Please help! clipped a new duck we just got and I'm covered in blood!

[Impress]

I'd say that would give it time to recover. And next time you trim any feathers, make sure you have flour or corn starch, pliers, and your scissors, and help to hold them! Those blood feathers can bleed them dry!

 

[mhhousley]

Quote:
Yeah I definitely will be more prepared. I was anxious to let it loose. I let it sit for a while in the wire cage to aclimate around with the other birds. The last duck I turned loose without clipping it's wings and it flew over the fence and disappeared. Next time I'll wait until I have someone to help me.

Thank you for your response and suggestions!

 

[spiritdance]

The corn starch, styptic, etc., works, but so does super glue if you don't have those. You can pinch the bleeding feather shaft flat and put a drop of super glue on it. Let the glue dry, release the feather, and check to verify that the bleeding has stopped. I keep a tube handy any time I do wings, nails, etc.

 

[mhhousley]

Quote:
I was lucky. I am someone with experience in certain aspects of poultry but obviously in this case, not everything. I knew I wasn't an expert but I also quickly learned that I can learn from my mistake. Thankfully the little duck will be okay, the bleeding seems to have stopped and the duck seems normal and healthy. I should have researched clipping feathers sooner like I do just about anything else before I do it... I guess I was just operating on the belief that it wasn't that big of a deal nor hard to do.

That said, anyone know the BEST scissors to use to get a nice, quick, clean cut for in the future?

 

[Elite Silkies]

I guess apparently I do not even know how to cut them, I always cut the secondary flight feathers on my Macaws. I didn't realize you could cut the primary flight feathers. I keep blood stop powder on hand.

In this case, if I didn't have any, I would removed the feathers with pliers, as the previously posters stated. Glad that they are not bleeding anymore.

 

[spiritdance]

scissors with blunt tips! I used some barber scissors once and a hen unexpectedly freaked out on me - one of those "OMG the wolf is gunna eat me I'll just throw myself around 'til it's over" freak outs - and I accidentally jabbed her in the meat of the wing (the person holding her for me, who shall remain nameless to protect the GUILTY, let himself get distracted and lost his grip). Luckily, a little triple antibiotic and some liquid bandaid set it right, but I learned my lesson. I've got a great pair of taylor's shears with blunt tips and very sharp blades that I use now, so no more "pointy" mishaps!

 

[KandiandJerry]

So happy that the duck is O.K.....

 

[nurse_turtle]

You can treat for mites anytime. I don't feel there's any need to wait.

 

[mhhousley]

Quote:
I just meant after cutting into blood feathers and also spraying the poor duck with purple antiseptic. I figure a week?

 

[zzGypsy]

best scissors: normally I use regular sewing shears, but in a pinch, I've used sharp kitchen shears. the sewing shears have maybe 5" long blades, with rounded tips and will cut feathers crisply if they're sharp. and on a typical duck, it only takes 2-3 snips to get all the flights so it's fast and least stress on the bird. we clip one side (right) only, and primary flights only, leaving an inch or so of flights extending beyond the secondary feathers.

I've been lucky, I've never hit a bleeder, but I usually wait until the flights are fully grown in and I check the feathers for those still growing before I clip.

not so easy to do alone, better with 2 people for sure.

we keep Blood Stop on hand... I've never had to use it on a bird, but we had a ram knock a horn off and tear the growth ring around it and he would have bled to death if not for the combination of blood stop and me holding pressure on the wound for more than 20 minutes. anyway, it's good to have on hand.

glad your new bird is going to be ok.