My bird is biting its foot and bleeding. How can I help my sick bird?

It is good that you separated the bird being picked on. If he is actively bleeding, injured, or the sites of his wounds appear to be infected, then it is best to bring him to a vet and have him treated with antibiotics as needed. Until you can get to the vet, keeping him separate, cleaning any wounds of any debris or oozing, and preventing him from picking at the wounds can help some.

It sounds like your bird may have bumblefoot, or an infection of the foot which can cause oozing of debris, pus, blood, etc. Other possible causes can include a sprain or break to the foot. If you see a visible wound, you can try soaking the foot in epsom salts and then using an antiseptic like blu-kote, however if it is badly infected or broken this is something that needs to be seen by a veterinarian immediately as severe infections can make a bird ill very quickly and potentially lead to death. Until you can get to your vet, keeping Sunapana warm and in a hospital cage without perches and with food and water dishes that are easy to is best.

Apply gentle pressure with a wet(cold water) towel and disinfect the area with salt water, or by using an hibiscrub or betadine solution (you can find them in boots - store). A check up then would be ideal to determine the underlying source of the bleeding and have appropriate treatment options.

Hi, It looks like Charm’s foot had trauma that caused a break in the skin (hence the bleeding). What you are seeing now looks like a scab that needs to heal. I would suspect Charm is in some degree of pain or discomfort and I can’t rule out that a bone may have been broken, so a trip to the veterinarian for an exam and pain medications (and perhaps antibiotics) would be best. In the meantime, keep the foot clean and dry as the scabs heal, lower any perches if she seems hesitant to weight bear, and make sure she eats and drinks well.

It would be best to remove your male budgie and thoroughly clean the wound/stop the bleeding with pressure. You can then place him into a hospital cage to allow the wound to heal/keep an eye on it without your female picking at it further. Once healed, you can then start to reintroduce both birds back into the same cage. Adding in extra food, water, perches, toys, etc can help decrease competition over resources which may help decrease fighting as well. If the foot is at all bothersome, Tweety can't place weight on it, or the wound appears infected, having a vet take a look in person to treat, clean and prescribe any medications is best.

Your bird may have a skin infection, like from a bacteria or fungus, or he may have skin mites causing him to be so itchy. I would recommend taking him to the vet to be checked out so that the underlying problem can be treated and he will stop being so itchy. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

If the skin is broken and bleeding, Lemon Drop is at risk for infection. Even if you have no local avian veterinarian, a small animal vet should be able to treat her. A specialist can be consulted online or by phone. The antibiotics and medications used are similar, just the dose is much smaller. A small e-collar (cone) may need to be fashioned to prevent her from plucking. In the meantime, lean and sanitize the cage, bowls, toys and perches. Discard anything that cannot be sanitized. Use paper towels on the cage bottom and change them daily to keep the cage clean. Provide a variety of toys and treats to keep her distracted from picking. Bathe or mist her with warm water a few times a week to promote preening and healthy skin and plumage.