Captain Jack and the terrible tape

[Jenn]

I like to think of myself as a responsible pet owner. I look after each of my pets and always consider their needs and do my best to meet them.

Captain Jack is my sweet young cockatiel. He is my first bird and I've been really enjoying his company and learning bird behaviours.

Last summer when we were having screens installed on our windows, a bunch of flies came in the house and I tried various fly killing strategies. The problem passed and the various fly things were taken down and out of my mind. Except one strip of fly paper a bit out of site above my desk....you know where I am now going with this right?

Captain Jack flew into the fly paper /tape stuff, fell onto my lap, screaming, flailing and scared me and him terribly. I laid him onto the floor and got down on my knees to try to help, although I must admit I didn't have a plan I was just acting on an emergency that literally fell into my lap.

I have pretty long hair and when I got down to help him he also became caught up in my hair. The situation just continued to get a bit worse and I got control of him and removed him from my hair and laid him on the floor. He was screaming, it's terrible sound and I felt so awful and afraid. I knew I needed to get the tape off him...but how?

I got some scissors and cut off what I could safely and was able to remove the rest of the tape by pulling it off. I had a small pile of feathers caught in the tape afterward and a really roughed up looking Captain Jack.

He spent the day cleaning himself, by the end of the day he looked less horrid but still rough. He fought the tape and the tape took him down.

My big concern was that the tape gummy stuff would be toxic but he has survived. He is still sticky in some spots but I imagine it will grow out on his first molt. I've tried bathing him but it doesn't do much good for the sticky. Also it's interesting how he doesn't truly enjoy anything about a bathing process other than how he likes to preen himself.

The moral of this story for me was, even when you think everything is safe and secure for your pet, look again and ask a few other people to eye over your set up. Thankfully everything seems fine now.

[thebigwoodgie]

if you still have the fly strip or know what brand it is, you may want to check on whether or not it is toxic. Some no pest strips have more than the glue on them. Some have attractants and other chemicals that could potentially be hazardous. It may be toxic at certain levels that have not been reached yet if your bird ingested any of it.
If you let me know what brand it was, I will try to find out. I also havent run across this before so I'll see if there is a way for you to wash the residue off the feathers as opposed to your sweet baby preening it off.
Let me know and I'll find out what I can.
Bill

[Jenn]

Victor Fly Catcher

on the box it says
No poisons
No Vapors
No Mess

It makes me "assume" it isn't toxic but...I don't know. Either way it can't be good.

I'd love to help him get it off, I try and pick at it when I find a spot still. The worst part right now is on his crown.

Any help you can find on getting it off him is much appreciated.

[thebigwoodgie]

I'll see what I can find out.
In a sense, it's good that it is more on his crest as that is one of the places that a bird has the hardest time reaching and preening himself.
I'll see if there is a way to wash it off that is safe and I'll look into the product as well.
Bill

[Jenn]

Here is a picture of the accident scene, and a picture of Captain Jack it was taken the following day of the accident. It was the first time he had seen a camera and once he got over his fear of it, he was strking poses for me.



http://sighosting.paw-talk.net/users...ptainjack1.jpg

[thebigwoodgie]

this is from victors website pertaining the removal from human skin. I suspect it will work on a bird too.

How do I remove the "sticky stuff" that came from a pull-out fly catcher from the skin?
Apply vegetable oil to the area. Within a few minutes, the oil will begin to dissolve the glue. Re-apply oil as needed until all the glue is dissolved. Remove oily residue with warm soapy water.

I might try this very cautiously and by using only the slightest bit of oil. I am not sure of what soap should be used. for badly oily ducks, we used a very mild solution of Dawn dishwashing soap in water.

I also sent Victor an email and they will let me know if the product is toxic and needs to be cleaned as well as (possibly) a better way to remove it from feathers.

Just how much residue are we talking about?

Bill

[thebigwoodgie]

Hi,
That must have been traumatic for the bird. he lost a fair number of feathers. It was probably a little painful too as those feathers had to be "plucked" basically.

This is really a new one on me. Have you called a vet , they probably wont charge you anything to answer the question as to how to clean the stuff. Maybe an avian vet has actually run into this before.

I'll keep digging into it.

Bill

[thebigwoodgie]

I have a question for you. Without naming names, can I use your picture of the feathers in the no pest strip on my website as a caution to other bird people?
Bill

[Jenn]

At this point he has very little of the sticky stuff left on him, I can still feel it a bit on the wing feathers and his head is tacky to the touch. This accident occurred a few weeks ago.

It had to be terribly traumatic for him, you might be able to imagine him screaming and being bound helplessly falling and by the grace of god he fell into my lap or he would have fallen onto the floor from near ceiling height. It was a horrible feeling pulling that tape off him and pulling out feathers..at the time I felt I had to do it. In hindsight it wouldn't have hurt him to be wrapped up in the tape until a "good" solution could of been had but he was screaming and I was scared, not of him but that he might get seriously hurt flailing himself around like he was.

Two days after his accident he was flying again though, which I didn't think was possible at the time, because he still had so much sticky on him.

I had considered calling my vet in on this but I didn't consider that they could do anything for him. I feel we are out of the danger time but I am curious if the glue is in anyway toxic for Jack and I'd love to help him get the rest off. Especially on his head where he can't reach.

I think I'll go get a dab of oil and try it on his crown.

[Jenn]

Quote: Originally Posted by thebigwoodgie I have a question for you. Without naming names, can I use your picture of the feathers in the no pest strip on my website as a caution to other bird people? Bill

You are welcome to share the pictures.

I had "thought" my room was bird proof when I brought him home, common sense might of kicked in to tell me to take down the tape but I believe it had been hanging there so long I didn't even really see it when I was looking for bird hazards for Captain Jack.

[thebigwoodgie]

I think you did the right thing in getting it off him the way you did. You probably minimized the ampunt of the sticky residue on him. It must have been tough. I know how it feels to help a bird through an "emergency" and it just gets to your stomach and you feel terrible.

You did good though!!

I think it will all work out well though. If anything we are sharing something with others that might not have ben thought about before.

Bill

[thebigwoodgie]

[quote=Jenn]You are welcome to share the pictures.

Thank You, I think it will help to show this.

Thanks,
Bill

[thebigwoodgie]

Hi,
I got an email from Victor. They say the glue is non-toxic and what I suggested with the vegetable oil is exactly what to do.

Bill

[Jenn]

I did try the vegetable oil trick. It worked fairly well but he's now looking a bit greasy. Thanks for following up on that.

[thebigwoodgie]

Hi Jenn,
All in all, your baby will be fine and I am very happy about that. What a scare for the two of you to go through!
Have a GREAT day!!
and a cup of coffee on me :-)
(not in a literal sense)