Blood loss in budgerigar

Possible causes

The most common reason for this is likely to be injuries:

Tear off injuries of claws or toes
Bite wounds
Cuts
Approach trauma (e.g. window pane)
Blood quillsGrowing¹

But bleeding from body orifices can also occur in some diseases:

Fallopian tube diseases
Legenot
Gastric ulcers
Growths ulcers² on the cloaca

Problem

Since a budgie has only 4-5ml of blood, depending on its size, heavy or unstoppable bleeding can quickly become life-threatening.

A healthy bird can easily cope with the loss of about 10% of the blood volume, but that would be about only 8-10 blood droplets normal³.

A sick or weakened budgie, on the other hand, can only make up for a small amount of blood loss.

Another issue would be delayed blood clotting, such as can occur with liver disease, which can lead to higher blood loss.

Measures

Heavy bleeding

The budgie loses blood streaming incessantly

It is imperative to immediately consult an avian veterinarian who will perform professional hemostasis.

During transport, compress the bleeding area with gentle pressure, e.⁴.

Weak bleeding

Cover wound with hemostatic material,⁵.
Returning the budgie to its usual environment
Remove bedding or cover with cloths until bleeding has stopped completely to avoid possible contamination of the wound.

If the wound is still bleeding or dripping after 3 minutes, a veterinarian should be consulted.

Also, if the budgie shows signs of a relieving posture or lameness (e.g. after claw trimming) on subsequent days, a visit to the vet is advisable.

➜ Hemostatic gelatin sponges

Blood traces on budgie

First, house the bird as free of excitement as possible to better assess its condition.

Check whether the bleeding has already stopped.e.⁶
Assess whether the skin color on⁷ is pink or white as⁸ ( ⇒ veterinarian ).
Is the budgie “as usual” or does it seem “floppy and just sleeping” or is even “disoriented” ( ⇒ vet ) ?

➜ First – aid – box