Injured wing and pain "seizures"

MachuPichu

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Oct 23, 2021
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Hi everyone,

Sorry for my English, I'm french, and it's my first post. I would really need you help/insights.

My bird Machu, a lineonated parakeet, hurt his wing (after panicking in his cage a week ago). It sounded really bad, Machu started shaking his head, then had some sort of pain seizures, he screamed of pain, flipped on one side, had his whole body contracted.
A vet came, said it was a muscular injury (no broken bones) and gave me anti-inflammatory drugs, I gave them 2 days in a row then he was totally fine for 4 days. This morning, he panicked again and hurt himself very badly (he ended up on the cage's floor screaming of pain during 1 min, flipping from one side to another-it was really awful. Ever since then he has like a hiccup movement (a sort of head shake), looks in pain, seems very moody (very annoying scream) and a bit tired.

He still flies around though !

Do I need to go the the vet? Or do you think it can pass as it did the past few days before he injured himself again?

Thank you for reading !! I'm sorry if it was too long

Best
 

Kitekeeper

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Bienvenue MachuPichu!

I am very sorry for your bird Machu. Can you post a picture of him? Regarding linnies, some mutations should not be paired to breed together. The greywing mutation should only be paired with a non-greywing. The reason is that when paired together the offsprings can born with several genetic disorders. If Machu is a greywing and his parents too, then his health might have problems that are even unheard off.

If Machu is a non-greywing, odds are a bit better to detect what he is having. Reading your description it make me remember something neurological like a seizure or a stroke. I might be wrong as I am no veterinarian, but I would check with a vet ASAP if I was you.

Good luck!
 
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MachuPichu

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Salut Kitekeeper! Merci beaucoup :)

Here is Machu, he doesn't have grey wings, neither do his parents (dad is his color and mom is green, no grey wing gene I think)

I also thought of a neurological problem, but the anti-inflammatory seems to be really working well for him, but I still don't understand the panicking. His sister, yellow, was more nervous than him but never panics like that.
They have been with me for a week now, they are 2 months old. They both trust me enough to chill on my shoulder and play with my hand so... I don't get the nervousness leading to injuries :(

IMG_20211023_203840.jpg
 

Kitekeeper

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Jun 19, 2021
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Budgerigar (Bud), Pacific Parrotlet (Sam), Roseicollis lovebird (BJ and Turq), Linneolated parakeet (Charlie and Emma)
Here is Machu, he doesn't have grey wings, neither do his parents
That´s good! Beautiful linnie by the way! :)
I also thought of a neurological problem, but the anti-inflammatory seems to be really working well for him
I guess if the bird had a seizure because his brain was swollen, using anti-inflammatory would easy things up. On the other hand this sounds like something that would happen one in a million times.

I might have had the impression that he panicked for having some sort of uncomfortable episode. After re reading it seems now that he panicked and then had the uncomfortable episode (screaming and flipping) for hurting himself.

Well, linnies are known to be quite skittish and sometimes they panic for no apparent reason. I have a couple here that is not tamed and they still are not that comfortable to have me around. Sometimes, they just panicked for observing a bird flying high over their cage, a typical response of fear from birds of prey.

Another odd thing about linnies, is they fall a lot from the perch. Also for no apparent reason. They can hurt themselves during these panic attacks. The best you can do is to try to give them a stable with no surprises environment.

:)
 
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MachuPichu

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Thank you so much !!

Yes I notice he falls very often ! They re also pretty brave and they end up in weird positions, then they fall 😂 Then he panics for being on the ground and that's when it all escalates.

I'm a bit reassured, I will keep an eye on him ! Thanks :) !!
 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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Beautiful bird :)
If this is panic attack/ frights
Things that can help are a larger cage, with more perch options, one perch that is behind a visual screen and higher up. Using a big toy in front of the perch can act like a visual screen and they can retreat there.

I don't know tge size of your cage, but the behavior is more common in smaller cages. So its best to upgrade if your cage is on the smaller size.

Changing the cage location so they can observe who enters a room and keep watch on everything. And raise the hight of the cage can make them feel more secure, having the cafe at your head height or just under. With the back of the cage against a wall.

Do observations, see if you can find sounds or sights that trigger panic.

Make sure 10-12 hours uninterrupted sleep a night on a set time.
 
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MachuPichu

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Thank you for your advice ! They have a 90 cm large cage, 1m high, I hope that's enough :( I can't get a bigger one as I live in a small apartment, and can't move them either, they already are in a corner where they can see the whole room, they're against a wall, have plenty of toys and perchs (I had to take some out because it limited their flying).

Machu often falls in the middle of the night or a few hours before it's time to wake up, and he stays on the floor, so I started putting a lamp on (not too bright). But I'm not sure they get a good night of sleep with artificial light, even if it's not that bright.

Thank you again !!
 

Emeral

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Sep 16, 2021
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Hanhs Macaw
Hi everyone,

Sorry for my English, I'm french, and it's my first post. I would really need you help/insights.

