FINCHforum

My canary appears to have ripped out a toenail. It is no longer bleeding, but the tip of his toe looks swollen and a bit bruised. He is holding up that foot as best he can. Has anyone else encountered this issue and what have you done? I don't want to stress him out by catching him up messing with it and am thinking it may be best to leave it alone to heal but would appreciate any advice anyone has! Thanks!!

I had this happen with a nandy conure once it stopped bleeding I just kept A eye on her and it healed up fine she already had a toe missing on other foot but she handles it well

Most of the time as long as the bleeding stops quickly, they heal up just fine. The thing to watch for would be any sign of infection -- redness/swelling that doesn't go down after a day or two, any oozy pus, etc. If you see any of that, or the bird seems lethargic, fluffed up, or otherwise in distress, get thee to a vet.

The toenail may or may not grow back depending on how much was ripped out.

Thanks for the replies! His toe looks much better today, the swelling has gone down, still looks a bit bruised but I am guessing that may take a few days. No signs of infection so far, thankfully.

Unfortunately that seems to happen more often than I'd like to my birds who have any kind of wicker nests in their cages. Once or twice I've had a problem where a toe was red or swollen, and the bird went into a hospital cage with bacitracin (or other antibiotic ointment) on the toe until it went back to normal. I have got to get rid of that wicker......