Toes Turning Black

[sweetpea]

Hi guys,I just joined this forum and I'm dying of stress. One of my 1-year old zebra finches has a black foot. We are not sure whether she has some sort of virus inside or she injured her foot but two of her left leg's digits are now black and that thing us spreading fast. We went to see a vet and they are telling us to amputate those two black digits. We are terrifed.. Any advices? Thank you

[Sally]

sweetpea

I'm going to move this into its own topic thread, or it may get overlooked. When the toes are turning black, that usually means the circulation was cut off (probably due to an injury), and the toes are dying. I have had a fair number of birds which have lost toes, feet, and even part of their leg due to injuries. Usually, after the area turns black, the dead portion will fall off on its own. The only time I had to amputate was when a leg was broken to the point that the lower leg was only hanging on by a thread of skin, it was flopping around and scaring the bird. I used nail clippers and amputated the leg by cutting through that bit of skin. There was no bleeding, and the bird recovered just fine.

Birds adapt quite well to missing toes, feet, and even legs. Many of us have one-legged birds. You sometimes have to make a few adjustments to the cage to make life easier for the handicapped bird, but they can go on to live long lives.

[monotwine]

Sally has pretty much covered your question with a comprehensive answer.

Just wanted to say don't stress too much. Little accidents happen that we don't see and only after a while would you notice the toes dying. It happens and the birds bounce back quickly - we however usually take longer.

[Sally]

Thanks for posting that reassurance, monotwine. I have become so accustomed to having little accidents that I have forgotten how upsetting it can be for a newbie experiencing it for the first time.