Injured leg - Advice please

[Rox]

Hi all,

I need some advice please.

I came home last night to a horrible sight. The waterproofing tape which was applied to the inside of my aviary roof had melted due to the heat and had peeled off from the roof (it's been 30'C plus all week, today 35'...). I arrived home to a 5 week old canary who had its foot stuck on the water proofing, probably all day To say that I felt like a horrible, terrible owner is an understatement

We managed to gently pry off its foot but the whole leg has been pulled backwards and the foot looks beyond repair. It's not weaned yet, so I left it alone in the aviary last night and closed my eyes, praying for the best.

This morning, it's alive and looking brighter but I am not sure what to do about its leg. My first instinct is to take it to the vet this afternoon for the leg to be amputated but then I am concerned about putting it back in the aviary to be fed by its parents. The dirt contamination is too high in there for a fresh amputation (large aviary, dirt floor etc).

Should I leave it for now and see if the leg goes 'dead' before taking it for amputation? It can still fly and the other leg is fine, than goodness.

Should I take it to be amputated today and return it to the aviary? Put it in a separate cage in the aviary, so that parents can feed through the bars and still keep it's leg in a cleaner environment?

Should I take it to be amputated and keep it inside, in a sterile environment and hope it manages to feed itself sufficiently on soft foods?

I'm feeling pretty helpless on this one. I know birds are extremely resilient when it comes to leg injuries and if it was an older bird, I wouldn't be hesitating to take it straight to the vet. My major concern here is that it's not weaned yet.

I feel horrible about this and it's a lesson learnt about waterproofing tape. I never in a million years thought that the tape would melt off and cause trouble like this

[debbie276]

I would at least wait till it can eat on it's own so it has a better chance to overcome whichever situation comes about. As long as it's not suffering and able to mature more I don't think there is any hurry to deal with the leg just yet.
best of luck and please keep us posted

[fhgwgads]

Rox so sorry to hear about your little one. I can only imagine how you must feel.. but try not to beat yourself up over it. You did not do it intentionally.. and accidents happen unfortunately. The bird isn't going to blame you obviously.. and most importantly they are capable of adapting to injuries such as this. As you already likely know many people have handicapped birds such as myself.. and birds with injured/dead/amputated legs. However I would wait first and see how the little guy does with the leg. Especially being that he/she isn't weaned. You can always have it amputated in the future but you can never unamputate the leg. The bird is going to accept the leg as a loss.. just keep an eye on it and see how it manages so far. I think it would be best to try and wait until the bird is weaned.. but I would at least wait a few days just to monitor the situation. This will also give you an idea of how mobile the bird will be and help you decide what adjustments if any need to be made to the aviary to assist the bird in getting around. Naturally over time he/she will do better but may need a little help along the way. Hopefully someone familiar with situations like this can chime in as well and give their opinion. Best of luck! And keep us posted on what happens!

[Rox]

debbie276@fhgwgads

Thanks ladies, much appreciated. I will monitor it for a couple of days and see how it goes before deciding if I must take it to the vet.

I spoke to my mom ealier, who is at home, and she said she has seen it drinking. So at least it is getting around the aviary.

It's ridiculous how helpless one can feel in a situation like this. The worse part is, I know my local vets are totally clueless when it comes to birds, especially little ones. They would happily just amputate first, hence my questions on here.

It's times like this that I really appreciate this forum!

[fhgwgads]

Rox it is human nature to want to fix a situation especially when we feel guilty. Fortunately for birds they very easily adapt. I'm sure you have heard about my boy Sparrow who has one eye and a crooked beak.. he does wonderfully! I am sure your little one will do fine.. amputating is a matter of whether or not the bird is in pain or if the leg hinders its ability to get around. But don't beat yourself up about it! Just keep an eye on it and don't rush. I
Especially if the vets would be quick to just cut the leg off.

[Rox]

fhgwgads

Thank you so much for making me feel better *hugs*

I'm sure the little one will be fine, either way. But it's definitely just secured itself a forever home with me, that's for sure!!

[fhgwgads]

Rox aww no problem!! *hugs* Trust me I have been there before! Not this situation specifically.. but I have been worried to the point of almost going crazy and feeling helpless.. and it sucks to feel that way!! But you are doing everything you can. Sometimes doing nothing at first is the most responsible thing to do and clearly you knew that in your gut! So just take a deep breath and relax!! We have more of an emotional attachment to things.. this bird is probably already coming to terms with its leg if it hasn't already. It's just a matter of learning to get around which it is already learning to do now anyway so it may turn out better than you expect!

[Nerien]

I woke one morning to find a Spice finch had gotten it's overly long nails (I knew I had to trim them but hadn't gotten to it yet) caught during the night and was hanging upside down by it, fluttering occasionally, but very worn out.

I immediately freed him, and he flew up to a perch, but the leg and foot he'd been hanging by just hung limply down, no movement or grasping.

Over the next two months he slowly regained movement and use of first the leg, then the foot, then the toes. You can't tell now that he had a problem.

If the foot is raw from torn skin, it will need some antibiotic on it to prevent infection. If it's just injured, I'd keep watch to see what happens. It just might recover. If it doesn't, and becomes a problem (I had a budgie with a bum leg who scraped it raw on things), then you can take action as needed.

[Rox]

Nerien thank you!

I'm home now and super happy to report that it's leg is now back in a normal position but not putting down any weight on the foot. I'm going to catch it again tomorrow morning when it's hopefully cooler and give the foot a better inspection. At least I know the leg joint isn't out of place

Thank you all for your advice and support!!

[lovezebs]

Hi Rox. How is baby doing? Could the leg be sprained? Sending best wishes and comforting thoughts your way. I hope he will be ok. And even if he does end up with one bad leg, he will learn to manage with just one, especially if he is young. You could name him Gimpy. Something I find interesting, is that sometimes these little ones that are somehow damaged, become very close to our hearts and more dear to us than the perfect ones. Goodluck.

[Rox]

lovezebs I love the name Gimpy, lol!

The little bub is doing way better. It isn't putting down full weight yet but at least it's foot is looking a lot healthier and less red. I do believe it will be fine yay!!

[fhgwgads]

Rox so glad to hear!!! What a cutie!! Such a sweet little face!!

[debbie276]

Great news!
best of luck

[monotwine]

YAY! Glad to hear your baby is on the mend. In the best situations they do bounce back given time. I have had a bird that got caught and hung for goodness knows how long off one leg. She also had it facing at an off-angle for a few days and a week of rest and she was back to normal and never had any negative side effects.

As long as any sticky stuff has been cleared off the leg it looks like its safe to say it will be OK.

I bet you are happy you didn't take it for amputation! I've done that once and will probably never again. That was a break up in the thigh area and needed professional intervention.

The lower leg and foot of a bird has so little flesh that is does not rot like a larger mammal. If a bird injures its leg these days I wait it out - sometimes only applying an antibiotic cream. If the break it obvious (say toe dangling off skin) then I will clip it off myself, or I wait and let the toe die off and then just clip off the dry bits. Like you said. Many of the vets don't know too much about what to do with little birds.
Glad though your situation turned out to need none of these!

[Rox]

Thanks so much ladies

monotwine

We ended up cleaning it's foot with margarine and it worked like a dream to remove the sticky stuff and clean off the dirt. I am SO glad I didn't rush it to the vet! They are amazingly tough these little birds and I keep learning this as I go along.

3mx2mx2m of roof and it chooses the one and only A4 size piece of waterproofing in the entire aviary to get stuck on... Murphey I tell you...