Pain/bruise in left wing - will go away?

[Jsoph]

Hello all!

About 4-5 days ago, my little 7 month female cockatiel had a scare in her cage: she did not directly hurt herself against anything, but she panicked and flew to the bottom of the cage. After this, every time she would fly to go hang out on the floor outside of her cage, she would squirm/angry chirp for a while, and when she preens her left wing she also sort of angrily chirps.
We took her to the vet about 2 days later after trying to keep her from going outside her cage (apparently it was the best bird hospital in town). The vet did a full exam and did not see anything broken or swollen, and my tiel did not show pain during the exam (other from just being angry from being handled!).

The vet only prescribed us a pain reliever (kind of Advil for birds) but said it was not necessarily mandatory, since it would heal on its own... kind of like a bruise, she said.

She's been back from the vet for about 2 days, and she still squirms when preening her left wing. We haven't been able to give her the pain reliever yet because last time she was out of the cage we had to grab her with a towel to put her in the carrier, and it was SO stressful for her.
We tried grabbing her again from inside of her cage to give her the medication but she kept flying all over the place, and we were scared it would do more harm than anything, hurting herself on the bars or the perches trying to escape...

So basically, I'm afraid that she is too scared to come out of her cage (it's difficult even using treats), and it seems impossible to give her her medication (although, again, the vet said it was just a pain relief and not necessary if she rests and doesn't do anything crazy). For now the plan was to let her come out on her own and try to give it to her then, and hopefully her wing will continue to heal on its own in a few days as she rests... She still eats normally and plays like normal, she just doesn't get out.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, or has advice on how to help her better as she heals?

 

[Free as a bird]

Hello all!

About 4-5 days ago, my little 7 month female cockatiel had a scare in her cage: she did not directly hurt herself against anything, but she panicked and flew to the bottom of the cage. After this, every time she would fly to go hang out on the floor outside of her cage, she would squirm/angry chirp for a while, and when she preens her left wing she also sort of angrily chirps.
We took her to the vet about 2 days later after trying to keep her from going outside her cage (apparently it was the best bird hospital in town). The vet did a full exam and did not see anything broken or swollen, and my tiel did not show pain during the exam (other from just being angry from being handled!).

The vet only prescribed us a pain reliever (kind of Advil for birds) but said it was not necessarily mandatory, since it would heal on its own... kind of like a bruise, she said.

She's been back from the vet for about 2 days, and she still squirms when preening her left wing. We haven't been able to give her the pain reliever yet because last time she was out of the cage we had to grab her with a towel to put her in the carrier, and it was SO stressful for her.
We tried grabbing her again from inside of her cage to give her the medication but she kept flying all over the place, and we were scared it would do more harm than anything, hurting herself on the bars or the perches trying to escape...

So basically, I'm afraid that she is too scared to come out of her cage (it's difficult even using treats), and it seems impossible to give her her medication (although, again, the vet said it was just a pain relief and not necessary if she rests and doesn't do anything crazy). For now the plan was to let her come out on her own and try to give it to her then, and hopefully her wing will continue to heal on its own in a few days as she rests... She still eats normally and plays like normal, she just doesn't get out.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, or has advice on how to help her better as she heals?

It sounds like your bird is not in constant pain. It's only painful for it when that area gets touched the wrong way. Give it time and it will resolve itself.
My tiel had a night fright and somehow lost all her flight feathers on one wing. For a few weeks she was shy and protective of that wing. Now those feathers are coming back along with her confidence so I'm happy

 

[Jsoph]

It sounds like your bird is not in constant pain. It's only painful for it when that area gets touched the wrong way. Give it time and it will resolve itself.
My tiel had a night fright and somehow lost all her flight feathers on one wing. For a few weeks she was shy and protective of that wing. Now those feathers are coming back along with her confidence so I'm happy

Glad to hear your little one is getting better too!
They are such fragile little creatures. Thank you for your input, it is very reassuring!
Mine still squirms a little bit when preening her left side, but she can flap her wings (do the "helicopter", as I call it, haha) with no pain at all. Might take more than a couple of days!

 

[Free as a bird]

Glad to hear your little one is getting better too!
They are such fragile little creatures. Thank you for your input, it is very reassuring!
Mine still squirms a little bit when preening her left side, but she can flap her wings (do the "helicopter", as I call it, haha) with no pain at all. Might take more than a couple of days!

Ye for sure it will take a few weeks

 

[Jojo’s mom]

Hello all!

About 4-5 days ago, my little 7 month female cockatiel had a scare in her cage: she did not directly hurt herself against anything, but she panicked and flew to the bottom of the cage. After this, every time she would fly to go hang out on the floor outside of her cage, she would squirm/angry chirp for a while, and when she preens her left wing she also sort of angrily chirps.
We took her to the vet about 2 days later after trying to keep her from going outside her cage (apparently it was the best bird hospital in town). The vet did a full exam and did not see anything broken or swollen, and my tiel did not show pain during the exam (other from just being angry from being handled!).

The vet only prescribed us a pain reliever (kind of Advil for birds) but said it was not necessarily mandatory, since it would heal on its own... kind of like a bruise, she said.

She's been back from the vet for about 2 days, and she still squirms when preening her left wing. We haven't been able to give her the pain reliever yet because last time she was out of the cage we had to grab her with a towel to put her in the carrier, and it was SO stressful for her.
We tried grabbing her again from inside of her cage to give her the medication but she kept flying all over the place, and we were scared it would do more harm than anything, hurting herself on the bars or the perches trying to escape...

So basically, I'm afraid that she is too scared to come out of her cage (it's difficult even using treats), and it seems impossible to give her her medication (although, again, the vet said it was just a pain relief and not necessary if she rests and doesn't do anything crazy). For now the plan was to let her come out on her own and try to give it to her then, and hopefully her wing will continue to heal on its own in a few days as she rests... She still eats normally and plays like normal, she just doesn't get out.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, or has advice on how to help her better as she heals?

Poor birdie.
It should heal in time. Just sit with the bird and stay away from its wing. I took my umbrella cockatoo to the vet to get its wings trimmed and somehow his wing got hurt. I regretted taking him in and never again. He was in the carrier when I picked him up from the vet. When I got him out, he was quiet. When I put the music on, he did t spread both wings and dance like usual, only one wing. When I went to touch the hurt wing, he was not happy, so, I knew they had hurt his wing somehow. It took almost two years to heal. Once the original two weeks were over, I put him in my lap nightly while watching tv or relaxing and gently fanned open and closed his hurt wing, until he shrugged. Then I immediately stopped. Kind of like Bird physical therapy. Now, he dances with both wings, and he flies again. Good luck to you and your bird.