Broken blood feather,GW Macaw

[angie]

Yesturday I came in from doing yard work and Houdinis cage bottom had a good amount of blood on it.She had broken her long tail feather somehow.
It stopped on its own.
Well just a few minutues ago I was looking at it and I saw some wet blood and got some on my finger.It is not dripping anywhere.
I dont have the guts to pull it,unless it really starts up,the thing is im all alone with no one to hold her.
Ive read on how to do it,I just wondering if you guys think it should stop on its own.

[Dani#2]

IMHO, it needs to be pulled. You can stop the bleeding with flour, but a good hit on that spot again the bleeding will start up.

Can you find someone there to help you?

[Dustin]

There are a couple ways to stop the bleeding. Use flour or cornstarck and pack it in the feather, or rub a clean bar of ivory soap on the end. But all those will have a good chance of being picked or falling out. The best thing to do it to pull it out.

Have you tried toweling the bird to restrain it?

[lisa205]

I hope this can help?

First, find someone to help if you can and/or fetch a thick towel, grab tweezers and a pair of pliers - all are part of the emergency kit I keep in a pillow case in the main room where the bird is. (The pillow case is to bundle a bird in if there should ever be an emergency like a house fire).

Grab your bird and ask your help to hold him/her .... the blood will make everything slippy so I do recommend using the towel too.

If you are alone, sit on the floor, legs stretched out in front of you and you can wrap the bird then use your legs to gently keep the towelled bird still ... always remembering not to press on the chest or squeeze too hard (better the bird escapes and you have to recatch it than damage him/her).

Try to ensure the bird's head is covered lightly as by now he/she will be cross and may bite hard - remember this is never personal but a reaction to the upset.

Once you can locate the feather get a firm grip with either the tweezers for little feathers or the pliers for bigger feathers.

Grip firmly near the base as close to the skin as you can but certainly between the break and the skin or you may just do even more damage breaking the split further.

One swift, even pull parallel to the skin should slide the feather out of the skin and the bleeding will stop.

Pull in the direction the feathers grow - never the other way as you may rip the skin or break the feather under the skin level.

For you ladies .... just as you would pluck an eyebrow or to explain another way - in the same direction as if you were stroking a feather from next to the skin out to its tip.

Now the worst is over and, believe me, this is all far more frightening/shocking to the owner than the bird.

A quick sooth and cuddle then a good shower if at all possible .... cleans the blood off and helps the bird forget the bad happening.

It will scare the living daylights out of you every time but it is easy to deal with and far better done at home than have a bird losing blood all the way to the Vet.

[Winged_Victory]

The feather needs to come out, if not it may start bleeding again when you are not around. Birds can bleed to death from a blood feather that will not close! You are the one there that sees the feather and it's location. The best tool for taking feathers out, locking forceps.

Read the above posts on how to remove the feather.

Good luck...

[angie]

Thanks all!!!!
I have been keeping a close eye on it and it has not started bleeding at all.
What I think had made it start up again is my B&G always preens my GW tail.
Sorry it took me so long to respond back,i wasnt online yesturday at all.

[Beaks]

Just jerk the feather out and apply pressure until it stops bleeding.

its fast simple and not a big deal.

John