Updated On: 10/15/2007

COMMON BIRD EMERGENCIES

BLEEDING

How to handle bleeding from broken toenails, broken feathers, and other wounds.

What to do for a bird with a broken bone.

How to help your bird when it is having trouble breathing. 

What to do if your bird is wounded by another bird, a dog or cat, or by flying into an object like a hot pan.

Signs of egg binding, how to help your bird at home, and when to call your veterinarian.

FRACTURES

BREATHING

WOUNDS

EGG LAYING

Burge Bird Services

Julie Burge, DVM

13833 S. 71 Hwy

Grandview, MO  64030

(816) 356-4700

Photo credit:

Firefighting Macaw

"Sam"

by Melody Emig

Melody@mtco.com

If you have an after hours emergency:

First, don't wait until after hours to call about a problem that has been going on for a day or two.  Try to call during our regular hours if your bird is sick instead of deciding at midnight that it is now an emergency.  Dr. Burge is available for many after hours emergencies since she lives in the house attached to our hospital.  Be sure to leave us a message about your bird if she is not available so that we can call you as soon as possible to see if there is anything we can do to help.  There are five local animal emergency clinics, which have variable coverage for bird emergencies depending on what doctor is on duty.  Two that you can try are:

Kansas:

Mission Med Vet    (913) 722-5566

5501 Johnson Dr., Mission, KS

located on the southwest corner of Johnson Dr and Nall

Missouri:

Animal Emergency Clinic    (816) 554-4990

3495 NE Ralph Powell Rd., Lee's Summit, MO

located off I-470 and Woods Chapel, across from the golf course