At the beginning of the episode when Opie is awakened at his house and retrieves his pistol from under his pillow, the gun is noticeably empty. He racks the slide and has to use the slide release with his thumb because the slide has locked back, an action with only occurs when the magazine is empty.
Gemma's bird was a cockatoo in previous episodes. In this episode it's a cockatiel, a completely different kind of bird.