# Concussions and nail clipping



## Bananna (Jun 6, 2011)

I need to get something off my chest...two years ago I think, my cockatiel flew into a window pretty hard (his wings weren't clip) and fell. He was very wobbly, puffy, his wings were down and he was quiet. You could see into his eyes that he wasn't feeling alright, he looked very very sad. I couldn't take him to an avian because it was a Saturday and it was closed for the weekends. So I let him rest on me and cried/prayed for a while. He got better afterwards and he is doing fine now. Do you think that was a concussion? If it was something serious, he would have gotten worse and die by now? Sometimes I worry if he has an injured brain and I should get him to a doctor to check if there's any blood left in it after two years. Does my cockatiel need an mri scan for that? Can doctors even perform mri scans on cockatiels? I'm just worried for him, I want him to live as long as possible.

Also, what should I do about nail clipping? I've never clipped him in his life because he won't let me. He's not afraid of the nail clipper, he even lets me place the clipper on his nails, but once I put pressure on it to clip, he wiggles his toe. I don't mind the scratches, I've even got used to that and it doesn't hurt my skin anymore, but I always have to pay attention to where he is standing because his nails might get caught on fabric and he might injure himself while trying to get away.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Doctors can do scans but its very extensive for a bird and stressful (most have to be put under). Honestly if the bird is fine now, then there's really nothing that can be done. 

As to the nail clipping it might be easier if you get someone else to hold him and you hold the foot and clip him that way.


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## Bananna (Jun 6, 2011)

So if he's acting normal, then there's no such thing as blood clots left in his brain or something of the sort from the collision? Sorry, I have hypochondria and am always constantly worried about severe health issues. Thank you for the advice!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

It's possible he had a concussion then, but if the symptoms cleared up in a relatively short period of time, then it's more likely he was simply stunned and maybe a bit bruised. If he'd had a brain hemorrhage (I assume that's what you mean by something more serious), then I think you'd know. He would have neurological symptoms, most likely affecting his balance and motor skills. I doubt MRIs are done on birds other than perhaps for research purposes. You'd need a very small magnet and head coil, and that's not cheap. An xray might or might not provide adequate resolution to see the brain, but I'm not sure it would be of much value either way. If he has no symptoms now, then you have no reason to suspect that there's a problem. If there IS a problem with his brain, then there's nothing that can be done about it. So just enjoy him. It's very unlikely that an injury from an isolated incident years go will cause problems now.

As far as nail clipping, you do need to find a way to get him clipped. If he's getting caught in fabric, that's a hazard. He could rip a toenail in his cage and bleed, or even break a toe. If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, see if there's a vet or bird shop in your area that will do it for a small fee.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Bananna said:


> So if he's acting normal, then there's no such thing as blood clots left in his brain or something of the sort from the collision? Sorry, I have hypochondria and am always constantly worried about severe health issues. Thank you for the advice!


Closed head trauma doesn't cause clot formation unless there's a bleed somewhere to start with. If there was a bleed, you would have seen stroke-like symptoms that wouldn't just go away in the short term.


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## Bananna (Jun 6, 2011)

Thank you for all the information, that really reassures me.  I wish there were more avian vets around that weren't closed on weekends.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

You're very welcome. I know it's hard not to worry about them, but really do try to focus on the fact that he's healthy now. No matter how hard we try, we'll never be able to predict the future, and it would be a shame to miss out on what should be a happy time now.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

roxy culver said:


> Doctors can do scans but its very extensive for a bird and stressful (most have to be put under). Honestly if the bird is fine now, then there's really nothing that can be done.


You know, I'm not actually sure whether any of the diagnostic imaging equipment commonly available to vets would be able to obtain a brain scan. Neuroimaging requires much more specialized technology than, say, looking at a broken bone or a tumor in an organ. We're just starting to do MRIs on rats' brains at work (for physical rehab studies), and they have to be scanned at approximately twice the magnet strength of a human in order to get an adequate level of detail. Now I'm curious. Maybe I'll ask our collaborators and report back to the forum if they know.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> Maybe I'll ask our collaborators and report back to the forum if they know.


That would be interesting to find out!!! I know x-rays can be done but as you said I don't think the resolution would be good enough to even see anything. To be honest, even if they did see something, would they even be able to do anything?


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

roxy culver said:


> To be honest, even if they did see something, would they even be able to do anything?


No. If there were symptoms, there are a few things that can be done to alleviate them. But you wouldn't do brain surgery on a bird, and clot busting drugs are dangerous and toxic in humans at best. I can't imagine what they'd do in a bird, especially since 'tiels don't have the same clotting factors that humans do.

That's sort of my general impression of diagnostic imaging in small birds. It's stressful, anesthesia can be dangerous, and the answers that you get from it almost always point to things that can't be treated.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

That's what I figured which is why I said if the bird's fine now there's really no need. I mean, if a clot can kill a person, it could definitely kill a bird and this one seems fine. Was probably just stunned.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm coming in late to the thread, but I just wanted to say Bannana, don't feel bad. I think we've all had tiels crash into a wall at some point. One of the first times I took my tiel into a new room he crashed into the wall and seemed dazed by it. My car was getting repaired and I couldn't get a hold of my fiance to come and get us to go to the vet. I was completely freaking out. By the time I got a hold of my fiance, my tiel was fine. It sounds like what happened with your tiel. Although they can seriously hurt themselves when they fly into a wall, I think often it just scares them and dazes them for a bit. When in doubt, of course, a vet check is a good idea but after all this time, I think your tiel is fine.

As for his nails, do you have a pet store near you that will clip nails or a vet? I take my tiel to the vet to get his nails clipped, and the vet only charges $10.


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## Bananna (Jun 6, 2011)

sunnysmom, I decided to take mine to the pet store to get his nails clipped today.


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