Avian First Aid Kit
Basic First Aid Kit
There are some "musts" for your kit. The following are items we suggest for inclusion in a Basic First Aid Kit, with a brief description of their uses.
Towel - for wrapping and securing your bird
Scissors - for cutting tape, bandages.....and strings which can wrap on birds toes
Quik-stop and/or Styptic Pencil (silver nitrate stick) or cornstarch - to stop bleeding from broken blood feathers or cuts. Avian blood has very few clotting agents in comparison to human/ mammal blood. A bird can literally bleed to death from a broken blood feather.
Hemostats and tweezers - for removing broken blood feathers, and/or splinters
Plyers, needle nose - for pulling blood feathers or unbending chains and quik links which birds are known to injure themselves with.Wire cutters - once again, birds are known to wrap themselves in chain and/or wire.
Gauze pads - for covering wounds, burns
Cotton balls - for cleansing
Q-tips - for cleaning out small wounds, getting stuff out of a bird's mouth or throat.
Vet wrap (cut into strips and rolled) - for wrapping broken bones, wings, or binding gauze pads to wounds.
Micropore tape (paper surgical tape) - for holding gauze in place


Penlight or small flashlight (A head-mounted light is even better.) Magnifying glasses or "jewelers loop" - especially necessary for those of us at "that certain age"....but since birds are so small and delicate, a pair of magnifying glasses can come in handy for anyone trying to do detail work.Sterile water - for flushing wounds or mixing with food
Pedialyte (or generic equivalent)- for rehydrating a dehydrated bird. Can be mixed with food. Pedialyte contains sugars and electrolytes which avians quickly lose when dehydrated or sick. Must be discarded within 24 hours of opening since it is a wonderful media for bacteria to grow in. An alternate to Pedialite such as Gastrolyte, Rappolyte powders can be used. These should be mixed with sterile water. Both are available through veterinarians. Pedialite, however, is readily available at any grocery store in the baby food section.
Hand feeding formula, jars of human baby food such as veggies, cereals or squash.
Antibiotic Ointment
(such as neosporin)
Terrycloth towel or baby diaper to hold the bird.
Betadyne or hibitane (chlorhexidine) - as non-irritating disinfectant. Avoid hydrogen peroxide which is caustic to skin
Aloe Vera - for very minor burns. Many creams and lotions made for humans are toxic to birds, so make sure that you get 100% pure Aloe Vera


Please either email or snail mail your Professor Parrot questions to the club email address (on the front of the newsletter) or the
return address on the newsletter.

Dear Professor Parrot,
Where in Houston can we take our parrots in case of an emergency? Is there an avian vet or an
emergency clinic that is open in the middle of the night for this
reason? What are good things to keep on hand for an avian
emergency kit?              Brat Bird

Dear Brat,
There are several avian vets here in Houston.  They all suggested pretty much the same thing.  Find one that you like and keep going to him/her.  Normally you'll get either their pager or home number for an emergency. 
All birds should be taken to a vet for a new bird check up.  So you should be searching for the vet that you like before you bring home your first bird.  All birds should also see the vet once a year for a check up. 

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