HI, I took my two budgies to the vet for the first time on wednesday to get their nails clipped and their wings clipped just so that when they flew around they wouldn't hit the ceiling fan in our dining room. Well they did fine but when we got home Happy Feet decided to try and fly and her right wing seemed to be bothering her. It was outstretched even when she tucked back her left one and then she would pull it in. I put her in her cage to let her relax and to keep an eye on her. I was just thinking it was because she was angry that she couldnt fly. Next day as I was watching her in her cage (they both have separate cages by the way) I noticed that she would shake her body and then her right wing would be held up and back and out a little bit and it would be quivering. I was really angry thinking maybe the vet did something to her bc obviously she was not like this before hand. Took her back and he said maybe he hyper extended her wing when he took her out of her travel cage but he didnt know. He found a blood feather that looked irritated and pulled it and then sealed the bleeding. This morning she looked all fine so I let her out and sat her on the table with me and she started the whole thing all over again. Does anyone know what could be wrong with her? I'm not sure if she's hurt or what and this vet seems to be a jerk and we don't have an avian vet anywhere near us. Please help! Thanks!

Oh dear! So sorry to hear about this. Maybe he should try to x-ray her wing. They are so delicate! Sometimes when Ruby (macaw) gets all trimmed and all she acts a little funny for a day or so. Maybe it just feels different to her sort of like when we get a hair cut.

I honestly don't know & can only speculate. As she is young - hopefully the wing isn't permanently hurt. I'd keep her quiet & make sure she's warm.

I have to say this - when your birds are out, could you not turn the fan off & make it a habit or use another room? It sounds to me that your bird may be traumatized by the Vet visit [rough handling & the blood feather may have been hurting & probably still does hurt]. The trembling may well be her way of seeking comfort - apparently trembly towards a parent gets results.

When you let them out next I suggest you put the cage on a bed or the floor. Falling is the last thing you want to happen.

My Laker recently lost a few flights & when he flew down to my husband's knee to chat, he fell to the ground & was visibly upset & called out. He spent the next 3 days in his cage being very quiet & sometimes jumping from the discomfort his new feathers are causing.

I feel for you & your bird.

I agree with Jac. If Happy is injured a few days quietly in the cage may help. If she is seeking comfort most likely both wings quiver at the same time.

Is there an update on HappyFeet? I hope she's feeling better.

Lordy, I do hate wing clipping... so many things can go wrong. I would let her be by herself in a cage for, at least, three weeks. If that wing is broken (their bones are so very tiny and let's not forget that the wing is actually a modified hand so there are lots of little bones in there) and I would tend to believe there is something either broken or terribly wrenched in there (she would not put it out like that because she is mad, birds are not like that, they don't 'cut off their nose to spite their face'), it will take that long to start mending. I have found that, when it comes to budgies and broken wings, you are better off letting nature heal it instead of the vet. The wing might not end up exactly even with the other one but it will be very functional while, if the vet is just the tiniest bit clumsy about setting it, they could end up with a completely twisted one. That happened to me twice, and since I started allowing the healing to take place on its own, I've never again ended up with a twisted wing.