Accidental nail torn off

[marsvv]

So my conure was apparently out of the cage and suddenly she got her foot stuck in something and after that her nail was torn off. I was in my room at the time and had headphones on. My mom was there. I saw blood all over the cage (like bits of it) I got extremely worried and had no idea what to do and 2 hours later my sister brought cornstarch to at least clot it. I’m worried maybe perhaps she could get an infection or die? She’s not bleeding anymore but of course has her foot up a lot. I’m not able to go to the vet cause of expensive and cause of my parents. What should I be worried about?

 

[Rosy71]

Oh wow I am so sorry about that !
Poor birdie ! Idk what to tell you but if his nail is still partly attached I imagine he will continue to injure it and he even may pick it with his beak. Don’t know if there is maybe a place online you can ask a vet or maybe other forums for birds .. mayb someone else knows more and what to do. If bleeding stopped that’s great and important. I really hope he gets better soon ! Good luck .

 

[QuakerCosmo]

So my conure was apparently out of the cage and suddenly she got her foot stuck in something and after that her nail was torn off. I was in my room at the time and had headphones on. My mom was there. I saw blood all over the cage (like bits of it) I got extremely worried and had no idea what to do and 2 hours later my sister brought cornstarch to at least clot it. I’m worried maybe perhaps she could get an infection or die? She’s not bleeding anymore but of course has her foot up a lot. I’m not able to go to the vet cause of expensive and cause of my parents. What should I be worried about?

If you can’t afford an avian vet, there are two ways to go about it.

1. You you have the supplies to aid her, you can use animal bandage which is similar to cloth tape to aid him besides using the corn starch, which should be safe and not cause any bacteria to her when I did research.

2. If you can’t afford for that you can also try to rehome her , whether if it’s to a friend or maybe even a place like https://rehome.adoptapet.com/ you can try to find a place for her somewhere else that can take care of her and make sure the person you rehome with can handle taking care of her.

 

[Jcas]

Sometimes birds do things like this. If at all possible, try to discover exactly how your bird injured her toe in case there is an unsafe toy or cage part causing her to hurt herself. Most likely this will heal fine on its own. If the bleeding has stopped that’s the most important thing. Make sure she isn’t picking at it and that it’s not getting red or swollen which could indicate infection. My budgie did something similar recently and it took her a week or two to fully recover but it healed fine without any help from me.

 

[marsvv]

Thanks guys! I’ll see if she picks on it and make sure it isn’t red or anything. Not sure about rehoming her. I mean like currently we’ve had a lot of expenses so my parents wouldn’t want to spend more. But we probably could take her eventually. I guess it’s a matter of how much they worry about money lol. I hope she heals soon though. Hope the cornstarch we added helps.

 

[clark_conure]

He will be ok, lots of videos on YT about this. They adapt, so long as it doesn't get infected.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

So my conure was apparently out of the cage and suddenly she got her foot stuck in something and after that her nail was torn off. I was in my room at the time and had headphones on. My mom was there. I saw blood all over the cage (like bits of it) I got extremely worried and had no idea what to do and 2 hours later my sister brought cornstarch to at least clot it. I’m worried maybe perhaps she could get an infection or die? She’s not bleeding anymore but of course has her foot up a lot. I’m not able to go to the vet cause of expensive and cause of my parents. What should I be worried about?

Your bird will almost certainly be fine. This kind of injury, while painful and a bit bloody, generally heals quickly. We have all injured our own toenails and fingernails and they generally heal well without medical attention.

Keep on eye on her toe and look for signs of infection like swelling, redness, and drainage from the wound. If it does become infected she will need to be seen by a vet but it's unlikely.

Don't use peroxide or alcohol on her wound. It causes more pain and destroys new tissue that's trying to grow as the wound heals. Fortunately birds are very clean critters and have good immune systems! However you should remove and disinfect her perches using hot soapy water and rinse them well preferably after air drying. You don't want her standing on dirty perches with an open wound.

You should get a small vial of Styptic powder to use on any of your birds' small bleeding wounds (and on any minor cuts of your own). It works better than anything else including cornstarch, is cheap, and a small vial will last a long time. If you walk into any vet office they usually sell it.

Good luck!