# Emergency - Door accident



## HereticPr1me (Apr 10, 2012)

Hi all,
Ive just had a terrible accident with Raiden. In short he got caught in a closing door and looks dazed and is falling forward when he tries to walk.
He has taken flight and is able to do so, his wings appear to be ok, his legs appear to be articulating normally (not broken), and he is breathing ok and is able to hang on with his beak to the cage bars.
I *think* the area between the sternum and beak may be sticking out, but Ive never been able to handle him so dont know what this area feels like normally 

Apart from falling forward, he is very subdued and docile - he would never let me handle him normally, let alone check his wings etc. He is confined for now in case he tries to fly again.

Im thinking its concussion from the door rather than a crush injury, does that sound reasonable ? I take this to be an emergency vet issue (I dont want to stress him unnecessarily) ?

My vet is shut today and tomorrow so it will have to be the emergency vets and I have no idea what they are like with birds. If concussion I would expect a steroid shot.
Is there anything else I should be considering here ?

Background to this is he was becoming aggressive in the kitchen and so the past few days has been barred from there. I was going through to check on xmas dinner and closed the door behind me only to see his head come through as I closed the last inch of the opening. I couldnt believe it, didnt even hear him coming and so I ran back through to find him as he is now.

Any help or advice much appreciated, my poor boy, what was I/he thinking


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## Rizq (Jun 9, 2012)

I would take him to the emergency vets. If he is falling over something is hurt and a concussion can be pretty serious. Being docile when he is not usually is also a big red flag. If he broke something, he could be in a lot of pain and I would worry he would go downhill from the pain and possibly not eating because of the pain/shock and that day after tomorrow may be too late.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Can you post pictures?

An emergency vet can provide oxygen, warmth, and can crop feed your bird if he is unable to eat on his own. This will help him hold on until you can get to an avian vet.

Are there multiple emergency vets in your area? Call all of them and ask them how much bird experience they have. Take your bird to the one who sounds most experienced.

Right now, lower his perches to the very bottom of the cage; put his food and water on the cage floor too. This makes it so he doesn't use a lot of energy moving around and also so that he won't have a high place to fall from. He is at risk for injuring himself in the state he is in.

If you have a heating pad/blanket, put it under one half of the cage. Supplemental heat will help him conserve energy. Only put it under half the cage so he can move to the cooler side if he gets too hot.

Posting pictures will help us see if he is injured, but please do not grab him or remove him from the cage. You do not want to further injure him.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Also, please check the forum frequently until you have a plan of action. Others may have advice for you so I do not want you to miss out on any posts unless you are on your way to the vets.


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## HereticPr1me (Apr 10, 2012)

Thank you all so much for the replies (today of all days !)
I have phoned my nearest avian vet and spoke to the vet there. I described what happened and what I have checked for. She went over a few things with me and also felt it to be a concussion.
Ive to confine him to his carrier with shelter and quiet and no perches for the next hour or two and monitor closely.
If he has not began brightening up then to call back and bring him in. They are 45 minutes drive away and the stress of the journey might exacerbate the problem, especially if he's off balance so to give him that hour or two and observe first. Makes sense.

Now in the time it took me to set up the carrier and make it comfey and safe for him he seems to be starting to brighten already. He looks more steady on his feet and more aware of me holding him but still very calm.

Again, thank you all so much for the replies, Ive been in a state of panic.
Beyond that, of course, Mery "Crestmas" to you all 
I'll post again later this evening with a wee update on how he's looking.

Edit: Also regarding the photo, its evening here so I really dont want to use a flash to take a picture. He physically looks fine and is carrying himself normally. The only physical quirk was the "sticking out" bit which was only noticeable by hand, but having just lifted him into his carrier it wasnt so noticeable any more - he's standing upright now so perhaps it was just the way he was lying forward that made me feel it. Thank you for offering to take a look though


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I assume that the vet told you to keep him warm. You can use a heating pad or a lamp to warm up half of the carrier.

