Bird First Aid

Avian First Aid 101

Bird First Aid - Be Prepared – Purchase the Avian-First-aid kit from Pethop.au

Preparing for a “bird emergency” may save your parrot's life.

Save your avian vet’s content details on your phone. Have your avian vet emergency contact details for bird emergencies saved on your phone.

For bird-First-aid you need to be able to restrain your bird safely –Please View YouTube channel - How to safely restrain your Avian Pet.

How to deal with basic parrot emergencies | Parrot First Aid.

Place bird is a quiet, dim, heated area. Often, this may be a carrier cage with a heated blanket, a heated throw, or a heated room.

In the event of a bird-emergency:

Stay as calm as possible – you need to do the bird's first aid.

Gently restrain your bird.

Keeping the emergency avian patient warm in an incubator or a small, covered cage placed on a heating pad

Encourage them to eat and drink. (There is a high energy nutritional support for sick birds in the Bird-Vet Avian-first-aid kits)

Lower lighting and low-stress environments

Call your Avian Vet and let them know that you are coming in with a Bird -vet emergency.

Bleeding Beak or bleeding Nail | Pet bird emergency

Gently restrain your bird.

Apply pressure to the area for 100 seconds in a row. Time for the blood to clot.

Apply styptic powder ( In the Bird-Vet Avian-first-aid kits) or cornstarch to help the blood clot.

Ensure that the bleeding has stopped.

Bleeding Blood Feather

Gently restrain your bird.

Apply styptic powder and apply pressure to the bleeding tip for 100 seconds.

If the bleeding continues - Use forceps ( as in the Bird-Vet Avian-first-aid kits), carefully grip the feather shaft, and pull the feather quill out in the direction it grows.

Then Apply pressure to the empty feather follicle for 100 seconds.

Ensure that the bleeding has stopped. If not apply styptic powder to the follicle.

If the bleeding continues, apply styptic powder (Bird-Vet Avian-first-aid kits) onto the bleeding area and apply pressure for 1 minute.

Skin wound

Gently restrain your bird and apply immediate pressure to the wound.

If the bleeding does not stop, apply pressure for 100 seconds. Generally, unless the wound is very superficial, do NOT apply styptic powder to a deep wound.

If needed, clean the wound with warm saline in the Bird-First Aid kit. ( Or make warm saline - ¼ (quarter of a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water ). No antiseptics, No betadine, Never hydrogen peroxide in an open wound.

Bring in the bird emergency to your bird vet – or the Melbourne Avian vet in Burwood.

Animal bites

Restrain your bird to keep it calm.

Strop any bleeding – possibly gently tape or bandage the wound. (there is a micropore to tape and Vetrap a self-adhesive bandage in the Bird Vet First aid kit. See later

Keep your bird warm.

Take your bird emergency patient to your avian veterinarian (Bacterial sepsis is common.) Antibiotics are necessary.

Encourage them to eat and drink. (There is a high energy nutritional support for sick birds in the Bird-Vet Avian-first-aid kits)

First-aid for burn wounds in birds

Place the burned digits or burned wing under cold running water for 100 seconds.

Dry the bird gently.

Restrain the bird and keep warm to avoid shock.

Try and dose some glucose /electrolyte solution into the beak (Glucose in the Bird Vet First Aid kit).

Antibiotics are necessary.

First aid for Bird Poisoning

If the poisoning is from a gas, remove the bird to a safe, well-ventilated area, often outside.

If exposure is due to contact with a chemical, give your bird a warm wash and gentle towel try then blow dry.

If exposure was through ingestion, contact your vet immediately with the name of the ingested chemical and admit your bird to your avian vet.

Broken Wing or leg

Vetwrap is a cohesive bandage in the Avian-first-aid-kit

In an emergency!

Can be used for support or stabilisation

To support a broken wing, it can be gently wrapped around the wing and body (being careful not to tighten and stop breathing!)

It can be cut smaller thickness and wrapped around the leg to stabilise a broken bone

It Does not stick to the feathers – at all! And so will not ruin or damage feathers by sticking.

It sticks to itself if pressure is applied – use the forceps to attach the bandage to itself.

Scissors

Needed – to cut entangled toys

Clean and powerful scissors.

And to cut the bandages

Cotton buds and swabs

For cleaning minor wounds

Saline (eye) wash

To clean out wounds- and eye wounds

Styptic powder

To stop nail bleeding or feather bleeding not for internal bleeding or deep wounds. Not for internal use.

Tweezers

For splinters – help with blood feathers that are bleeding and may need to be pulled if will not stop bleeding after styptic powder application

First-aid nutritional support

Included Glucose, amino-acid, and vitamin-mineral supplement – as a “pick me up” supplement. Before veterinary support

Travel crate and towels

Train birds do go into the travel, cage or travel crate.

Ensure handling towels are accessible and ready for gentle support and handling of birds, or as a soft surface needed on the floor of the carry cage or hospital cage.