Amputation

[Sally]

I personally think it was way too soon to cut it off.

I don't think anyone can make that decision for anyone else without being there and knowing what is going on. She was in a complete panic, flopping around on the bottom of the cage, trying to fly up to a perch, but the dangling foot would get in her way and she would fall off, only to panic at the bottom of the cage again. The leg was not just broken, it was hanging by a mere thread of outside skin. The bleeding I saw I don't think was caused by cutting that little bit of skin, I think I caught up part of her leg in the nippers when I did it. That part I do regret, but not the removal of the foot. I'm glad you posted your experience, jessyh, as others can learn from all of us.

For those who inquired about her, she is hanging in there. She is in a hospital cage with vetrap-wrapped perches, a flagstone perch, a cement perch, plastic plant, shavings on the bottom, and a heat lamp. She is eating, so that is a good sign, but she's also spending a lot of time sleeping--only time will tell. I also started her on a course of antibiotics.

[L in Ontario]

Aww good for her for keeping at it. What is her name? Glad to hear you've started a course of antiB's. I don't think that can go amiss at this time. Continued best wishes!

[franny]

Hope she makes it. Sounds like you probably did the right thing, since it was more than just a break--nearly severed anyway. Thinking only good thoughts for her right now.

[franny]

Sally,

What about Herb Salad? Does she have some of that available to her? Some of those herbs are supposed to be good for inflammation, etc. Couldn't hurt, and it might help ease the pain.

[monotwine]

Thinking of your little girl and wishing her a speedy recovery. Sounds like she is in fantastic caring hands.

[Pukasand]

Good job, Sally, and good luck. I had a little Society lose her foot...we called her Peg.. she healed completely and went on to have many healthy clutches. She got her foot caught in the corner/wire of the cage, the struggling to free herself tore her foot off. I wasn't home at the time. I have a good feeling about your girl's recovery.

[cindy]

Sally, I am so glad to hear she is eating, that is a very good sign. She is probably sleeping because her body knows to rest to heal. I haven't stopped wondering about her since you posted. You did the right thing. If it was broken it may have healed but since it was torn and damaged the old tissue would have started to die and could have caused an infection making her very ill or worse.

Sally, you did what you needed to do for your little girl. Prayers for both of you.

[Sally]

I noted on another thread that someone was thinking they may have to amputate their finch's leg. Please, I did not start this thread to encourage anyone to do this. It is a last resort, and only to be done if all other measures have failed, or if you think the bird is not going to make it otherwise. Most birds adjust very readily to lost toes, feet, and even legs. I have many crippled finches, and the only problem I have with them is that sometimes, they find it hard to mate--the hens often balance on a perch during mating, and if they have only one foot, they find it difficult to stay in position long enough for the male to complete the mating.

The only reason I did this amputation is because the hen was getting so panicky that I feared she was going to hurt herself further. The leg probably would have come off during her thrashing anyway, I just hurried it along before she did more damage to herself. Again, this should only be done as a last and final resort.

[akidsgal]

Agreed. I am afraid I would have to take mine to the vet as well. I have 2 birds with handicaps because of catching open bands on nests. One has lost a toe, the other a whole foot. While I could do nothing for them. I did keep them warm while healing. The female I am referring to that has lost a foot is one of my best blues. She is an awesome mom and still breeds when the time is here for her to do so.

My male that lost only a toe is a true breeder as well. He is with another female and they are in the process of raising their 2nd clutch.

It all goes to say that where there is a will, there is a way. And that life may be full of surprises, but some of them aren't a true handicap. Some are just a way of making us all unique!

[trljr14]

Sally,i hope he makes a full recovery,tom.

[Domenic]

Jessy that is amazing that his leg completely healed. If there is anything I've learned on this forum it's not to jump to conclusions about a finches fate. Some finches have been saved that I would have thought DOA if I had seen them.

Sally, how's she holding up?

[cindy]

Can I ask are these metal open bands the birds are getting caught up in? I use the plastic.

[Sally]

She's still recovering, spends most of her time sitting in front of the heat lamp, I don't think she's out of the woods yet. She only had a closed metal band on her, and the leg that was almost severed is the leg that had the band, so I have to assume she got hung up somewhere, fought to get free, and this is the result. I've never had one this badly injured, so I hope she doesn't have internal injuries that I'm not aware of. I take that back, I had one once that I had to euthanize as it appeared to have head injuries. It started having seizures, more and more frequently, till I felt there was no hope for that little bird. It was a little Strawberry, so it killed me to do that, and I probably put it off longer than I should have.

The ideal situation would be to use no bands at all, so nothing to hang up. However, for record keeping, it is almost a must to have some sort of ID for them, so that I don't accidentally inbreed.

[cindy]

Sally, when I look at my RCCB I think of your little girl. I will continue to hope and pray she gets through this. I am sorry to hear what happened to your strawberry.

Sally a little off subject, do you use a spread sheet for keeping records. My husband wants to set one up for me to keep track of young.

[Sally]

cindy, I don't use a spreadsheet. I have a program for breeding birds, but seems like I never get the time to get it set up and started. I keep a journal in MS Word, and I have Excel, so I should really set one up--just don't quite know how to do it. I rely on colored split bands for families, and NFSS bands for my babies.

I think Liz uses a spreadsheet.