It might help to give him some electrolyte solution. If you have Gatorade or Pedialyte on hand you can give him that. There are also simple homemade recipes that use ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen, see http://birdboard.com/forum/topic/8602093-rehydration-electrolytes/


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## HereticPr1me (Apr 10, 2012)

Thanks tielfan, yes he has a heatpad against one side of the carrier. I wouldnt want to try handfeeding him an electrolyte solution due to stress and him normally not being handleable. I'll consider mixing some up later (if I have baking soda) perhaps once he's ready to drink by himself.
Thanks again


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Be careful not to give too much supplemental heat. Concussion is one of the only injuries for which extra heat could actually exacerbate the problem. 

If he were my bird, I would want to get him to the vet for anti-inflammatories. The thing with concussion is that once swelling in the brain has occurred, there may be damage that is not reversible. So it's really important to prevent the swelling/inflammation from happening in the first place. I do, however, understand that it's a holiday and you have to weigh the stress of a car ride against the risk of doing nothing. You might have that specific conversation with your vet. 

I believe the most common treatment for concussion in birds is dexamethasone, possibly in conjunction with steroids. 

Do keep us updated, I'll be thinking of you and Raiden today.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> I wouldnt want to try handfeeding him an electrolyte solution due to stress and him normally not being handleable.


An alternate way to provide it is to soak a few seeds in the solution and then offer them to him on your fingertip. If he eats the seeds he'll get the electrolytes at the same time. Sick/injured birds frequently don't have the energy to seek out food and drink, so anything we can do to bring the food and drink to them is helpful.


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## HereticPr1me (Apr 10, 2012)

Thanks again,
Sadly Raiden has taken a turn for the worse. He was actually looking brighter and so I offered him some water, he took three good mouthfuls which I was pleased about and then he suddenly coughed up blood ! 
Straight to the ooh vet. That was an hour and a half ago (930pm UTC). 
She gave him baytril and metacam and they are keeping him in on oxygen and incubator overnight. Likely there has been crop damage after all  my poor boy. 
Once he's more stable, ie tomorrow or thursday they will probably do an xray and see whats going on in there. She did feel there was cause for hope though, that she's seen things treated at that clinic where most GP vets would just pts so fingers crossed and I'll speak to them again in the morning. 
On one hand Im kicking myself for not just taking him in earlier, but then at least I was with him at the exact moment it happened which may not have been the case otherwise.

Fingers crossed for my little birdy, he looked so small sitting there in his carrier 

I'll post an update tomorrow morning once Ive had a chat with them, but for tonight its oxygen, warmth, ABs and NSAID.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Best of luck for you and your poor birdie! Keep us updated!


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## ~SarahJayne~ (Oct 14, 2012)

Big hugs for both you and Raiden, we're thinking of you. It's always tough spending the night away from our feathered babies. I hope he's better soon.


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## parsley (Oct 15, 2012)

Oh no! Sounds like he is in good hands, keep us posted. So sorry this happened ! They are so fast though......


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## BabyMoo (Dec 19, 2012)

I'm sorry to hear about your tiel. It made me so very sad. I hope Raiden gets well soon. I'm so glad the vet is taking care of him now. Please keep us posted. Hang in there.


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## HereticPr1me (Apr 10, 2012)

Terrible news 
Raiden passed away during the night. I just spoke to the vet and it seems like it may have been internal damage to his airsac and the blood was being coughed up from there.

My poor boy, I was only trying to keep him separate from the kitchen and was slipping quickly through before he noticed but he was so desperate to get in there he tried to dash through the closing door at the last moment, I didnt even hear him coming.
It was still my hand closing it though, I feel awfull 

My head is spinning, I dont know what to think.


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

I am so sorry for your loss. It is a tragic accident but please don't be hard on yourself. It was an accident. (((hugs)))


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## Bailey's Mum (Sep 18, 2012)

Oh bless you. I'm so sorry. And on Christmas Day too 

I really do feel for you. A similar thing happened to me a year or so ago with a kakariki we had. I don't want to go into detail but it was very traumatic and horrific, and I didn't have the hope you had that she'd pull through. Your little guy had a chance and you did what you could for him.

