Ouchie - poor little bird

My female cockatiel, Belle, had a bot of an accident today - still not sure how she did it, exactly, but she either broke a toenail off to the base of her toe or ripped it out altogether. I found blood everywhere when I went to give her her dinner this afternoon. It took a combination of styptic powder, nail glue (read: Krazy Glue) and pressure to get it to stop bleeding. I had to wrap her little foot up in sterile gauze and first aid tape like a cast so she wouldn't pick at it and reopen the wound. (Vet wasn't an option at that point - the office nearby closes at five and this was almost six PM, and the emergency clinic "doesn't do exotics." They gave me a place seven hours away to take her to. ) I'll have to see about getting her to the regular vet tomorrow.

So she's patched up and not happy, poor baby.

BTW, she did it between me getting home from work and dinner time. I still can't figure out why she didn't squawk or scream or something. She's probably the most laid-back bird in history, but still. Of course, if she wasn't so mild-mannered, I owuldn't have been able to hold her down and hold pressure on that toe. That had to hurt.

Around here, if it's not a dog or a cat, it's "exotic."

She's better now - she was eating a moment ago - but I imagine her foot must be really sore. I still have it wrapped up.

That's the third time I've used the nail glue trick to stop a broken nail from bleeding (every time on a cockatiel - go figure) but the other two only broke a nail down into the quick, not ripped it off. I'm still not sure what she caught it on, though - she's in a different cage until I figure it out - and finish cleaning her regular one.

Pretty much, it seems, which isn't good.

I was able to get a good look at her little foot this morning, and she didn't pull the nail off - it's just broken down level with her toe. I also think it snagged on her food bowl, so she has a new bowl, too.