the forum can help direct you to a competent avian vet.

My vet said i could bring him in, this is where i get yelled at by you guys. The exam starts at 80$ but the potential of xrays and such caN put it alot higher. Wich i woukdnt be good for until friday. Sorry i know that isnt good and immature as a macaw owner

No droopyness both feet are strongband climbing well. Its only 1 eye, and the eye dialates and pins like normal still. Bit definitely is "missing" vision.there

I had a bird that was struck on the head and was permanently blind in one eye due to a traumatic injury.

There was a noticible difference is size between the two eyes. And his pupils in the "dead" eye were un-reactive.

If his pupils are reactive, then he probably isn't blind. And that's a good sign.

Birds do get concussions, just like we do. Sounds like he has one. If he's acting dazed and not himself. "I'm batman, at the moment."

Having been "batman" myself a few times in my life, I can tell you you're not terribly responsive until the effects of the concussion wear off, which takes a few hours, to a few days, to in the case of post concussion syndrome, potentially a lot longer...

But really, none of us are competent to diagnose this over the internet. This is a vet call. Not a bird forum call.

thanks for the response. Hope it is just a concussion

He was responsive with the food and flavor excitement, not so much my hand. But i felt that was a good thing because there is sone response going on with the brain

That's a good sign!
But what Birman and Kiwibird are saying , an good avian vet is pretty handy.

Welcome to the forums.

I'm very sorry to hear about your male B&G. Nobody is yelling here. None of us are avian vets either. Yes, an exam, x-rays and such will not be cheap, but I feel they are of UTMOST importance, and rather sooner than later, especially because he received trauma to his head.

Since you obviously notice something is wrong with one eye, don't you wonder if there are other injuries that you may not notice (yet)?

Again, nobody is yelling, nobody is mad - we're all simply concerned for your bird.

I am guessing. But as long as the pupils in that eye appear to be functioning normally, I would think he can see out of it.

Whether or not there has been damage to the eye, takes a vet specialist.

Whether or not he is having blurred vision due to a concussion, and whether or not that is temporary or permanent, no one knows... except the bird (of course.)

Not to scare you, but we had a grey that got startled and flew into the wall. To shorten the story he eventually died. He looked fine, but wasn't. After that incident he started having seizures and died a couple years later, so a vet visit with an avian vet is a really good idea.

Its just the first of the month and like everybody, bills hit Ne pretty good, i can pay the 80 but without the extra for xray and such its kind of an empty wishlist. he is enjoying a danish right now and Doing his hellos and mmmmms. No i dobt overdue treats, i just am feeling guilty. I will handle the vet thing on Friday

I'm not yelling at you..but please apply for care credit.....it might have saved my amazons life...my vet bill as of yesterday is 926.00 without that card he would have died.i still have a long way to go and a lot more money to shell out but it's all worth it..I love my bird and it sounds like you do too.

Mariar said:

I'm not yelling at you..but please apply for care credit.....it might have saved my amazons life...my vet bill as of yesterday is 926.00 without that card he would have died.i still have a long way to go and a lot more money to shell out but it's all worth it..I love my bird and it sounds like you do too.

Click to expand...

We had to do the same thing for one of our dogs, broke his back! 6 GRAND! Interest free if paid off in time! Be a boost for your credit score!

It's the greatest care you can own if your a pet owner..my oldest sugar glider a three teeth pulled...ouch, but your right my credit is good after paying it off. A lot of people don't know about it..weird.

The interest rate is insane, even for me, credit score is over 800, they were giving 28% ish! But interest free if paid in time.
Better than a payday loan!!

Lol so tru