I'm not going to say don't blame yourself because it's very hard not to, you'll probably keep going over it for a long time yet. It does get better in time, don't rush yourself.

Hugs x


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## Oni (Feb 20, 2012)

Oh I'm so sorry for your loss 

This has happened before, you are not the first person to have this tradgic accident. I know it isn't really that comforting but please keep it in mind 


Sent from my SK17i using Tapatalk 2


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i am so sorry  dont blame yourself. it was a terrible accident. but it was an accident, and you did everything for him to try to save him. this is not your fault. i am terribly sorry for your loss. ive been reading the thread, hoping for a good outcome. you did your best and im sure Raiden knows


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## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

I am sorry for your loss.May little Rayden rest in peace at the rainbow bridge.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I'm so sorry for you and Raiden.  It was an accident, so try not to blame yourself. :flowers:

RIP Raiden. :angel:


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## Rizq (Jun 9, 2012)

I'm so sorry to hear about Raiden  Like everyone else said, it was an accident, you didn't know he was there. You did what you could for him by taking him to the vet. As hard as it is not to blame yourself, it isn't your fault. I hope as time passes you can forgive yourself and remember the happy times with him instead of this tragedy.

Fly free Raiden :angel:


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## HereticPr1me (Apr 10, 2012)

Thank you everybody for the supportive comments and advice throughout this, you really are a lovely bunch :blush:
The past 24 hrs has been awfull, Ive been a mess today and have gone over and over it. 3 things have become aparent:

1. I was trying to slip quickly into the kitchen unnoticed.
2. Raiden was probably full of hormones and determination to get into the kitchen at any opportunity.
3. I can see most of the lounge from the kitchen, but I cannot see his cage without sticking my head out.

It seems to me it happened like this, I have slipped through the doorway, looked back and not seen him as I closed the door over. He has noticed me go through and rather than his usual controlled leisurely flight around the lounge, he has made a direct charge towards the gap.
Due to a lack of line of sight between me and his cage and that being the line that he must have flown, I have not seen him coming and he has not seen the door closing over until it was too late for us both.

I have to ask myself if I was too focussed on controlling his movement into the kitchen and not enough on the risks of how hard he would try to get in. I think perhaps I was  I should have been more aware of the developing risk the past few days, that is entirely my failure as his keeper.
Worse still, it could have been prevented by simply putting up a net cutain over the doorway - I did this with the rats room to ensure he never gets access in the event of an open door. I'm an engineer, I should have thought of that.

I think Ive made sense of it with that, but in the end I just feel terrible and miss my little Raiden. Ive been complaining about his behaviour recently but he was often adoreably sweet and now the place feels silent and empty. Amazing how 100 grams of feathers and attitude can fill an entire house 
As you say, that it was xmas day makes it all the harder. He got to open his shower perch that I bought him and had his first munch of a nutriberry, but his other preening toys are still wrapped up under the tree.

Thank you all once again for your support. He has only been with me for 9 months, I didnt think I would be posting an obituary for another 15 or so years, but I will do so in a few days once Im more settled.


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## BabyMoo (Dec 19, 2012)

What a sad outcome. It has made me very sad. I read your messages yesterday and I was hopeful that he would pull through. I came straight to your post today to see how things were going. I had a completely different picture in my mind thinking that things would be a lot better today  

I just gave my BabyMoo a kiss. I will miss her a lot when she is gone. She is an old girl and that is in my mind a lot. I know that one day she will have to leave us and it pains me so I enjoy her a lot now. 

I'm very sad for your loss. It is amazing how, like you said, 100 grams of feathers and attitude can fill an entire house  

May all the good times you had with your little :tiel5: help you start to feel better soon.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I'm so sorry that this happened. You did the best that you could to keep him safe and healthy, but sometimes things go wrong in the blink of an eye in spite of our best efforts.

