It's not often that I brag about my birds .... but a couple of days ago I was very tempted to take some pics of Mojo, my amazing Recessive Pied cock chick. He's a week off fledging so I decided to postpone it.

 

As is so often the case with the most promising chicks, yesterday Mojo's mum decided she didn't like him any more and attacked him. So he has a big gash above the left cere nostril. :thankyou:

 

Hey ho, so he is now in the hospital cage recovering and I'm crop feeding him every 4-5 hours. I'm using ER formula and a drop of Baytril just in case 'cause of the likelihood of infection. I regularly swab the gash with iodine and anti-sceptic cream.

 

Any way, so here he is - looking a bit worse for wear

 

So my questions are the following -

 

Do you think he is a Feather Duster? I have my suspicions 'cause his feathers look very, very long.

 

What's the best way to clean up the blood on his head?

Edited July 29, 200915 yr by renee

That is such a great pity....I hate it when hens do that :thankyou: Bit hard to say if it is a FD or not Renee as we cannot see the important areas.........head feathers etc.....and the photos are very fuzzy. Look at the first photos Liv posted when she thought she had only one...look at the side shot which shows the feather sweeping out from eye and over head. That photo is a telltale sign.

Its a good idea to keep photos going at all chick stages as we can look back on things.

Edited July 29, 200915 yr by KAZ

I had a similar problem... my little sky blue survived a nest slaughtering a few weeks back... here's what he looked like a week after it cleared up.... before this image was taken he had a severly swollen head, a big red puffy thing underneath his lower beak... and he looked absolutely battered.... it's a real shame when hen's do something as pittyful as this.... when you think about it... it's like a human parent deciding to hit her baby over the head with a blunt object .... really terrible.... Here's a picture of the lil guy who had a similar problem to your's.

Maybe the hens get jealous in anticipation, they are not silly!!!

i have never ever had it ever

infact my first case of plucking was last year i just got ride of hen and cock

this year i had seconed case i just fostered chicks straight up and will do the same every time with this hen she sits fine feeds okay but after one week bald chicks with no duck down .so for now on she will get one more chance then out if i can not change her habbit

again the sweet chilly works well

I hope the little guy makes it. I cant tell if the chick is FD either... but the tail feathers suggest it might be. The hen attacking it could be another sign. What are the other siblings like?

I hope he makes it also, he's a cutie...

I can't see it being a feather duster by the look of his primary flights so far and how nice and neat they sit etc... the rest of his feathers look almost FD like, but I'd guess he's just fluffing up as a result of his attack??

I look forward to seeing him as he gets better. Remember to let the wound dry out and scab up, if you keep applying stuff it'll stay moist and take 10x the time to heal... salt water rinses will help it heal faster and aid in drying it up to create a scab.

I hope the little guy makes it. I cant tell if the chick is FD either... but the tail feathers suggest it might be. The hen attacking it could be another sign. What are the other siblings like?

Small and puny

I hope he makes it also, he's a cutie... I can't see it being a feather duster by the look of his primary flights so far and how nice and neat they sit etc... the rest of his feathers look almost FD like, but I'd guess he's just fluffing up as a result of his attack??I look forward to seeing him as he gets better. Remember to let the wound dry out and scab up, if you keep applying stuff it'll stay moist and take 10x the time to heal... salt water rinses will help it heal faster and aid in drying it up to create a scab.

Thanks Libby, good tip about the wound :question:

I cant tell if anyone has answered your question about cleaning up the blood, but by far the best option in my opinion is hydrogen peroxide. The blood will dissolve before your eyes and clean feathers up. It is also a mild anti-septic and safe to use on birds provided it isnt ingested or leaked into the eye.

 

Clean it up with the HP and let the wound dry and heal. Shouldnt need anything more unless it bleeds again.

I cant tell if anyone has answered your question about cleaning up the blood, but by far the best option in my opinion is hydrogen peroxide. The blood will dissolve before your eyes and clean feathers up. It is also a mild anti-septic and safe to use on birds provided it isnt ingested or leaked into the eye.

 

Clean it up with the HP and let the wound dry and heal. Shouldnt need anything more unless it bleeds again.

 

Thanks Dean, HP never heard of it - sounds a bit like a hair bleaching product! I suppose I can get it from the Chemists?

I cant tell if anyone has answered your question about cleaning up the blood, but by far the best option in my opinion is hydrogen peroxide. The blood will dissolve before your eyes and clean feathers up. It is also a mild anti-septic and safe to use on birds provided it isnt ingested or leaked into the eye.

 

Clean it up with the HP and let the wound dry and heal. Shouldnt need anything more unless it bleeds again.

 

Thanks Dean, HP never heard of it - sounds a bit like a hair bleaching product! I suppose I can get it from the Chemists?

Chemist yes and supermarket .......also used for dyeing hair blonde

Edited July 30, 200915 yr by KAZ

I cant tell if anyone has answered your question about cleaning up the blood, but by far the best option in my opinion is hydrogen peroxide. The blood will dissolve before your eyes and clean feathers up. It is also a mild anti-septic and safe to use on birds provided it isnt ingested or leaked into the eye.

