Lovebird yanked upper beak-its turning black and blue

Question
My 8 yr old female lovebird caught her upper beak caught in a section of a cage. I didn't actually see it happen, but I heard her making a great deal of noise and went in to look at her. She was in corner with a bit of blood on both sides of her beak. I believe she got her beak stuck and yanked it hard to get it loose.

I put her in another cage and immediately called my regular (avian) vet.  He wasn't in, so I spoke to his assistant/vet tech. She told me if the bird separated her beak from her face, there was nothing they could do, AND TO NOT BOTHER BRINGING HER IN. She suggested that I wash it off and put antibiotic ointment on it. I said "What if she is unable to eat?" I was advised to give her soft food.  

This occurred on a Thursday afternoon.  I did what the vet tech advised. However, the bird was fluffed, had her head tucked under a wing and was clearly in pain.

I didn't believe I was doing everything that could be done for her, so I called back the next day to bring her in ANYWAY. This was on Friday.  I was told that there were no avian vets in until MONDAY. Yikes. If I had known this, I would have taken her in Thursday.

I called a number of other avian vets, and finally found one who was in. She told me to bring her in right away.

THIS vet told me the bird was in pain and might lose her beak. She said she was unsure if the blood supply to the sides of the beak were affected and said we would have to wait to find out.

She DID say that it was a good sign the the beak still appeared to be fully attached and that the top of the beak did not appear to be affected.

The vet gave her an injection that had pain medication, an antibiotic and vitamins. I was sent home with more Metacam, as well as Trimeth/Sulfa liquid, to be adminstered twice a day for 14 days. I was also given Nekton-Q and a powered meal replacement to be mixed with water in case she was unable to eat. This is to be force fed if she isn't eating.

I am relieved to say that she is drinking water, nibbling millet, plus tiny seeds. I am offering the usual morning treat of cooked brown rice as well as grated apple and carrot.

If anyone can suggest something else that might help, please contact me at clackalot-at-yahoo.com.

Thank you very much,
L.  

Answer
Hi, L.  Sorry to hear about your lovebird, but it sounds like she's on her way to recovery.  Since your lovebird is under the care of an avian vet who has actually seen the injury, there isn't any additional advice I can provide except for you to ensure she is eating and drinking every day.  Also, be sure to take care of the problem with the cage that caused the injury to begin with, i.e., get a cage with smaller wire-spacing perhaps, in order to prevent this from happening again.  

If you can't get to an avian vet in an emergency situation, the next best thing would be a local emergency pet hospital (usually open 24/7).  It's always best for an injured bird to be seen and evaluated by a vet because we don't always know the full extent of an injury.  In my opinion, the vet tech that advised you to not bring the bird in if the beak was separated was not doing their job...the bird should have been seen regardless for a medical assessment and to not leave that decision up to you.

Chrys