Zebra Finch Lame Leg?

[Vanillaacolytes]

Hello all!

I have a little fledgling who's leg I'm a bit concerned about. A little bit of back story first: we pulled her (I can't confirm gender yet, just calling it a her to make the story easier) out of her parents' nest at about five days old. She was getting crushed by her three older siblings who were almost double her size, and the parents weren't feeding her. We took her out, set up a brooder for her, and started her on formula. As she got older, we noticed she sat a bit weird, but thought it just may be she hadn't gotten the strength in her leg yet. Once she finally grew in her feathers (she has been way behind her siblings the entire time), the issue still persisted. She kind of drags the leg with her as she walks or just shuffles on the other leg. We thought maybe she might just have a lame leg since everything about the leg looked normal, but now it appears like it might be a bit swollen and red. She is able to perch (albeit slightly awkwardly) and she can fly.

The attached pictures are from today. She is about a month old. I wanted to know if anyone could give me some info to see if I should call up my vet or not (the nearest one is quite a distance away).

She is fully tame, so if there are any other pictures you need, let me know and I'll get them.

[Jason in TX]

In my experience with Zebras, you just have a bird with a bad leg. It has what appears to be good circulation. If circulation was inadequate it would turn black and fall off. A vet would be useless in this situation. I would not breed the bird. Enjoy it as a pet!

[MiaCarter]

Agreed, it seems like it's a minor injury and the circulation looks good.

Of course, injuries this young place them at high risk of permanent disability. But there's nothing you can do, really.
And logistically speaking, if she can perch, it would be a fairly minor disability.
i'd keep her separated and hopefully, it will heal properly as she grows.
Keep us updated!