Raising birds can be an exciting experience, until they start getting sick, then it’s terrifying. No one wants their bird to get sick. A bird bleeding from its bottom can be an alarming sight, this article looks into why this happens.
If your bird is bleeding from its bottom, the bleeding may simply be because of a blood feather, or, because the bird has kidney issues, or because of vent prolapse
Table of Contents
Bird bleeding from bottom:
When not to worry: external injury
Blood feather:
This is the least serious (yet still painful) reason why your bird is bleeding from its bottom.
Your bird may be bleeding as a result of a blood feather, close to the rectum, being broken. If this is the case, the bird is not actually bleeding from its rectum, just close to it.
A blood feather is a newly grown feather that contains blood. When the feather grows into a fully developed feather, the blood will recede into the bird’s body, but, while the feather is still growing, the central shaft will be filled with blood.
If these feathers are disturbed as a result of being pulled or broken, then the bird will likely start to bleed.
What to do:
If a blood feather has been broken by the bird then you don’t have to worry too much. Yes, this may be quite uncomfortable for the bird, and even painful, but this isn’t life-threatening to the bird.
You’d need to see if the bleeding subsides after 5 minutes of noticing it.
If the bird does not stop bleeding after 5 minutes, then you’d need to apply a bird-safe styptic powder (any powder that causes bleeding to stop, like cornstarch) and then apply pressure to the area for 1-2 minutes.
Observe your bird for 1-2 hours after this, making sure that the bird doesn’t continue to bleed.
When to worry:
Internal injuries
If your bird is bleeding from the rectum, and not from the blood feathers, then this is more of a serious situation. Here are reasons why your bird may be bleeding internally:
Vent prolapse:
Vent prolapse happens when the bird’s lower tissue, or organs, protrude through the vent opening. The uterus, the intestines, or the cloaca can protrude.
These organs will be exposed to the elements, the cage, and other birds that your bird may be living with. Any of these can cause organs to experience trauma if bumped or pecked, this can cause the protruding organs, or tissue, to bleed
Kidney issues:
Kidney issues will show up in your bird’s poop in the form of blood coming out of the rectum. The bleeding can be caused by either kidney issues, like a kidney stone, a mass in the kidney, or as a result of a kidney infection.
The color of the blood will show you how high up the bleeding is coming from if the bleeding is coming from a different organ.
If it is a lighter red color then the bleeding is most likely coming from lower in the bird’s tract, the blood will be a darker red if it comes from higher up in the tract.
Reproductive issues:
If your bird is a female bird, then it may have reproductive issues. These reproductive issues can be ovarian cysts or ovarian masses. The bird may even have a tumor on the cloaca and this may be causing the bleeding.
What to do:
You’d need to take the bird to a certified avian vet to be diagnosed and treated. The vet may do an exam as well as a fecal exam on your bird.
For the fecal exam: Collect fresh droppings (less than 12 hours old), by laying some wax paper at the bottom of the bird’s cage and letting your bird poop. Give this to your vet if they request it
If your bird is bleeding continuously, then it is very important that you take the bird to a vet immediately. Bleeding that started then stopped isn’t as urgent, but a vet visit is still recommended.
FAQ:
How to help a bird recover from blood loss?
Recovering from blood loss takes several days to weeks. You can help the bird by feeding it iron-rich foods like kale or spinach.
Can a bird bleed to death?
Yes, birds can bleed to death.
Birds don’t have many clotting agents in their blood, which means that their blood will flow and won’t clot easily and stop bleeding in good time, the smallest injury can be life-threatening.
These animals are quite small and 10 percent of a bird’s body weight is blood. What would not seem like a lot of blood to you is a lot of blood to the bird.
The bird may lose only a couple of CC’s of blood but they can die because of it.
For this reason, bleeding from your bird is a scary, yet common, avian emergency, where decisions need to quickly be made to help the bird.
What happens if a bird loses too much blood?
If your bird loses too much blood then it will go into shock.
When this happens the animal’s body will try to get blood to the brain and heart at the expense of the other organs.
If this is left to go on for too long this can interfere with oxygenation of the tissues and eventually death.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other baby bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Do Birds Use Other Birds Nests, How To Help A Choking Bird, Stunned Bird Symptoms, Why Did My Baby Bird Die?