# Blood on beak.



## Rubypeep (Oct 13, 2014)

I've been hanging out with my tiel, Taco, all day and he's been his normal self.
However, I just approached the cage and he has blood on the tip of his beak.
I can't find blood anywhere else and he's still behaving normally and eating.

I can't find much online about this, except breaks (it doesn't look broken) and that it could be because he's molting - apparently the beak molts too?
I did notice him rapping his beak on a perch in between songs not long before I noticed the blood. 

It's not 'bleeding', there doesn't seem to be a flow e.g. forming drops of blood, just a small amount on the tip of his beak.

I tried to clean it with a cotton bud but he's not tame so runs away and won't let it get anywhere near him.

Can anyone offer any advice on this? 



Thank you


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

I've never seen Kiwi's beak bleed when she molts and there should never be any kind of bleeding during a molt. Is it dried blood or wet blood? On the outside of the beak or under the beak's exterior (like does the blood seem to be under the beak like a bruise)?

Sometimes they can hit their beak on things and the beak area will be blood red for a day or two before turning purple-brown. Especially true if they hit it on something hard or cage bars. See if you can get a closer look.

Something could have scared him while he was preening somewhere and he could have scraped the skin and gotten blood on his beak. It will heal no problem.

If there was a blood feather that broke or you see blood droplets on the bottom of the cage, then there is a bigger problem. I'm glad there are no visible areas of blood, did you check under the tail area? It's harder to see sometimes if there are injuries there. My 'tiel broke a blood feather on the tail area and you could barely tell except for a little bit of blood stuck to the tail, pulled it right away. Monitor him for a few days to see if he has any pain while preening, if you hear a loud squawk when he preens an area that could have been where a blood feather is or he injured himself.


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## Rubypeep (Oct 13, 2014)

Thanks for the reply.

It looked wet and it was on the surface of the beak. Yet when I went downstairs after posting this his beak was clean again. The area where the blood had been was darker (possibly bruised?) than the rest of the beak. But I think it's always been a little bit darker at the tip.

He's been very chipper since, although he took flight at one point and when he did a feather came loose (a big one, possibly a wing feather). It had a bit of blood on the outside and a little blood inside at the very tip, but not up the shaft (I'll add a photo).
I inspected him as much as I could without handling him and couldn't find any more blood. Hours later and there's none on the perches or the floor of the cage etc.
Do you think this would this warrant a closer inspection? Doing so would be super stressful for him, but of course if it's serious then I will.


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

It looks like he may have banged up the feather, preened it wrong, or got it caught on something.

That looks like fresh blood so I would think that's where the injury was from. And that is a wing feather so you know now that the area was on the wing. I don't think it requires closer inspection because it wasn't a blood feather and the feather is not broken. That is the entire feather shaft so it will heal completely and there is no risk that he will bleed out. If part of that feather breaks, and a part is left in, that part acts like a straw pumping blood out and unless the blood clots on its own it wont stop. Not all feathers are blood feathers, if the feather is white and hollow, like the one you posted, the feather is finished growing and the blood has receded from it. Blood feathers are broken pin feathers basically. 
http://www.prettybirds.net/Blood-feather-normal.jpg

I don't think you need to look him over unless you visibly see blood on him, the cage, or he seems to not be feeling well.

Kiwi sometimes gets a feather that's a little stuck when she molts and yanks it out, it has a little blood on it like that. I think he will be fine and it was just stuck during his molt.


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## tielbob (Mar 25, 2013)

Kiwi said:


> I don't think you need to look him over unless you visibly see blood on him, the cage, or he seems to not be feeling well.


I agree with this.


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## Rubypeep (Oct 13, 2014)

Thank you  that's a big relief! 
There's still no blood anywhere and I got a better look at his wings when he was stretching. 
I'm glad everything seems to be ok, he's even been in a good mood today


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

I'm glad that Taco is still doing well today and that there is no more blood!

These little 'tiels can really scare you sometimes can't they?

I think that was his only injury then and he'll be just fine!


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