# Lots of blood loss



## jtgallo (Aug 21, 2012)

Hi, I have had Petey for a year and a half now and I came home last night to find that he had lost a massive amount of blood from breaking two blood feathers. I rushed him to an emergency animal hospital as soon as I saw him and the blood feathers were removed, he was given fluids, Baytril (an antibiotic), and buprenex to relax and relieve pain. He has been doing pretty well since then, just a little lethargic. I have been keeping him in his travel cage and I cleared all the toys out and only left one perch so that he wouldnt hurt himself on anything. I was wondering if anyone knew how long before an injury like this would heal completely and if I should let him back into his normal cage that has all his toys, perches and latters. Also, I think he is still a little tramautized from the whole experience because he will not allow me to leave his side without shrieking and will go crazy in his cage until I let him out to sit on my shoulder. Once he is out he sits still on my shoulder and falls asleep, is this okay? Or would it be better to leave him in his cage?? Sorry if I am a little paranoid, Petey just means the world to me and I don't want to take even the slightest chance of something going wrong with him. Thank you!!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

It sounds like you're doing all the right things. I would let his behavior guide you. Whatever seems to stress him out the least is what I would do. I would probably wait to put him back in the large cage until he starts acting normally again, but if being on your shoulder is relaxing and comforting to him, then I don't see any problem with it. There's a lot of evidence to suggest that emotional support is crucial to human recovery from injury/illness, so I assume the same would be true for bonded birds.


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## jtgallo (Aug 21, 2012)

Okay, the vet told me to keep him in the cage but he would not sleeping and kept jumping around and flapping his wings because he wanted me, so I was afraid he may cause himself to bleed again. Thank you so much for your help!!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

The vet was probably speaking in terms of general guidelines -- maybe for most birds, being in the cage would be more relaxing. But you know Petey best. Keep in mind that I am not a vet, but if my bird were in this situation, I would give him as much comfort as I could. Please keep us updated on how he's doing! I'll be thinking of him tonight.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I agree with enigma, if he's more comfortable and not moving as much when he's with you then that's where he needs to be. 



> so I assume the same would be true for bonded birds.


I can attest to this. When Cupcake was sick, she stayed alive all through the night with me by her side. Once I left her with the vet, she passed. Later, when I talked to srtiels, she said she was most likely hanging on because I was there with her and she wanted to stay with me. So it definitely has an affect for sure.


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## jtgallo (Aug 21, 2012)

He seems a lot more active today than he was last night, so should I be worried about him when I go to sleep tonight? The vet told me that he seemed alright, but was not 100% certain he would be make a full recovery. I could not sleep at all last night because he was sitting in the coner of his cage all night, extremely drousy and not moving. However, as the day went on he has gained more and more energy, so should I be worried tonight about him making it through the night??


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

If he's doing better I wouldn't be worried about him as much tonight. Tiels don't have a lot of blood so losing some can take a lot out of them.


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## jtgallo (Aug 21, 2012)

okay thank you!!


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## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

Hope your Petey has a full recovery X x


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Is he eating and drinking? If he seems to be lacking energy, you can give him a little honey or Pedialyte diluted in his water. I know you said he already got subcue fluids at the vet, but it can't hurt to offer him a bit more sugar and electrolytes. Just make sure you change the water every couple of hours if it has sugar in it, because otherwise you could get bacteria/mold growth. 

The thing with blood loss is that his body will need to re-produce the blood cells and electrolytes that were lost, so that's going to take time and some extra metabolic energy. You might want to see these stickies on giving birds supplemental heat. I think that could help make him more comfortable in this situation.  

Supplemental Heat Part 1: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=16019
Supplemental Heat Part 2: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=16020


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Also, Buprenex is a narcotic. So it's possible that part of the reason he was so unresponsive last night was that he was feeling drugged. It's definitely a good sign that he's acting better. I know it's so worrisome when they're sick or hurt.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The body makes new red blood cells continuously, and when a lot of blood cells have been lost it takes a few days to replace them. Red blood cells carry oxygen (among other things) so there's a natural loss of energy when the supply has been depleted. With humans we can do blood transfusions for a quick replacement but we don't have that option with birds. 

Vlad once lost so much blood from a blood feather that I was afraid he might die. He was very weak at first but he was his old self again in about a week. If your boy is staying warm and eating and drinking well, he is likely to recover soon.


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