Health or Psychological Issue? | Quaker Parrot Forum

wendyt
Hatchling

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Health or Psychological Issue? Jun 23, 2017 21:40:58 GMT -5

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Post by wendyt on Jun 23, 2017 21:40:58 GMT -5

Hi

I have an 8 moth old male Quaker with no previously known health issues. I live in the country and there is no vet available until Monday so I was hoping someone could give me some advice on what to do with my Quaker.

He talks, doesn't bite etc and has no had past problems at all. Last night I came home and there was a reasonable about of blood smeared in his cage, which at the time I thought came from his face and that he had banged his head. I cleaned that up, but this morning there was more blood, and it looks to me as if he chewed his toenail off intentionally. The toenail was there last night, and seems to have been freshly pulled out/chewed off. Everyone was home at the time and we are pretty sure he didn't have an accident.

I have suspicion he may have injured himself earlier in the face, trying to chew or pull the toenail and finally pulled it today. Is there a toenail disease or problem which could make him pull/chew his own toenail? I was home and I'm pretty sure it wasn't accidental as I removed anything he could have got stuck on last night after the first episode of bleeding.

He's just carrying on normally as if nothing has happened, chatting away and eating/drinking fine. No plucking of feathers, though I note he is molting and has lots of new feathers coming through at the moment. He was squawking loudly last night though, which is unusual for him as generally he prefers to chatter quietly.

We moved two weeks so I'm hoping it's a health problem and not a psychological reaction due to stress.

Any advice on what could have caused the toenail issue? Could he have pulled it out himself due to an infection or unknown injury bothering him? Apart from the obvious injury he has no signs of sickness that I can see.

easttex
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Health or Psychological Issue? Jun 24, 2017 5:13:35 GMT -5 julianna likes this

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Post by easttex on Jun 24, 2017 5:13:35 GMT -5

Hi Wendy, and welcome to the forum.

To really know the answer, the vet is essential. I hope yours is very experienced with birds.

My African grey is missing all the nails on her left foot, and was told she chewed them off herself. I adopted her at seven years old and know very little of her history other than that she was neglected. I've never found anything medical to explain why she would do that, and assume it was stress.

Stress might not have anything to do with your situation. This is complete speculation on my part, but what you describe reminds me of a bird with a twisted feather - lots of squawking until the feather is removed and then all is fine. Perhaps he injured himself somehow and the toenail was suddenly uncomfortable to him. A vet visit is the only way to get a good answer. As you probably know, even a small amount of blood loss can be dangerous for a bird.

I hope you'll come back with an update. There's something to learn from this.

Quaker Peppy (RIP my sweet pea), CAG Allie, dogs Wanda and Bonnie, feral kitties Cleo and Antoinette, mice Charlotte and Emily, née Jake and Elwood

biteybird
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Still alive!

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Health or Psychological Issue? Jun 24, 2017 7:53:36 GMT -5 easttex likes this

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Post by biteybird on Jun 24, 2017 7:53:36 GMT -5

Hi Wendy, welcome to you.
Sorry to hear about your little quaker's plight...I am not knowledgeable about these things but just wanted to give you my best wishes that he recovers soon. Hopefully when you get him to the vet on Monday you'll have some answers. It sounds like he has a very good home with you.

Bonnie (quaker parrot), R.I.P. Pinky (Bourke's parrot), R.I.P. Cockatiel "Scruffy"

beccilouise
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Health or Psychological Issue? Jul 24, 2017 14:14:18 GMT -5

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Post by beccilouise on Jul 24, 2017 14:14:18 GMT -5

Hi Wendy, I second everyone else's advice. It is very very unusual for a bird to go straight to mutilation due to stress and bypass feather plucking, but I doubt that it is completely unheard of. A vet will be the first port of call. Until you are able to get to one, keep your bird warm, give him plenty of toys to play with and try to spend as much time with him as possible. Check for other signs of stress or illness, like depression, lethargy, weak and watery poops, lack of appetite etc. Anything even remotely out of character, log and make sure you report to the vet. Birds are remarkably resilient, but their metabolisms are very fast, so it is important that they are seen by a vet as quickly as possible. Is there an out of hours service you can call at all? They might be able to give you some advice, otherwise, just try to monitor him as closely as possible to prevent further injury, and maybe get hold of some styptic powder or cornflour. You can put this onto any wound with a cotton bud to stop bleeding. Best of luck.