A Very Painful Mistake on my Part!

[linda040899]

I'm always telling everyone to watch the body language of your birds and to be aware of what's going on. I need to follow my own advice.

I went to pick up Dao this morning and wasn't paying attention to where Georgia was. Just as he went to step up onto my hand, her beak grabbed my left forearm. It was what I call a "wide bite," her beak was open very wide when she connected with my arm. Her upper beak sank about 1/4" into my arm and the lower beak left a very swollen bruise as she applied pressure. She could have removed an entire chunk of flesh and I guess I'm fortunate that she didn't. I'm usually more careful than this but my mind was on other things when I should have been paying attention to what I was trying to do. :(

[Elle]

All i can say is OUCH! I do admit, after a while, we get too comfortable with our birds and we are not as alert as we should be. I'm relieved that she didn't do any more damage. from what I am reading, it could have been worse . What kind of parrot is it?

Elle

[linda040899]

Dao and Georgia are Military Macaws. Georgia is an abused bird who is very jealous of my relationship with Dao (male). I really should have known better and paid attention.........

[LauraO]

YIKES LINDA! I can't even imagine how that bite must feel. I think it's the fear of getting one of what you got that keeps me happy with the lovebird size parrots :rolleyes:.

OH! And you mean Georgia "WAS" an abused bird :D.

[linda040899]

True statement, Laura
Georgia was an abused bird! She is, as a result, very hard to work with. I've had her since 1991 and she's never been locked up in a cage since I've had her, at least not until about 2 months ago. Georgia decided that it was OK to wander around my bedroom and "sample" wallpaper and baseboard. She's not happy about it, but when I'm not here, she is put in her cage. The trick is to get her there without actually grabbing her. I can tell Ginger (CAG) to go in her cage and she will. Not Georgia!!! I discovered that she will grab any towel I put near her so I let her do that and I simply move her to the perch in her cage. The towel gets bitten a bit, but that's the extent of the interaction. She's not screaming; I'm not bleeding and my bedroom is safe until I come home! :)

I guess I'm very fortunate in that, of the 5 larger birds I have, Georgia is the only biter. You can believe I have a very healthy respect for any beak that can remove my finger without even trying very hard!!!!!

[Z28Taxman]

Yikes! That smarts.

I guess my story about getting attacked by a swallow this afternoon pales in comparison to that. :D (see misc. forum)

[shylevon]

Oh, I hope your arm recovers. :( I know how hard a little lovie can bite, and I know the size of a macaw beak in comparison. Did he break the skin, or were you spared the bloodletting?

[linda040899]

Shy,
I wasn't spared the bleeding, not by a long shot. Puncture wounds usually don't bleed but this one sure did. Any bacteria that may have been on Georgia's beak tip got washed right back out.

I'll tell you who else can inflict a nasty pinch, especially considering the state of his beak. Echo! He can't break the skin but he can sure leave a bruise!

[zlatushka]

I have to admit, this is the one thing that makes me so wary of getting a bigger bird, even though I'd really really really like to.... I'm just terrified of getting a chunk taken out of me sometime... or a chunk out of one of my kids or something.

hope that wound heals up quick for you, Linda...

rachel

[BarbieH]

OW!! Linda, I'm sure that is a mistake you won't be making again any time soon. What did you use to clean the wound?

Those big beaks are the reason I am very cautious about socializing with big parrots in pet shops. There are a couple that leave their larger birds out on tee stands to talk to customers and maybe find an owner. I see some people just walk up to a large, strange parrot and handle them, and I can't imagine doing the same. To me, unfamiliar parrots of any size are like unfamiliar bodies of water: If I don't know where the dropoff point is, I am very, very cautious.

Let us know how your arm is doing, Linda.

Hugs,

[linda040899]

Barb,
With an injury like this, bleeding is a good thing, as it washes everything right back out point of entry. I put a band-aid and Polysporin over the wound and it looks great this morning. Georgia's beak is very thin at the tip and it came back out clean. The worst part is the bruise from the pressure of the bite. I'm using ice to bring down the swelling.

Most visitors to my home never even realize that I have 2 macaws. That door is always closed, as I never know how they will react to strangers. The door can be locked if necessary. The only one of my bigger birds that I allow anyone to handle is Harley.

[kimsbirds]

One word:


OOOOOUUUUUCCCCCHHHHH !!!!!