Bleeding Talon: Didn't Use Quick Stop

[Natacha]

I use flour to stop the bleeding if it occurs and I've never had a problem with it.

[Malaise]

Back when I was young and still living with my mom, she would cut my Nanday's nails and from time to time one would bleed. She would stick her nail in a bar of soap to get the bleeding to stop and it worked pretty well. I'm not sure if there's any dangers using soap for that but I haven't had to worry about it since I completely took over Shelby's care.

[a.susz]

Soap is probably not good for them, if they were to ingest it it would cause some problems... to answer the "how often" question: i see birds every 2 months (sometimes more frequently but this is the recommended norm) and the quicks will actually grow shorter by grooming more often. If you were to wait 6 months to a year(yes, some people really do this) the quick will grow with the nail, so when the nail is extremely long, the quick will be as well. not something to worry about if you are properly trimming the nails every month or two. The rate of cutting depends on the season and bird as well too, every one grows at a different rate.

BTW i would never cut a green cheeks nails too short, only remove what is too dangerous(if it is getting curly) and file to a small extent to remove sharp ends. giantmoa what you are doing is probably perfect. I always leave a little "grit" feel for the little guys so they can hang on!

also leaving a bleeding toe alone is probably a bad idea, doing something to help stop the bleeding is better than nothing! i have never heard of a bird bleeding to death, but birds are small and do not have as much blood as we think they do. it's best to save them from bleeding as quick as possible. qwik stop is my first choice, then corn starch, then flour. apply your powder, add pressure and wait 30 seconds. Keep a close watch on the toe for up to 10 minutes, then a loose watch for up to 1 day.

[Michael]

Well in my situation the bleeding didn't even last 30 seconds which is why I said I opted not to use anything. I still haven't gotten a clear answer if in a situation where the bleeding is likely to stop on its own, if it is better to still use a styptic or to let it stop on its own?

[ptuga72]

I have also heard of people using aloe (straight from the plant, not the store bought stuff) to stop a bleeding nail or broken feather.

[pchela]

Well in my situation the bleeding didn't even last 30 seconds which is why I said I opted not to use anything. I still haven't gotten a clear answer if in a situation where the bleeding is likely to stop on its own, if it is better to still use a styptic or to let it stop on its own?

I thought I gave you a clear answer! Leave it alone if it's mild and is clearly going to stop on its own. I've heard that styptic powder burns anyway so I only use it if I have to.

[Michael]

The answer that I think I'm still missing is what forms a better clot? With or without powder? Maybe with powder it is thicker and less likely to break. Maybe the other way around. I'm just trying to figure out if it makes for better healing by using the powder.

Practically speaking, it stopped bleeding on its own within 30 seconds and hasn't opened again, so no problem. But just was wondering about this stuff for the long run.

[Kim S]

Well, nature intended the whole clotting thing to prevent bleeding to death. So I dont see why you should use flour or whatever when the wound will stop bleeding on its own. Whats the use of putting quick stop on after its stopped bleeding already?

Which one of the options will make a better bandaid, I dont know. Never put it to the test.

[Michael]

Yes but then again nature didn't intend for some jerk to snip a talon clean down the middle either... Even if they were to bust a nail, it would probably break more jagged which would reduce likelihood of bleeding. It's the way we cut them that makes them conducive to excessive bleeding.

[Kim S]

I know you hate comparing dogs to parrots. But my dogs rips his fifth nail pretty often (thats the one on the inside of his front paw, the one they dont walk on). That usually splits down through the middle right into the nailbed. Immagine the mess that makes.

I can only assume that the parrots nails would split the same way.