Bird-y-mergency ^.^

[AbtZooGirl]

Okay. So it wasn't an emergency in the way that some of the other members have.

<-- This is Max. Max has been near fully flighted for months. Unfortunately for him, my husband and I did not work on flight recall with him. The poor bird... We took him to our local bird store (http://www.theBirdShoppe.com) to have his wings, nails and beak done. The poor guy.. a lady wrapped him in a towel and he freaked of course... He flew off around the store and spectacularly landed himself against a wall. A very hard one. We checked him over and he was responding ok so we went ahead and completed the grooming. By the time it was over and done with Max was dazed..

:confused: He was acting very strangely.. I am not his favorite person (or so I thought) and I was the only one he would step up for. I again checked his wings.. they moved well. He was letting me do WHATEVER I needed to do to check him over.

Physically he looked fine but his personality was completely different after his dare devil flight gone wrong. We made an appointment with our vet before we even left the building. He stayed with me the whole time home and started to regurgitate for me.. I think he was being thankful that I was giving him the attention he needed while the husband drove home.

I had to work so I needed to go home first and my husband took Max to the vet. Basically.. he said that Max knocked the crap out of himself but he'll be ok. Doc gave him some vitamins and Max slowly got better over the next few hours.

Today Max seems much better. He's not even attempting to fly. He's up on their play stand and keeping a close close eye on me while I type this. Maybe after his trauma he can become more of my buddy too instead of being a one person little guy. I'm so glad that he seems to be doing better.

[Andromeda]

I'm really glad that Max is okay.

He panicked due to fear of the towel and because the environment was unfamiliar he didn't know where to fly and ended up with a concussion (your vet probably told you this). He is fortunate to be alive as a bird flying full-speed into an object can break its neck or suffer a concussion that's so severe it leads to death.

Regarding the regurgitation in the car, he was probably vomiting (a symptom of a concussion). A bird that's regurgitating will pump its neck up and down in a forward motion but a bird that's vomiting will usually (but not always) violently shake its head from side to side.

Additionally, despite what is promoted by some breeders and pet stores, it is extremely rare that a bird without health issues needs to have its beak trimmed (especially a GCC). If given chew toys a healthy bird can maintain its beak on its own and there is absolutely no reason to trim it.

I have a GCC and he has never had his break trimmed.

Just out of curiosity, why did you decide to trim his wings? My conure is fully flighted and spends a good amount of time per day in flight. I can't imagine him with clipped wings. I have taught him to recall, though.

Going forward you have a few options. In order to avoid an incident like this in the future at the very least you should use clicker training to teach Max that being wrapped up in a towel is not scary.

From there you can decide whether or not you want to trim his nails (and wings) at home; given what happened it might be safer for you to trim him at home from now on rather than taking him to a pet store again. You can use clicker training to condition Max to tolerate nail and wing trims from you at home if you decide to go that route. If you start the conditioning now he'll probably learn to be "okay" with it by the time his nails grow out again.

Here is a page that discusses concussions in birds and what you should do if a bird is concussed. You did the right thing in this case by taking him to the vet immediately but you should be aware that in certain circumstances it's too dangerous to transport them if they have a medium or heavy grade concussion (Max had a light grade concussion).

[GlassOnion]

Plenty of wooden/crispy textured toys will keep his beak down also, I would try having him flighted, flighted birds are SO SO SO much happier that you'd be amazed!

[liz]

I agree with all of the above.

And please don't even take them to a pet shop to get their nails trimmed. Those people are in the business of making money not caring for critters. Just have them trimmed at a regular vet check up. (Come to think of it after seeing them toweled and turned upside down I will just use my rough emery board. They like to feel the scratch anyway.)

[AbtZooGirl]

First. I started on this site originally because I loved the training videos. My handle is new but I'm not unfamiliar with the forum. So, I understand the general consensus regarding flight here, however, I still feel it's a choice the owners can make for their birds. Know your birds, know your training methods (or lack there of).

Regarding the regurgitation in the car, he was probably vomiting (a symptom of a concussion). A bird that's regurgitating will pump its neck up and down in a forward motion but a bird that's vomiting will usually (but not always) violently shake its head from side to side.

See I thought this originally but I was actually told otherwise. I was extremely worried about him when he started doing the bob. I've had him since he was old enough to come home. He's about a year and a half old now.

According to the site you linked, Max only displayed two of the symptoms that were listed. He had no loss of balance. He was definitely not immobile by any means. According to the vet, his eyes responded fine to light, he never flinched away and his eyes contracted fine. The regurgitating happened one time and there was no shaking of the head. Please do not take this the wrong way.. As my vet is an avian specialist, I'm inclined to believe his diagnosis. I really DO thank you for the link and I will know, should this ever happen in the future, what to look more closely for.

