# bleeding flight feather: what to do?



## amoonswirl (Nov 14, 2006)

Yesterday I noticed some blood where Snowflake my fantail usually perches. Upon inspection, I saw that one of his flight feathers is damaged. It is broken off right at the base - only about 1/4" of a bloody stump protruding from the follicle. The blood has clotted and he's no longer bleeding, but it seems very sensitive there. No sign of infection though.

Should I leave this feather as-is, now that the bleeding has stopped? Or should I pluck the stub from the follicle to allow him to grow a new feather sooner? 

Any thoughts on the matter? He does seem to be in a little bit of pain and winced when I inspected the area.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Karen,

I would leave it alone until it completely heals up. Once that is done you can decide to pull it out completely or let it fall out at molting season. If it is important for her flying, I would pull it and allow new feather to grow in, if not you can leave it.

If it is like a hang nail and in the way, it is best to pull it.


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## amoonswirl (Nov 14, 2006)

Trees Gray said:


> Hi Karen,
> 
> I would leave it alone until it completely heals up. Once that is done you can decide to pull it out completely or let it fall out at molting season. If it is important for her flying, I would pull it and allow new feather to grow in, if not you can leave it.
> 
> If it is like a hang nail and in the way, it is best to pull it.


Hi Treesa,
Thanks for your quick reply!
Snowflake seems to be able to fly ok - if a bit lopsided - without the feather. I'm not too concerned about his mobility. Just afraid of infection setting in or the scab breaking off and allowing the stub to bleed more.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

amoonswirl said:


> Hi Treesa,
> Thanks for your quick reply!
> Snowflake seems to be able to fly ok - if a bit lopsided - without the feather. I'm not too concerned about his mobility. Just afraid of infection setting in or the scab breaking off and allowing the stub to bleed more.



I usually leave them alone. I might give it a try and see if the broken feather comes out easily, if not I leave it be.
Have had no infections or further bleeding from the stump.

Reti


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

This happens fairly often with my fantails. I leave the feathers alone and haven't had any problems. It can be a startling amount of blood (once found blood all over the loft--yikes!) but they seem none the worse for wear.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

LOL Karen, one of the reasons I so love this forum is because of the different opinions.

For our birds, I always remove the blood feather by using pliers......if I see it. You put the pliers very close to the body, being careful not to pinch skin, and pull the feather stump straight out. It can take some force to do this. The bleeding usually stops immediately. I put diluted Betadine on the place where the feather came out.

I pull them because I'm always afraid they will aggravate the stump and start bleeding again. I have never heard of one bleeding to death but there can be a lot of blood.

I think, too, that it depends on the bird itself. We had a pigeon named Silver who had only one leg. We tried to keep his life as normal as possible and left him in the aviary for a while. One morning we found him bleeding profusely, with blood all over the aviary wall around him and in his nest box. I don't know how he survived all that blood loss. He was weak but I hydrated him carefully and he recovered. From that point on he was a house bird. Birds that are handicapped like he was, being unable to walk, maneuver by their stomach and wings. He was constantly causing feathers to break off.

If you think about it, birds break off blood feathers and you never know it. It just takes longer for the new feather to grow because it has to push the old one out.


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## TheSnipes (Apr 9, 2007)

Lady Tarheel said:


> have never heard of one bleeding to death but there can be a lot of blood.


I have (known them to bleed to death.) Pigeons are pretty big birds so they might not. But smaller birds easily can, and it happens even to parrots which are big birds. Best _safe_ bet is to yank it, apply some pressure and or quickstop etc. if needed to the 'hole'. There you go, another opinion


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

For what it's worth, I'd pull it as well. Twenty years ago or so, I nearly lost one because I didn't. The bleeding had stopped but it started again.
Found him just in the nick of time. Pliers work great and another good thing to keep handy in the first aid kit.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

While we're talking about broken blood feathers, I wanted to mention a product that I have started using. "Veterinarian's Best" Pet Swabs are liquid filled styptic sticks that look just like q-tips. You break off one end and pour the liquid onto any cut. It stops the pain and bleeding on minor nail, skin and feather boo-boos. It really does a super job and I think I have tried everything. Takes a bit to dry though and I sometimes will dab some flour onto the area after I use the stick.

They're available from UPCO: http://www.upco.com/

Try as I might, the link for the specific page simply won't come up. But, when you get to the main page I have linked, type in "pet swabs" in the search tool on the left and they will come up. They are the top item on the right.


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## Matt D. (May 12, 2007)

I use what I think is the best way... which is the cheapest.... yes the list grows im very cheap, but I dont usually am cheap with pigeon stuff I am cheap everywhere else so I dont have to be with my pigeons. But I clip flight feathers so they will have a full wing at the end of the season. When we are doing this I mix up a batch of 50/50 water/flour mix and when they bleed dab a little on there and it will clot the bleeding quicker than anything else I have ever use.... but dont put to much on there or it will get caked onto the other feathers, too. I havent had a single problem with this method, so I continue to use it.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Maggie, the link has a whole bunch of good stuff in the first aid section.
I bookmarked it and will go back to order.

