Avian First-Aid Kit
- Bottle Stypic Powder (toenail/feather bleeding)
- Pair Latex Gloves (personal protection)
- Bottle Eye & Skin Wash 1 Oz. (flush eyes or wounds)
- 1” x 6 yd. Sterile Gauze Bandage (wrap wound areas)
- Pair Scissors (trim feather/cut bandage tape)
- Pair 5” Locking Forceps (remove broken blood feathers)
- PVP Iodine Antiseptic Wipes (sterilization)
- Antiseptic Towelettes (clean wound or hands)
- Packages 2” x 2” Gauze Pads (apply to wound area)
- Cotton Swabs (apply ointment or creams)
- Roll 1/2” x 2 1/2 yd. Adhesive Tape (secure bandage)
- Hand Wipe (personal cleanup)
- Bird Emergency Card (record info/vet phone number)
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- Popsicle sticks (splinting broken bones)
- Towel or thick gloves (emergency restraint, avoiding bites)
Avian Emergency Response Kit
- Low thread count pillow cases per bird (for transporting birds during a fire, low thread counts allows airflow while filtering most smoke, flip case inside out with hand inside case grab the bird and flip it outside in, tie knot at the top, makes it easy to move multiple birds at once and not have to struggle to get a freaked bird to step up or get bitten)
- Travel cage/ cage covers (emergency evacuation, earthquakes)
- Portable seed containers, keep full
- List of local places that allow parrots
- Feeding syringe (medications, force feeding)
Emergency things you need to have in your house
- Olive Oil (a drop or two in mouth if choking to loosen up blockage)
- Dishsoap (a few drops in water will help the water cut through feathers to get to the skin and cool down during a heat stroke)
- Flour, cornstarch, quik stop (place to clot wounds and stop bleeding)
Emergency knowledge
Avian CPR
Choking - drop of oil to loosen blockage, encourage regurgitation, call vet immediately
Heat Stroke - cool down slowly (colder room, fan, standing feet in cooler water) if no change then put some dish soap in room temp water and soak your bird, call vet
Swallowing a foreign object (check throat for blockage, feed nut butter to coat the throat and crop to avoid it getting stuck or cutting the crop, call vet)
Seizures (wrap gently in towel and call vet, the longer it seizes the more brain damage occurs)
Broken blood feathers Pulling blood feather video (no real birds in this video)
Emergency splinting
Broken wing - fold wing to normal closed position, wrap with vet tape in a figure 8 (tip of injured wing, under rear, behind legs, under other wing, over back, over injured wing shoulder, under stomach, in front of legs, under other wing, on top of back) if bird is struggling STOP it will make it worse
Splinting legs - towel bird with legs sticking out, gauze on both sides of leg, wrap with gauze tape, cut popsicle sticks to size of leg and wrap them to cover any jagged pieces, put popsicle sticks on either side of leg, wrap with vet wrap, call vet. If bone is visible do NOT allow direct contact with bone, cover thoroughly with gauze. (Intended to stabilize leg so the bird can not flail and do more damage, do NOT try to reset the bone, call vet immediately after splinting)
It also pays off to practice evacuation procedures, if your action plan is to throw all the birds in travel cages and go make sure you practice where each cage goes and in what order
Note: None of this replaces the work of a medical professional, call the vet as soon as you have the chance. These methods are to stabilize the bird, reduce further damage, and to increase their odds of survival before they can make it to a vet.