Avian Health Network Article: Bird Safety

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Bird Safety
by Lou Ann Beard

In this issue:

Bird First Aide Kit
Common Emergencies
1. Wounds
2. Bleeding Feathers
3. Bleeding Toenails
4. General Illness
Some Poisonous Plants

There are many things that are toxic or dangerous to our feathered friends.

We will be discussing several of those things in this newsletter, but, this will NOT be an all inclusive list.

Please, if you have any questions or concerns about the safety of something, contact your veterinarian or the manufacturer with those concerns.

Bird First Aide Kit
- Scissors
- Sterile gauze or other bandage material
- Tweezers
- Needle-nose pliers
- Nail Clippers
- Q-tips
- Towels
- Plastic medicine dropper or small syringe
- Qwik-Stop, styptic, or other type of coagulant (flour or cornstarch)
- Triple antibiotic ointment
- Heat source such as small lamp or heating pad
- Masking tape
- Hot water bottle
- Adhesive tape
- Eye irrigating solution
- Environmental thermometer
- Small aquarium or container
- Telephone number of veterinarian
- List of poisonous or toxic plants
- Animal Poison Hotline Number 888-232-8870
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Pedialyte or Gatorade
The above items should be kept in one handy place such a shoe box or a plastic storage box marked Bird First Aide Kit. In case of emergency it will be easy to find.
Common Emergencies
1. Wounds
  
  Restrain bird in a clean towel. Apply pressure to the wound till bleeding stops or slows down. Take a good look at the wound. Apply Triple antibiotic ointment to the wound and cover with non-stick bandage or gauze. If wound is large, temporarily bandage the area and call you veterinarian immediately. Sometimes birds will pick at a wound and cause it to start to bleed again, seek veterinarians advice in this case.
2. Blood Feathers
  
  Restrain bird in a clean towel. It is helpful to have two people as it is difficult for one person restrain and look for bleeding feather shaft. Apply Qwik-Stop or other coagulant with a Q-tip to the area. Several applications may be necessary to stop the bleeding. If bleeding continues, the feather may have to be pulled out. Use the needle-nose pliers, grab the feather shaft while supporting the area that the feather is in. Make sure you do not have any skin. Slightly twist the shaft and pull straight out.. If any bleeding occurs apply Qwik-Stop or other coagulant until it clots. Birds will usually give a yell when you the feather out, so be prepared for that. If you have a problem or are unsure of how to do this on your own, contact your veterinarian.
3. Bleeding Toenails
  
  Restrain the bird and apply Qwik-Stop or other coagulant to the bleeding nail until it stops. If the bird had caught his toenail in the cage and ripped part or all of the nail out, stop bleeding, apply Triple antibiotic ointment, and bandage. Contact you veterinarian as infection is possible and the bird should be seen.
4. General Illness
  
  Signs of illness include--watery droppings, sits puffed up, is lethargic, won't eat or drink. If you observe any of these signs in your bird, give the bird some extra heat, put bird in a quiet area, cover top and 3 sides of cage with a towel, and put in fresh water. If the bird is not drinking give him or her about 3 drops of Pedialyte or Gatorade with eye dropper or syringe. Continue this 3 to 4 times a day, and make an appointment with your veterinarian to be seen as soon as possible.
Be prepared for emergencies, a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death for a bird.

Some Poisonous Plants

A	Armaryllis	Arum Lily	Autumn Crocus	Avocado	Azalea

B	Balsam Pear	Baneberry	Bird of Paradise	Bishop's Weed	Black Laurel
	Black Locust	Bleeding Heart	Bloodroot	Bluebonnet	Boxwood
	Buckthorn	Buttercup

C	Cacao	Caladium	Calla Lily	Cardinal Flower	Castor Bean
	Trumpet Vine	Cherry Tree	China-berry Tree	Christmas Candle	Clematis
	Cocklebur	Coffee	Coffee Bean	Coral Plant	Coriander
	Corncockle	Coyotillo	Cowslip	Cut Leaf Philodendron

D	Daffodil	Daphne	Datura	Deadly Amanita	Death Camus
	Delphinium	Devil's Ivy	Dumb Cane

E	Elderberry	Elephant Ear	Ergot	Eucalyptus

F	False Hellbore	Felt Plant	Firethorn	Flame Tree	Four-o-clock
	Foxglove

G	Glottidium	Golden Chain Grass (Broomcorn)	Ground Cherry

H	Heaths	Heliotrope	Hemlock	Henbane	Holly
	Honeysuckle	Horse Chestnuts	Horsetail	Hyacinth	Hydrangea

I	Iris	Ivy

J	Jack-in-the-pulpit	Jasmine	Java Bean	Jerusalem Cherry	Jimsonweed
	Juniper

L	Lantana	Larkspur	Lily of the Valley	Lily arum	Lobelia
	Locoweed	Locusts	Lords & Ladies	Lupine

M	Marijuana	Mayapple	Mexican Poppy	Milkweed	Mistletoe
	Mock Orange	Monkshood	Moonseed	Morning Glory	Mountain Laurel
	Mushrooms

N	Narcissus	Nettles	Nightshades

O	Oaks (acorn & foliage)	Oleander

P	Parsley	Periwinkle	Philodendron	Pigweed	Poinsettia
	Poison Ivy	Poison Oak	Pikeweed	Pokeweed	Potato (shoots& eyes)
	Privet	Pyracantha

R	Rain Tree	Ranunculus	Rape	Red Maple	Rhubarb Leaves

S	Sandbox Treet	Skunk Cabbage	Sorrel	Snowdrop	Snow on the Mountain
	Spindle Tree	Spurges	Sweet Pea

T	Tansy Ragwort	Tobacco

V	Vetch	Virginia Creeper

W	Wattle	White Cedar	Wisteria

Y	Yam Bean	Yews	Yellow Jasmine

Beware there are OTHER plants and woods that are poisonous to your birds that are NOT listed here.
Be sure to check and see if the plants and woods that you have around your birds are safe for them.
If you are not sure DO NOT LET YOUR BIRD NEAR IT.

Fine Print ~ The information contained herein is for educational purposes only, and is not meant to substitute for quality avian veterinary care. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. You should consult with your trust avian healthcare professional right away if you feel you have an ill bird or hurt bird. Those with a bird(s) exhibiting any symptom of illness should seek the advice of a qualified avian medical professional immediately.

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