# Nail ripped off



## blueybluesky (Jul 9, 2013)

I checked Bear today and found her perched towards the back of the aviary, sleeping and with her foot in her feathers, it's not really like her so I went in to look her over and found her toe had dry blood on the tip and couldn't see her nail. I think she must have ripped the nail of on something, I'm not sure if it's just the nail that came off though. 

She's still flying but has trouble landing/balancing on the branches but has an easier time on the rope perches. I haven't seen her eat seed yet but she will eat the millet from my hand and fly over for it while putting only a little bit of weight on her foot. Right now she's sleeping on the rope swing with her foot in her feathers.

I'm getting worried about my little Bear so any advice would be much appreciated since If I'm right a few of you guys have probably had to deal with the same thing before.
I'm going to try and get her inside to clean her toe and we have some purple spray that the normal vet gave us for Grey once but didn't get the chance to use it. It says it ok to use on dogs, cattle, poultry and other animals. I think it's suppose to help against infection and keep flies away, do you think that would be ok to use on her toe?

Pictures of the toe when she put weight on it (I think that white is a bit of millet husk)








Perched on the safety cage door to see me out


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

Ow, poor baby. I hope she feels better


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## SoCalTiels (Oct 8, 2013)

I've never had to experience it first hand when it happened. I would bring Bear inside and try to disinfect/clean the area as best you can. Not sure about the spray, would be worried about it a bit more if it didn't reference birds specifically.

I can imagine the hurt foot is sore. There's a chance the nail will grow back, and it might not. Just know that it took me almost a month to even realize Nyx was missing part of her toe. It hasn't affected her movement or ability to function in any way. She still flies like a potato with itty bitty chicken wings, but that's just her, not her foot, lol.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

I hope Bear feels better soon. That looks pretty painful. 

It looks to me like it was mostly just the nail that got ripped off. You can still see the curve of the digit and it just looks like when the nail was taken off it took a little of the skin on top that covered the nail. The skin around the nail looks like it got a little bashed up too.

I also think it's safe to use that on her. If you have any HEALx Soother Plus Cream that could help too. I use that for all of Kiwi's cuts now since it's non-toxic.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

One of our Cockatiels, Charlie, ripped half a toe nail off somehow, this was about 4 years ago now; we have no idea how it happened, though. 

I took him in to the vets the next morning, they put him under, and removed the whole toe nail and then bandaged it so it wouldn’t get infected and would heal. 



















While he was recovering, I kept him next to me at all times to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t pull the bandage off, or knock his toe, but he recovered pretty quickly, and well. He doesn’t even realize he is missing a toe nail now. 

I am not sure about the purple spray, but keep a close eye on it, because the Avian Vet told me infection is what you want to look out for. Hope she makes a speedy recovery.


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## blueybluesky (Jul 9, 2013)

Thanks guys for all your replies



Fredandiris said:


> Ow, poor baby. I hope she feels better


Thanks, I think she's feeling a bit better today, she isn't sleeping as much as she was yesterday 



SoCalTiels said:


> I've never had to experience it first hand when it happened. I would bring Bear inside and try to disinfect/clean the area as best you can. Not sure about the spray, would be worried about it a bit more if it didn't reference birds specifically.
> 
> I can imagine the hurt foot is sore. There's a chance the nail will grow back, and it might not. Just know that it took me almost a month to even realize Nyx was missing part of her toe. It hasn't affected her movement or ability to function in any way. She still flies like a potato with itty bitty chicken wings, but that's just her, not her foot, lol.


I think you are right that it's sore, she's been putting her weight on it more today but still has it up sometimes. 
It always makes me laugh when you describe how Nyx flies and I picture it in my head  



Kiwi said:


> I hope Bear feels better soon. That looks pretty painful.
> 
> It looks to me like it was mostly just the nail that got ripped off. You can still see the curve of the digit and it just looks like when the nail was taken off it took a little of the skin on top that covered the nail. The skin around the nail looks like it got a little bashed up too.
> 
> I also think it's safe to use that on her. If you have any HEALx Soother Plus Cream that could help too. I use that for all of Kiwi's cuts now since it's non-toxic.


Thanks, now that you mentioned it and I've had a better look it does look like it's just the nail. I wish I knew how she did it though 



Renae said:


> One of our Cockatiels, Charlie, ripped half a toe nail off somehow, this was about 4 years ago now; we have no idea how it happened, though.
> 
> I took him in to the vets the next morning, they put him under, and removed the whole toe nail and then bandaged it so it wouldn’t get infected and would heal.
> 
> ...


Poor Charlie, did his nail only partially come off for them to have to remove it all? I'm glad Bears completely came off then or it probably would have hurt even more, she looks to be doing better today but I can tell it's still sore, I'll make sure to keep an eye on it just in case of infection though


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## SoCalTiels (Oct 8, 2013)

Glad to make you laugh  wish I was kidding about her flying. She's not overweight, and gets exercise plenty during the day. But when she gets spooked and flies, it's a lead weight with wings, lol. Hope Bear is doing well otherwise though  she'll be showing off her 'battle wound' in no time. "Nah man, I swear it was a shark. Beat him up good."


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

A friend of mine owns a turquoise green cheek conure with all the nails on both feet missing. Even if the nail does not grow back your pet should still be able to maneuver without much trouble.

Its possible the nail just got caught on something but you may want to pay attention and watch your flock when they're playing. At least in the larger species its common for them to pick at each other's feet when not getting along. Make adjustments to the housing of your flock if need be.


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