My bird Machu, a lineonated parakeet, hurt his wing (after panicking in his cage a week ago). It sounded really bad, Machu started shaking his head, then had some sort of pain seizures, he screamed of pain, flipped on one side, had his whole body contracted.
A vet came, said it was a muscular injury (no broken bones) and gave me anti-inflammatory drugs, I gave them 2 days in a row then he was totally fine for 4 days. This morning, he panicked again and hurt himself very badly (he ended up on the cage's floor screaming of pain during 1 min, flipping from one side to another-it was really awful. Ever since then he has like a hiccup movement (a sort of head shake), looks in pain, seems very moody (very annoying scream) and a bit tired.

He still flies around though !

Do I need to go the the vet? Or do you think it can pass as it did the past few days before he injured himself again?

Thank you for reading !! I'm sorry if it was too long

Best
Warm welcome to you and Machu. And thump up for the 10-12 hours uninterrupted sleep suggestion.

I think the cage size is fine, but I would suggest a small experiment to help with Machu's uninterrupted sleep.

1) go with a hide out, say a small hut in a corner of the cage. Preferably hung in a top corner towards the back.

2) keep the maximum of only 3 toys in her cage, removing the rest. Since, some birds like it all tidy and cleared path. Nothing swinging, nothing reflecting light, to startle him at night.

As for other toys you can rotate them every 3 days or once a week depending on his interests. That is if he loses interest rotate or change his toys.

3) turned off all light, complete darkness is a must for deep sleep

4) close monitoring for his quality sleep and other sigh of illness.

You might find these reads interesting.






Best wishes
 

LaManuka

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Thank you for your advice ! They have a 90 cm large cage, 1m high, I hope that's enough :( I can't get a bigger one as I live in a small apartment, and can't move them either, they already are in a corner where they can see the whole room, they're against a wall, have plenty of toys and perchs (I had to take some out because it limited their flying).

Machu often falls in the middle of the night or a few hours before it's time to wake up, and he stays on the floor, so I started putting a lamp on (not too bright). But I'm not sure they get a good night of sleep with artificial light, even if it's not that bright.

Thank you again !!
I'm very sorry to hear your little Machu is troubled by falling from his perch in the middle of the night - I wasn't aware that linnies are prone to night frights like this but I am quite familiar with it with the cockatiels that I've had over the years! Poor old Fang, my cockatiel, is quite susceptible to the odd panic attack in the night too, so I leave a night light on for him and don't cover his cage all the way up. I'm a fairly light sleeper so he generally wakes me up if he does flap about in the night and I jump out of bed to go settle him down again. But having the night light on means he is a lot less likely to do any damage to himself before I can get to him, and it has cut the episodes of night frights way down from once or twice per month to maybe a handful of times per year.

I would sound a note of caution about getting your linnies a tent or hut to hide in however. Parrots generally chew on them, even if we are not aware they're doing it, and many of them are made of synthetic fibres that are indigestible and can block a bird's gastro-intestinal tract, sometimes fatally. They can also cause catastrophic injury if a bird manages to get a toe, leg or their neck entangled in a loose string or fibre. Not to mention they can induce hormonal aggression or chronic egg laying in hens as they can perceive them as a nesting site. I do believe, however, that many smaller parrot species do appreciate a spot where they can find a bit of seclusion if they're of a nervous disposition, like my lorikeet Lilly does. To that end, I've got her a little hut that looks a lot like this one...

green-parrot-bird-toy-hanging-hideout.jpg


My Lilly is THE most hormonally charged, chronic infertile egg laying bird in the whole world, but the open weave nature of this design has triggered absolutely zero nesting response in her whatsoever, although I monitor her very closely for any change there! She likes to pop herself into it for a bit of security if the local butcherbirds and magpies are making a noise outside, other than that she only ever uses it to sleep in at night. Plus the natural seagrass material means there are far fewer problems if/when she decides to chew on it :)
 
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MachuPichu

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Oct 23, 2021
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Wooow thank you all so much for all the amazing advice !

I haven't thought of the tent thing, I was afraid they would nest in it at some point (they're brother and sister) but the one you suggested LaManuka seems really good ! I will try it.

For the toys part, I don't keep a lot of them in the cage, Machu isn't interested in playing at all (unlike his super playful sister), he just likes to eat, clean his feathers, scream, sleep and repeat 😂
But I keep your advice Emeral on switching them every few days :)

For the turning off light, it doesn't work very well for Machu (I tried many different "scenarios"). He usually panics in the night at some point. Im also a light sleeper and I noticed when the light is on, they do not move or make any sound the whole night. When they sleep with the light off, I hear them talking every hour, sometimes flapping somewhere (often Machu falling)... So I don't know which one helps them sleep better...
They do get 10-12 hours sleep everyday, I put a blanket on them when it's time (just on the top of the cage, so the light can get in from the bottom, and they sleep on the upper part of the cage)

This morning Machu looks fine, he lost his "head hiccup movement", that's already a good start !

Thank you all again !! :)
 

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