# Broken Blood Feather --- First time for me!



## colorado4bjh (Dec 2, 2008)

So, my little pied cockatiel Kosmo broke a blood feather. It bent in half and broke in the middle of the feather. It didn't bleed out as it was pinched off when it was bent. My question is should I leave the rest of the feather alone and risk it bleeding if accidently opened from normal moving around or should I pull the rest of it out. I obviously freaked knowing how a broken blood feather can kill a bird if the bleeding is not stopped. My poor little hemophiliac.


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## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

Awww...Belive me I know it can be scary. Your baby has a bubu and like a parent you want to fix it. My advice would be to remove it all however it is something that has to be done correctly as it can cause more bleeding otherwise. You have to grab the feather and pull it in one straight fast motion in the direction it's growing to get it all. The best tool that I found would be pliers as it's really the only thing that firmly holds it in place to prevent further ripping and pain. Also have some cornstartch or flour nearby and dot the area by also applying a bit of pressure after. It shouldn't bleed there once pulled but it's a good idea to have them on stand by. Another option would be to leave it as is and everytime he preens or hits it, be prepared for it to start again. Let me know if u have any questions. I went thru alot of these with my Ziggy. Do a search in here for blood feather and you'll probably find lots of posts.


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## colorado4bjh (Dec 2, 2008)

So I called my avian vet today and they said it's best to leave the feather in as pulling it out will likely damage the follicle, even when done very carefully. They say, they only like doing it if there is no other alternative and Kosmo is doing just fine. They say that cockatiels blood does clot it just takes longer. Thank you for the ear and I REALLY appreciate the answer to my question.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I just thought I would add that putting some white paper towel on the bottom of the cage to keep an eye out for blood might be a good idea. Iam lucky that Spike has never done serious damage to a blood feather and hope he never does. I have heard of people accidently breaking a birds wing not supporting it properly when pulling a blood feather.


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## Cannuck2007 (Feb 29, 2008)

I prefer to leave the feather unless I have to pull it. Just line the bottom with paper towel and keep an eye on it. The blood will clot. If you have to pull a feather make sure that you have someone else to help you. It is scary. Big Maggie has one feather that grows in where he was pinioned and it will only grow so far and then break off. It has to be pulled otherwise he will pick at it


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

I find that a feather needs pulling only rarely.


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## colorado4bjh (Dec 2, 2008)

Well, I will tell you what, it was a scary way to get additional education ! It has been so reassuring to talk to all of you about it. You are my birdy family!


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## bigmikey36 (Aug 5, 2008)

I have only had to pull a feather once and it was because it was 2 in the morning and i tried everything to get it to clot after Chico had a terrible night fright. He was bleeding a great deal theu the feather and i knew if i didn't pull it he would die he had already lost a pool about the size of a quarter but other than that every other time with belle i was able to get it to clot once tho i had to put her right in the flour because she was making me lose a lot of blood too lol but i still managed to get it to stop
Mikey


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## Nickd (Dec 7, 2008)

hey guys....i just red this whole post....i just noticed on my cocktiel a little bit of blood at the end of his main tail at the back....theres only a little bit on his tail...but i look right down at the root and i think it was bleeding...it looks like it has stoped...but is there anything else i can do rather then put white paper on the cage floor...i think that the tail has broken right near the root..for me i looked and checkt it out and it look like the bleeding had stoped cause it looked dry ,if the bleeding hadnt stoped wouldi notive blood everywere???? would it be everywhere?
i put paper at the bottom just to make sure for tonight..

....do i pull it out? or leave it , i think that the bleeding has stoped so you think i should leave the tail in? ......im scared i just lost a bird and i dont wana loose another one....just now my cocki was just trying to preen it then...ARGGHH helpp!


plz reply asap


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## Cannuck2007 (Feb 29, 2008)

Nickd said:


> hey guys....i just red this whole post....i just noticed on my cocktiel a little bit of blood at the end of his main tail at the back....theres only a little bit on his tail...but i look right down at the root and i think it was bleeding...it looks like it has stoped...but is there anything else i can do rather then put white paper on the cage floor...the tail has snaped right at the root....do i pull it out? or leave it ......im scared i just lost a bird and i dont wana loose another one....just now my cocki was just trying to preen it then...ARGGHH helpp!


When they are snapped right at the root I tend to prefer a call to the vet. If it needs to be pulled they can do it better as it is soooo hard to get a good firm grip on it and so easy to hurt them.


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## Nickd (Dec 7, 2008)

thanks, well i woke up today and look att the bottom of the cage and there was no blood .....i actually found his tail on the floor....no blood at all so i think it has stoped bleeding


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