# Broken Toe Nail



## SnowHedgehog (Jun 24, 2015)

Hi,

I noticed Popsicle was sitting with her foot tucked into herself, much like when they sleep, but refused to put any pressure on it and couldn't land on it when flying from perch to perch. I wanted to get a better look at it so I turned the lights off to keep her calm and gently towelled her. The nail had been broken past the quick and was bleeding fairly heavily. The broken piece was still barely attached so I held her foot in some cornstarch to stop the bleeding and trimmed the broken piece off with nail clippers. It kept bleeding for a bit and her poor feathers are pretty stained but I did my best to stay calm for her and ended up using both cornstarch and styptic powder (I did my best to keep the styptic powder off of her skin and feathers) and the bleeding has stopped. She's back in the cage now, using her full weight on that foot again and it is not bleeding anymore, I also hand fed her some millet so she's ok with eating. Should I set her up in a small cage by herself for the night? Is there anything else I should do for her? This is my first personal experience with a bleeding bird but I think she's going to be alright.

Thanks


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Brit -

The action you took to give Popsicle first aid for her broken nail was absolutely perfect! Very well done.

Just keep an eye on her for a bit to ensure the clot doesn't loosen as you don't want the nail to start bleeding again. 
If the nail does begin bleeding again, just dip the end of the nail in the styptic powder to make it re-clot. 
Keeping her in the small cage by herself for the night is definitely best. :thumbsup:

Hugs to you for your quick thinking and action! :hug:*


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## SnowHedgehog (Jun 24, 2015)

Thank you so much, Faery!  I'll keep a close eye on her, and set up the small cage for the night so she can get around nice and easy


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## SnowHedgehog (Jun 24, 2015)

I usually don't like to double post. But as a quick update, Popsicle is now set up in the small cage and her toe hasn't bled again yet so fingers crossed the clot will stay in place the rest of the night, if anything, I'm always up really late so I'll continue to keep an eye on her. She definitely has energy so I don't think she lost too much blood, but I'll keep her on cage rest for the rest of the night and I gave her a small piece of a millet sprig to keep her happy.

Here's a photo of the toenail that broke:










It's not a great photo since the sun has gone down and I had to zoom in, but I think it shows how short it broke  They just recently had their nails trimmed, too. I'm not sure how it broke, but will it grow out on it's own?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*The nail definitely broke off very short. Poor little Popsicle. 
You did a good job taking care of her Brit and the toenail will grow out on it's own, just like our fingernails and toenails do.

When you have a moment, look through Popsicle's regular cage and see if you can locate anything she may have gotten her toenail stuck in to have caused the break. 
Any fringe on toys, etc need to be considered. 
If you see blood in any area of that cage, you may be able to pinpoint the cause of the accident in order to prevent another in the future.*


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## SnowHedgehog (Jun 24, 2015)

Thank you, again, Faery  Her nail looks really good today and she's full of energy so I think she's going to be alright.



FaeryBee said:


> * When you have a moment, look through Popsicle's regular cage and see if you can locate anything she may have gotten her toenail stuck in to have caused the break.
> Any fringe on toys, etc need to be considered.
> If you see blood in any area of that cage, you may be able to pinpoint the cause of the accident in order to prevent another in the future.*


I looked through the cage, made sure all the perch hardware and toy links were tight, no toys with fringe on them or other loose pieces, there's also no blood in the cage and I'm going to assume that's because she wasn't putting her foot down at all until I picked her up :/ I also really don't think Bridgette could have broken the nail, their cage is behind me relative to my desk and I had been sitting here since I had gotten home about an hour earlier and she was fine when I got home. They've also never bit each other before, but I guess anything can happen. Nonetheless, I'm going to keep a really close eye on them both to make sure their not getting into fights and to ensure there isn't anything they're getting their feet stuck in.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'm glad Popsicle is doing well today.

Thanks for taking the time to look through the cage.
Even though you didn't find anything that looked like it could have caused the problem, it's good to have checked everything out.

I know you are taking great care of Bridgette and Popsicle and I'll be looking forward to hearing more about them soon.

Best wishes!*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Poor little Popsicle! But she's lucky to have such a loving and attentive mum to care for her. I'm glad you were able to stop the bleeding and she's doing just fine. 

I hope she feels better soon!


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## Therm (Aug 2, 2015)

Aww, I hope she makes a full recovery soon. Good job taking care of her.


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## SnowHedgehog (Jun 24, 2015)

Thank you all for the kind words! :hug: (Popsicle says thank you, too  ) I can tell she's feeling better, she is putting all her weight on that foot again and has no issues getting around.


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## jrook (Jul 29, 2014)

You did a great job! I'm not sure I'd have been as clear headed as you were. Popsicle is lucky to have you.


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