How Did My Senegal Get Hurt?

How do parrots get into trouble sometimes?  I don’t know!

They are little monkeys and even though we avoid plastic toys, rope/yarn that they can get tangled in, and we even try to stay away from colored toys (we don’t believe that even FDA approved colorants can be beneficial and we do all we can to offer our VERY BEST to our flock), they still sometimes get in trouble.

I noticed Heromione at the bottom of her cage with blood around the crook of her shoulder yesterday – freak out! We immediately washed our hands and then held her to wash the blood away and see the damage. I called the vet, but it was her day off, so no-go! Good thing I called from the car when I first got in before I’d driven there!

Lucky me, my dad (bovine veterinarian professor) knows nothing about birds, but was visiting. So he gave us a magic potion – but frankly it was already fine. We checked her wing every day, but as you see in the video, my monkey with wings wants to be with me – and not on camera! She didn’t want to be picked up and taken off her shoulder.

What do you do when your parrot is injured?

First I remain calm! Sometimes I have to stop and center myself to get to calm when I see something’s gone awry!

Have a “hospital cage”

Have a “hospital cage” or bin (with breathing holes) for your parrot, a smaller space that helps them relax. You want to be able to make it warmer than their normal cage by using a heating pad (which you can place under half the cage so they can choose to be warmer or go to the cooler side) in case they aren’t keeping warm enough; you want to cover it with a blanket so that they aren’t stressed by anything going on around them and they can sleep. Giving your parrot a home-hospital space will allow them to ‘go in’ – they can relax, unseen and warm to aid their healing. Of course, be sure to offer food and water too.

Heromione did amazingly well. She was chill the whole time, let me examine her wing and hold her – never tried to bite me. Within a couple of days I could no longer find the injury, it has healed. We’ve returned her to her cage with her partner and kept our eye on her. We did apply my dad’s magic potion once or twice and some antiseptic – trying to avoid an infection. Parrots are delicate but as long as they have something treatable, if you keep your eye on your parrot you should be able to take care of what is needed and have a happy, healthy parrot.