It's natural for us as humans to go over all the things that we could have done differently to prevent it from happening. But the reason we didn't do those things in the first place is because we didn't expect a problem to occur. Your intentions were good, so please don't beat yourself up because you didn't anticipate absolutely every possible way that things could go wrong.


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## Jony N Me (Sep 20, 2012)

I am so so sorry for your loss! my heart goes out to you ! youre in my thoughts


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## Clair (Jul 31, 2012)

I'm so sorry too. *hugs*


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I'm so very sorry for your loss.


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## MildlyAnnoyedBird (Jun 10, 2011)

I'm so sorry to read this outcome.

We had been following hoping to see some good news. I know how easy it is to say, "oh I could have just ___, and ___, and ___, and then it wouldn't have happened!" But doing that may not help you much. Remember that there is nothing that you could have done in that moment, when you didn't see him and he didn't realize the door was closing, to have kept him from that injury. And you did everything you could afterwards to try and save his life.

He will always love you and you should try and remember that with a fond heart, and not sadness. He knows it was just an accident. ((hug))


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

So sorry for your loss of Raiden,may he rest in peace until the two of you meet at the rainbow bridge to be reunited together forever.


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## KriStellar26 (Nov 27, 2012)

I'm so sorry for your loss... I know what it's like to try and think what if.. i just lost by baby girl less than a month ago, and I still think about it. She was sick, and I tried to help her by crop feeding her. Instead I believe I hurt her even more, making it fatal. I don't know that she would have recovered from the illness (Liver disease), but I constantly think if I didn't do harm while feeding her - she could have lived with proper treatment. I still feel horrible. But as everyone has said - it happens. And we do what we think is right at the time. That is all we know. Then even though unfortunate, we learn from the mistakes we make. Try to think of the good times.. that's what I've been doing. Wait a few days, and then maybe you will be ready to visit old pix and videos. That ended up helping me a bit.  So sorry


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## Loopy Lou (Jul 26, 2012)

I've only just read this thread today, i'm so sorry about Raiden *hugs*

You did everything you possibly could.


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## hanna (Apr 14, 2012)

I only read this today too, hoping for a good outcome.....

So sorry for your tragic loss, RIP Raiden, fly free under the Rainbow Bridge


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## Sunshinebird (Oct 3, 2012)

I'm so sad for you. Losing an animal is a terrible thing. Birds become such a part of our lives.


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## Hels (Oct 31, 2012)

Thoughts are with you at such a sad time 


Hels

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm very sorry for your loss. RIP Raiden.


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## SunnyNShandy (May 24, 2012)

Very very sorry for your loss. Tragic accident - pls do not beat yourself up. You did everything you could to save little Raiden.


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## JennyLynn (Feb 13, 2012)

I'm so sorry for your loss


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## thistle (Sep 21, 2012)

What a horrible accident. I'm so sorry for your loss.


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## t birdies (Jan 8, 2011)

I am so sorry to hear of your loss of your little one, Raiden. It was a tragic accident you couldn't have possibly expected to happen.

Please try not to keep beating yourself up...our little ones are so very fragile & we aren't able to save them from all the many things that can possibly go wrong...short of creating a perfect environment in a bubble. It just can't be done, no matter how much we think it can.

We do our best w/ every precaution possible & still our best may not be good enough to keep them from leaving us for some other reason we couldn't foresee. That's true for our human kids as well as our feathery ones.

Raiden will always remain deeply loved by you...know that that will never end. 

Fly free, Raiden, little one ~~


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## HereticPr1me (Apr 10, 2012)

Thank you all again. Your kind words and support has really helped me the past few days and on xmas day itself.
There's no doubt the information and advice Ive reaped from this forum were of real benefit to myself and Raiden over the past 9 months and for that I also thank you.
I have now posted an obituary over on the rainbow bridge section, no need to reiterate your lovely comments there (I know obit threads can be unconfortable), but there are some nice piccies of him if you want to see


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## Lizzie Taylor (Nov 25, 2012)

I too have only read this today (forum newbie, there is SO much to read here and I've only been able to catch up a little at a time each day). My heartfelt condolences to you at this difficult time.


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