 

Clean it up with the HP and let the wound dry and heal. Shouldnt need anything more unless it bleeds again.

 

Thanks Dean, HP never heard of it - sounds a bit like a hair bleaching product! I suppose I can get it from the Chemists?

Chemist yes and supermarket .......also used for dyeing hair blonde

Last thing we need is a "Blonde" Budgie

I cant tell if anyone has answered your question about cleaning up the blood, but by far the best option in my opinion is hydrogen peroxide. The blood will dissolve before your eyes and clean feathers up. It is also a mild anti-septic and safe to use on birds provided it isnt ingested or leaked into the eye.

 

Clean it up with the HP and let the wound dry and heal. Shouldnt need anything more unless it bleeds again.

 

Thanks Dean, HP never heard of it - sounds a bit like a hair bleaching product! I suppose I can get it from the Chemists?

Chemist yes and supermarket .......also used for dyeing hair blonde

Last thing we need is a "Blonde" Budgie

 

could start a new trend on the show bench

okay, jokes aside - will it bleach his feathers?

okay, jokes aside - will it bleach his feathers? :hap:

Wasnt it used on a show budgie once to disguise or try to disguise flecking ?? do you recall ?

okay, jokes aside - will it bleach his feathers? :hap:

Wasnt it used on a show budgie once to disguise or try to disguise flecking ?? do you recall ?

Yes, I do recall that incident in the not too distant past that is now part of National No, Nos folklore

 

So I will take that as a yes, it will bleach his feathers .... I may try a diluted solution

 

Pics to follow after the 'tidy up'

Thats a good question actually lol. I've only used it on white feathers now that i think about it (usually bitten wings or white face/head caps). It wont bleach instantly, you need to leave it in for some time for it to bleach. Perhaps use full strength solution to clean the blood then rinse it with saline solution and pat try or allow to dry some other gentle way. You can make saline salution by dissolving one TEASPOON of salt in one LITRE of water at or slightly above 30 degrees. (Just nice if its used when warm :hap: )

 

The other thing about hydrogen peroxide is that it reacts differently in the presence of blood. When used as a bleach, it just sits there and bleaches. When used with blood, it will react and fizz and bubble and mostly dissolve. I couldnt tell you for sure, but i think a lot of its bleaching properties would be nullified by the chemical change after reacting with blood.

 

As Kaz said, should be readily available at a chemists. Some supermarkets do have it as well.

Edited July 30, 200915 yr by Dean_NZ

I agree with Dean... dont dilute it. It will only make it less effective. Anyway, hes only a chick and will moult out any bleached feathers in a few weeks :hap: Treating the wound and possible infection risks is more important at the moment.

Well here's the little chap all cleaned up ~ or as good as it's going to get

 

 

In the end I stayed away from the HP as the gash is quite near the eye and I didn't want to risk a drop getting in it. So I just bathed the area in warm water and put him outside in the sunshine to dry off.

 

I have to say I'm pretty certain he's my first Feather Duster .... his feathers look almost 2 cm long. But he's not underweight in any way but I guess that's because I crop feed him regularly. I have put another 'special one' into the cage with him now - Mate is 3 weeks older than Mojo and his leg was broken in the nest, I almost put him down 'cause I didn't fancy his chances but he surprised me and despite his wonky leg he gets around fine. Any way, I'm hoping that Mojo will copy Mate when he eats - that's the theory!

 

So if you can please take another good look at Mojo and tell me what you think.

Edited August 1, 200915 yr by renee

He's looking well Renee........congratulations on getting him over the hump I think you could be right about him being a feather duster too. Check his tail feathers and see if he has four all the same length. Does he have a different "voice" ?

He's looking well Renee........congratulations on getting him over the hump I think you could be right about him being a feather duster too. Check his tail feathers and see if he has four all the same length. Does he have a different "voice" ?

 

No, that's the thing, he doesn't have a special voice at all. And as for his tail feathers, it's still too early to tell.

 

One very notable feature he has is he amount of down he still has on his back. I would have thought it would have gone by now but no. I checked to see if he has fewer feathers like Liv's FDs but that's not the case either, while his feathers are super long they are also grow quite densely.

Edited August 1, 200915 yr by renee

He's looking well Renee........congratulations on getting him over the hump I think you could be right about him being a feather duster too. Check his tail feathers and see if he has four all the same length. Does he have a different "voice" ?

I thought to the same thing... first i noticed was the flights looked very drooped and bulky...

Hope he's healthy, love the last picture. Hey with bad legs can you splint them? I'm thinking elastoplast cut to size and wrapped up not to tightly? Has anyone ever tried?

Hope he's healthy, love the last picture. Hey with bad legs can you splint them? I'm thinking elastoplast cut to size and wrapped up not to tightly? Has anyone ever tried?

Haven't had that problem before, Someone else might know though

With birds other than budgies in the past I have splinted using gauze wrapped matchsticks and elastoplast over top .........gauze wrapped so the elastoplast can be removed in the future without undoing all the work.