Reti


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Matt, flour is a great stand-by and I always keep a container handy but it can make a big mess - on the counter and on the pigeon.

Reti, I have ordered a lot of stuff from this company and have always been very satisfied. Glad you liked the link.

I just noticed that they carry those snugglesafe microwave heating pads that was discussed on another thread - $23.50.


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## amoonswirl (Nov 14, 2006)

Thanks all for the advice and tips! I do love that everyone has their own way of dealing with these situations, and that is why I ask a lot of questions here 

Given that Snowflake has already bled a fair amount and my biggest fear is that he'll break it open again and keep bleeding while I am not there to help, I will probably end up pulling the stub. 

Come to think of it, Snowflake has had some malformed, club-like feathers before - in his tail. Birdmom, perhaps it is a predisposition in fantails. I was surprised by the amount of blood - he had tracked it all over the place too, and still has some on his other feathers. Big sticky mess. I was pretty alarmed at first by the sight of the blood.

I have a tube of some white paste for stopping bleeding. (kwikstop or something like that) But when I run out, those Pet Swab things sound like a great idea. Thanks for the link, Maggie!


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## Kimberly_CA (Jan 5, 2008)

When mine was attacked (found her that way) we just treated the wound and left the feathers and one way or another they all came out by themselves. Have not grown back yet but I'm not sure if the follicles were damaged or what......but either way the birdie got rid of them herself.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Lady Tarheel said:


> I just noticed that they carry those snugglesafe microwave heating pads that was discussed on another thread - $23.50.


I love those. I feel so much safer using them when I am not home. Will have to order one.

Reti


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

amoonswirl said:


> Thanks all for the advice and tips! I do love that everyone has their own way of dealing with these situations, and that is why I ask a lot of questions here
> 
> Given that Snowflake has already bled a fair amount and my biggest fear is that he'll break it open again and keep bleeding while I am not there to help, I will probably end up pulling the stub.
> 
> ...


Some of my fantails have had some odd looking, clubby tail feathers, so it may well be something to which they are prone. Come to think of it I probably _have _pulled broken feathers on occasion. It's been awhile since we've had it happen, fortunately. 

I have a roller hen with slightly muffed feet and she never fails to break some of the blood feathers on her feet when she is moulting. Doesn't seem to be life-threatening, but it sure makes a mess. Bloody footprints everywhere.


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## amoonswirl (Nov 14, 2006)

Birdmom4ever said:


> Some of my fantails have had some odd looking, clubby tail feathers, so it may well be something to which they are prone. Come to think of it I probably _have _pulled broken feathers on occasion. It's been awhile since we've had it happen, fortunately.
> 
> I have a roller hen with slightly muffed feet and she never fails to break some of the blood feathers on her feet when she is moulting. Doesn't seem to be life-threatening, but it sure makes a mess. Bloody footprints everywhere.


My Saxon Monks have muffed feet and one of them seems to break the muff feathers often. Usually not that much blood though. 

This was like a miniature horror scene - blood caked all over the top of the bookshelf where he perches, dripping down the wall, and little bloody footprints on his other 2 favorite roosts, plus his wing feathers and inside his nestbox were splattered. Alarming until I figured out where it came from. I felt like I was cleaning up a murder scene, with my rubber gloves and Clorox.

BTW, I pulled the feather stump tonight, plus another one that was damaged and caked with coagulated blood. Disinfected and put Neosporin on the holes, just in case. He was a very good boy, and hardly flinched. No more bleeding. I think he knew it was for the best. Poor little Snowflake!


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

SO glad to hear Snowflake is doing well, Karen!!

Many thanks for updating us!

Love, Hugs and Scritches

Shi & Squeaks


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## roxtar (Aug 21, 2006)

> Matt, flour is a great stand-by and I always keep a container handy


Be careful of the age of the flour that you use on your birds and NEVER buy flour that looks as if the bag has been handled roughly or ripped. It can harbor all sorts of parasites and when you mix it with water it makes a wonderful host for wild yeasts that are present in the air (water+flour+wild yeast= basically a very simple soudough bread). 

That may be getting a little overzealous, but I'd think that some sort of talcum powder would be better than flour? 

Just my $.02


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Well, I'm always open for new suggestions.  We don't pre-mix flour with water and we keep it fresh. Our vet suggested this years ago and we have never had a problem with using flour. I have also heard you can use corn starch.


PS - We use all purpose flour. Wonder if that makes a difference.


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

Heavens, you don't want to use that "self-rising" flour -- your birds might levitate w/out using their wings LOL  (couldn't resist).


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Yes, cornstarch works well and so does white sugar.

Terry


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