Possibilities???

[harlequine]

Hi all I'm new to the forum, I have 1 B&G named Jersey, and 1 GW named Eva. I have a question about Jersey though.

About a month and a half ago he broke 3 primary blood feathers on his left wing, I took him to the emergency vet to have them pulled. Well ever since then he's been "picking on" his left wing, he's chewed (not pulled or plucked) all but one of his primaries off and last night he decided to chew another blood feather resulting in another er vet visit. His right wing is in glorious feather, but its almost like he dislikes his left wing since the first vet visit. I'm curious as to what might be going on with him, any ideas?

Here's what I've ruled out so far:
Changes: he hasnt had any changes in his cage placement, food, out of cage play time, mommy & me time, quiet time, basically what I'm saying is that everything is as it was before he started this.

Boredom: He has plenty of entertainment during the day, he is otherwise happy and well behaved. He only screams once a day around 430 pm, he comes out of his cage for at least 4 hrs a day, not in one solid block though. He gets mommy time every day both for play and for snuggles.

Food: He is on a premium pelleted diet mixed with dried fruit and nuts (shelled and non shelled). He also gets cooked food, and fresh fruit and veggies.

Disease: He has been tested for beak and feather disease, chlamidia, and the one that starts with a P. He also has been DNA sexed. Also the vet checked him over last night and he's in good health overall.

Feather Pits: Ive checked that wing over I dont know how many time for feather pits, and nothing.

Like I said, he's a happy bird, it just seems like he has started disliking that wing and is picking on it. I dont know if that even makes sense to anyone else. I just kind of feel like the first experience at the vet was a very negative thing for him (it took the vet SEVERAL tries on each feather) and since all the focus was placed on his left wing he now doesnt like that wing...

 

[Spiritbird]

Hi Harle: It sounds like Jersey is very bothered with the wing area. As you know birds are so fussy about thier wings and want all to be in perfect shape. Was your vet a certified avain one? It makes a big difference for the bird and the stress levels and treatments. There is not much you can do to keep a bird away from the wing except one of those collars and I can only imagine how a parrot would react to that. He is going to be off balance for a while due to the lack of support and balance of the flight feathers. He will need to be protected from injury if he will let the feathers grow back. You have not done anything wrong.

 

[birdcrazy]

Sounds like you are taking excellent care of him. Welcome to the forum! hopefully we can come up with some ideas to distract him. I know there are several more macaw owners that should be along. Glad you are here

 

[Auggie's Dad]

I had a somewhat similar problem a while back. Once they break a blood feather things can really spiral out of control: they want to pick at it to clean it up, but in picking at it they cause more problems ... then they pick at those.

For quite a while I had to give Auggie THOROUGH baths daily - and not just baths, but I had to scrub the entire area to remove any blood/scab/etc - and I was applying a prescription aloe lotion (Avix bird soother) and misting with Avix Bird Rain.

Has your vet discussed this type of daily care? It is a daunting task ... I spent an hour or two every day just cleaning and treating the effected areas. But after a couple of weeks he was back to normal.

If you are not on such a daily regiment I'd recommend talking to your vet and possibly getting some products like the Avix ones I was given.

 

[harlequine]

Spiritbird: There arent any avian specific vets in my immediate area, and only 2 vets in a 50 mile radius that will even try to see birds. The first er vet had never treated a bird larger than a cockatiel, so i suppose he was thrilled to add macaw to his resume lol... it does upset me that I dont have access to an avian vet nearby though. The second er vet wasnt willing to actually pull the blood feather, she just cut it and applied quik clot, I was pretty aggrivated about that as well because I've NEVER heard of just cutting a blood feather and leaving it... we had to drive 45 minutes one way to get Jerz to the vet last night only to receive treatment I didnt agree with... lol I could just imagine jersey with a cone on, he would be SO MAD!!! I try to deter him from messing with that wing when I can catch him doing it but of course I cant watch him 24/7

Birdcrazy: thank you for your welcome! I try to spoil my fids cause theyll be with me longer than my own son lol... might as well have happy 2 year olds for the rest of my life haha

Auggies Dad: as I just explained to SB there arent any avian vets nearby so the vets we've seen probably dont know much besides head end and tail end the first vet told me not to bathe him at all for at least a week so I didnt soften any clots and re start the bleeding. He would probably love a daily bath though and some extra tlc to that wing. I'll look for those products online and see if I can have them next day'd to me, or maybe talk to a vet about perscribing them. It wouldnt be trouble for me to spend a lot of time doing that since I'm home most of the day anyway, aside from a couple classes.

Geez, after all this maybe I should just change my major to avian vet so I can treat my babies myself lol

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Here they are: http://www.exoticdvm.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=avixproducts.showIcons&

It was the 'soother' and 'rain' that my vet gave me.

Cut and quick-stop a blood feather? I've never heard of that ... I'm no vet, but I'm pretty sure it should just be plucked clean out. Has the feather been removed since then, or is it still there with a clotted end?

 

[harlequine]

Yeah, I found that site a few mins after I posted last, I ordered the rain (and a refill bottle), soother ointment, and also the sunshine stuff for both the birdies (my GW is having a GIGANTOR molt right now so anything to help her with that lol)

I thought it was very strange that she would only cut and quik stop the feather too!! I kept asking if she was sure that was ok and that I thought you were supposed to pull it so it could heal and begin its regrowth, but she said that doing it the cut and clot way it would still grow but just be shorter and have a blunt end. I dont know... I'm not really comfortable with it because in all the reasearch I've done, and the whole time I've owned birds I've NEVER heard of it being done like that. I'm going to keep an eye on it and see what happens... whats left of the feather is still there, and the bleeding has stopped completely so I'll just see if it grows or falls out or bleeds again.

 

[Montu's Mom]

An avian vet is your best bet. Those feathers are embedded into their bones and pulling them out can cause damage which is painful......adequate pain control during the healing process is a must. Newer studies have indicated that pulling the feather should be done as a last resort if the bleeding can't be stopped using other methods. I agree with not pulling them if it can be prevented.

I don't know what you're experiencing, but maybe he's a little painful.

 

[natalie]

I do have to wonder if he is still feeling something on that wing...pain from the feathers....uncleanliness....Auggie had really good advice on this.

I do hope you figure it out....that sounds very worrisome....it's hard when you do so much to care for them, and then something still goes wrong....it puts you into a mild panic.
Best of luck to you and Jersey.