So — your parrot preened themselves a little too hard. Perhaps they were flying around the room and landed a little funny. Either way, you notice that one of their feathers is bleeding.

What in the world…? What should you do?

If your parrot is bleeding, that’s an emergency.

Yes, even if it’s just from a tiny little feather.

Think about how tiny a parakeet is; now think about how much blood a single droplet is in relation to how big that bird is, and how much that would equal if it were the same size as you.

Yeah, that’s a lot of blood.

Birds are not super good coagulators; what this means is that, once they start bleeding, it takes a very long time for them to stop. Especially in our littlest friends like parakeets and cockatiels, it’s really important to stop that bleeding before they lose too much.

Fixing a blood feather at home, step by step

Tools Needed:

Tweezers (in some cases), gauze pad, styptic powder (if you don’t have this on hand and your bird is bleeding right now, corn starch will work in a pinch), and courage (sold separately).

Step One:

Before handling your little bird, it’s super important to wash your hands. 

Step Two:

Take a minute to meditate and think of the giant glass of wine you owe yourself after this. This will not be fun.

Step Three:

Figure out where the bleeding is coming from. Blood feathers on the wings should be treated differently than ones on the tail or body.

If the broken blood feather is on the tail or body…

A. Snag a towel and gently wrap your feathered friend up in it.

B. Note which direction the feather is facing–using tweezers, firmly and quickly pull the feather. Do this as straight as possible, the direction the feather grows,

C. If bleeding continues from where the feather was pulled, use the gauze to press firmly but gently on the wound. This is sometimes enough to stop the bleeding. If not, pack the follicle with Styptic powder, and continue pressure until the bleeding stops.

If the broken blood feather is on the wing…

Wing feathers are tricky. Pulling them is a risk and can sometimes do more harm than good.

A. Identify which feather is bleeding.

If it’s the first wing feather at the tip of their wing, just use pressure to stop the bleeding. Do not use styptic powder/corn starch and under no circumstances should you pull that feather.

The first feather of a bird’s wings are connected directly to a bone in their wings. Using styptic powder can stunt future growth of that feather, and pulling it can cause serious damage to your birdy friend. 

If it’s any other feather, use styptic powder to pack the wound, apply pressure with gauze for at least a minute or until the bleeding stops.

If you decide you need to pull the broken wing feather…

A. Make sure it’s not the first wing feather. Again, do NOT pull the first feather on a bird’s wing under any circumstances.

B. Get a partner to gently wrap the bird in a towel and hold him or her still for you.

C. Use one hand to extend the wing, and use the tweezers to get a solid grip on the feather. You only want to have to tug on this once, and it’s going to be the worst sound you’ve ever heard your bird make.

D. Tug, fast and firmly, in the direction the feather grows.

E. Immediately use your gauze to apply pressure to the feather follicle. Hold for at least a minute.

F. If bleeding doesn’t stop after a minute, use Styptic powder.

What if they don’t stop bleeding?

If a blood feather continues bleeding for more than fifteen minutes, bring your bird to an avian vet ASAP. That’s an emergency.

Source: Emergency First Aid Guide for Birds Quick Reference by Jennifer L. Warshaw