Basic Emergency Care Overview

  • Keep calm and reassure your Eckie. Talk to them in a soft, calm voice. Always say their name. This will help keep them alert and focused on your voice
  • Assess your parrot and their surroundings to determine what may have caused the injury
  • Pick your Eckie up gently. If required, support their head and neck
  • Do not lay your Eckie on their back
  • Remove anything that may be obstructing their airways. Pry open their beak and remove the foreign object. You may need to use a Q-tip if the object is covered in saliva. This will help give you a little more control when removing the object
  • Stop any bleeding
  • Remove any objects they may be tangled or caught in
  • Keep your Eckie warm by gently wrapping them in a warm towel. They will need to maintain their body temperature to keep them stabilised
  • Take them to a quiet room to examine them. Some wounds may be obvious while others may take some time to discover
  • Keep your parrot in a horizontal position and examine them carefully. Start with their head and work your way down their body. Try to be as gentle as possible. This is a visual examination to determine the extent of the injury
  • Call your avian vet if required and provide them with a detailed description of the situation
  • If your parrot has suffered a fracture, gently support the wound. If a bone is protruding, cover it with sterilised gauze. If the wound is bleeding, gently apply pressure. Ensure the injured limb is kept immobile, especially during transportation to the vet
  • Take all necessary items with you to the vet, e.g. faeces sample or any objects that may have been swallowed or poisoned your parrot
  • Do not feed the parrot any food or water until a vet has examined them
  • Place your Eckie in your emergency carrier for the drive to the vet. Line this carrier with soft warm towel to prevent them from being jostled during the drive
  • Alternatively, hold your Eckie gently while another person drives
  • Drive as carefully as possible. The last thing you want to do is speed and have an accident
  • Reassure your Eckie on the drive to the vets and ensure you stay as calm as possible