Just out of curiosity, why did you decide to trim his wings? My conure is fully flighted and spends a good amount of time per day in flight. I can't imagine him with clipped wings. I have taught him to recall, though.

Going forward you have a few options. In order to avoid an incident like this in the future at the very least you should use clicker training to teach Max that being wrapped up in a towel is not scary.

I admit we've been lax on any kind of training with him. Or the other two. I do agree that flighted birds are happier, or if not that, at the very least more natural. Max didn't fly unless something startled him or he wanted to be with my husband who would step into another room where Max wasn't able to see him.

I don't think Max is afraid of the towel so much as the WAY he was handled by this particular lady. He's not new to towels in general. The problem is that she seemed more concerned about getting bit than anything.

And please don't even take them to a pet shop to get their nails trimmed. Those people are in the business of making money not caring for critters. Just have them trimmed at a regular vet check up. (Come to think of it after seeing them toweled and turned upside down I will just use my rough emery board. They like to feel the scratch anyway.)

I've never once seen them be turned upside down. What a strange thing to say. My vet actually recommends the people at this shop as they deal with nothing but birds. Yes they are there to make money but they do have resident birds that will never leave due to either being pets, or some other circumstances like the who's momma left her to deploy for duty... who hasn't returned.

Regarding his happiness, I of course want the best for him. However, I feel that his safety is going to come first and foremost until we can get the recall training down.

Thanks for your responses.

[Andromeda]

See I thought this originally but I was actually told otherwise. I was extremely worried about him when he started doing the bob. I've had him since he was old enough to come home. He's about a year and a half old now.

According to the site you linked, Max only displayed two of the symptoms that were listed. He had no loss of balance. He was definitely not immobile by any means. According to the vet, his eyes responded fine to light, he never flinched away and his eyes contracted fine. The regurgitating happened one time and there was no shaking of the head. Please do not take this the wrong way.. As my vet is an avian specialist, I'm inclined to believe his diagnosis. I really DO thank you for the link and I will know, should this ever happen in the future, what to look more closely for.

Well, yeah, I would hope you'd put more stock in what your avian vet, who has personally examined Max, tells you than what you see on a forum! If the vet didn't find light sensitivity in the exam it sounds like Max didn't have a concussion, which is a good thing!

For the record writing Max was "dazed", "acting strangely", "personality was completely different", etc. and then saying the vet said, "Max knocked the crap out of himself" sounds exactly like you are describing a concussion. If the vet said explicitly that it was not an concussion that's worth mentioning in your first post (in my opinion).

I admit we've been lax on any kind of training with him. Or the other two. I do agree that flighted birds are happier, or if not that, at the very least more natural. Max didn't fly unless something startled him or he wanted to be with my husband who would step into another room where Max wasn't able to see him.

I don't think Max is afraid of the towel so much as the WAY he was handled by this particular lady. He's not new to towels in general. The problem is that she seemed more concerned about getting bit than anything.

I have my bird's nails trimmed by my avian vet because she's really the only other person I trust to handle my birds in that way. I'm in the process of clicker-training my birds to better tolerate toweling and handling so hopefully in the future I can do it myself.

I understand that you are concerned about Max's safety and want to do what's best for him. Maybe while he's clipped you can work on flight recall and use that as a gauge for whether or not you want to trim his wings again later down the line.

How does Max seem to be doing today? Do you have a picture of him you can post? I'd love to see your GCC!

[AbtZooGirl]

If the vet said explicitly that it was not an concussion that's worth mentioning in your first post (in my opinion).

ROFL. Woops. I did forget to mention that. I know it was a detail my husband told me but I was just so relieved to hear that he would be OK. But yes, the initial vet visit, Max was found not to have a concussion. :dancing:

I understand that you are concerned about Max's safety and want to do what's best for him. Maybe while he's clipped you can work on flight recall and use that as a gauge for whether or not you want to trim his wings again later down the line.

How does Max seem to be doing today? Do you have a picture of him you can post? I'd love to see your GCC!

I think we are definitely going to give it a try with all three of them. Max seems like he is the most responsive to target training so far so maybe he will be easier to train than I think! I will try to get pictures of Max and friends as soon as possible. I just have to remember how... Let me give it a try now!



Picture? Yes? Maybe? .. SUCCESS!

Lindsay

[Andromeda]

Picture? Yes? Maybe? .. SUCCESS!

Lindsay

Aw, thanks so much for posting the picture, Max is suuuuuuuuper adorable and very beautiful! I love the look he's giving you in the picture. My GCC gives me that look sometimes, too, and it just melts my heart.

[Cage Cleaner]

gl

[MeanDonnaJean]

I will try to get pictures of Max and friends as soon as possible. I just have to remember how... Let me give it a try now!



Picture? Yes? Maybe? .. SUCCESS!

Okay, that settles THAT.........I'm in LOVE

He's just TOO darn precious! So happy is ok.