Broken leg :(

[KarenB]

Monday morning I found my Gouldian hen dead on the bottom of the cage. She had not been ill, as far as I could tell, and there was not any evident trauma, but I had suspected night frights. There is a night light for them, and I don't know what could have freaked them out. Then I had a very long work week, long days, and didn't get home until almost lights out for the finches. But it occurred to me yesterday when I got home that I had not seen either of the owl finches all week. I decided to scare them out of their nest. I was horrified to see the female owl has a broken leg. It's broken at the ankle joint, not a compound fracture, but it just hangs. I think the male has been nursing and feeding her. They also had another clutch of eggs they were sitting on, which is why I initially didn't think anything of them being in the nest. Only one of the eggs is fertile, however, and I stuck all the eggs under the societies for now. I put the owls together in the hospital cage, and she slept under the heat lamp last night with Mr. Owl watching over her. Of course, it's the 4th of July today, so I cannot get her to a vet. I tried splinting it, but she is just too tiny to wrap it. I am trying to think of other ways I can splint it, maybe with clay or something. I am just sick for her.

[Sally]

So sorry this has happened, and of course we always have problems when it is a holiday. It does sound like there was a night fright of some kind. My birds have a night light, yet every once in a while, I will hear a great commotion. Something set them off, it usually only takes one and then the others react to that one being in a panic.

I found this link for how to splint a broken leg that sounds very doable and makes a lot of sense. Much easier to do than trying to wrap and bandage it. I tried to copy just the paragraph about broken legs, but couldn't seem to do it, so scroll down to the section on broken legs and wings.

http://www.mfgouldianfinches.com/Health/ICE.html

[lovezebs]

KarenB
Sorry about your troubles.
My guys don't seem to have night frights (thank God) . I did however watch a day panic attack just yesterday. Everybody was happily bathing and eating on flight floor. All of a sudden huge woosh of wings and flying feathers and everybody hightailed it upwards. No sound or apparent reason that I could hear or see. I think there is always a clown in every group that likes to pull the fire alarm, just to see what happens.
I hope your little owl girl heals in time.

[KarenB]

The coffee stir straw I could do. My question would be should I splint it straight the way it is dangling or try and bend at the joint which is broken at a 90 degree angle?

[monotwine]

So sorry. Its awful when this happens. Is the leg broke in the joint, like dislocated- or the longer bone broke? latter you can splint the joint not. If its hanging it could also be a bad sprain. Any chance of a photo.

I have used trimmed ear buds or match sticks and micropore tape to splint before successfully.

[KarenB]

Well, I did not see the long bone broken. At the first joint, what I would call the heel/ankle, it was just dangling down from that point when she would perch or seemingly bent backward when sitting on the bottom of the cage if that's how she landed. Of course, I had to chase her with the net to get her into the hospital cage, and she didn't appear to be able to use it at all, and if it bent at the ankle normally, then that's just how it landed.

When I just went in to take the photos, she was sitting in the seed dish I placed on the floor and then when I started taking photos, she seemed to be able to have slightly more control of getting it under her. Maybe it is just sprained at the joint. I thought maybe it was broken there. Yesterday her feet were completely limp. Just now it seemed as if she could move them ever so slightly, but I may be trying to see that.

I've placed Thrive on the veggies and in the water. I've given her calcium and minerals, which in one of the photos she was eating. I think it is a good sign that she is eating. She is utilizing the heat lamp, as well, and slept under it last night as her mate slept on the low perch above her.

[wildbird]

If you need a tape to wrap it with, there is something that I think is called Vet Wrap that only sticks to itself. It may come under another name too. It could be purchased at some drug stores. Maybe she will be ok, & it is only a sprain.

[MiaCarter]

Vet wrap is sold at drug stores as self-adhering bandage.
It's also marketed as athletic wrap:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EPQAUY/ref ... B001EPQAUY

If you splint it, it's best to splint it in an anatomically-correct position or as close as you can achieve.

I splinted a finch leg once using a toothpick, wrapped in vet wrap. I've also used the straw/stirrer method. But the ankle joint is tough.


I would put the straw/stirrer on her upper leg for support. You could also use some craft wire or even a paper clip, bent into an 'L' shape and covered with a layer of vet wrap. But I prefer the straw for its ease of use.
I would cut a thin strip of vet wrap/self-adhering bandage.
Then, with the foot placed in an anatomically correct position (as if she was standing), I would wrap around the foot and the lower leg, using a figure 8 wrapping method. (with the loops of the 8 going around the foot and the lower leg.) It's the exact same wrapping method I'd use if I was wrapping a human's ankle.

Feel her toes before you begin. If she still has circulation, they should be warm.
If they're cold, that means there's not good blood supply and the foot is likely going to die.
The toe temperature will also tell you if you've wrapped too tight. If the toes are warm, then feel cold about 15-20 minutes later, then it's too tight. I'd use the same rule as with applying ace bandages: don't pull it taught or stretch it as you apply it.

ETA -- Since it's a joint, it could, theoretically be a dislocation. I've only seen a dislocation once (a spice finch's hip) and it self corrected within a few minutes.

A sprain wouldn't result in the (sickening) dangling, as the joint would still be intact; the muscles/ligaments/tendons, etc. would just be stretched a bit. (Of course, a dislocation inherently involves a sprain, since all those structures stretch as the joint separates).

The treatment would be the same for a dislocation as they're too fragile to attempt to pop it back in. Over time, the ligaments, muscles, etc. should pull it back into position as they heal.
Whereas if it's a break, the bone will heal with time and the ligaments, muscles, etc. will heal too.

So really no difference in terms of treatment. Both cases you want to immobilize, immobilize, immobilize. (Bad things happen if you don't. It can take forever to heal and when it does, you can end up with a false joint --- a joint that occurs at the break site. With a leg, that results in repeated injury, with amputation the only reasonable fix. (In a larger animal with a false joint, you would re-break it and set it with hardware.) Letting it dangle and move about risks more injury to the blood supply and soft tissues.

[KarenB]

Thank you thank you everyone for your suggestions. I haven't done anything else yet. After having to net them to get them into the hospital cage, they seem so stressed out. They don't even want me looking at them. And it didn't really take long to get them into the net in the first place, but I guess previous experience...... But when I go to feed them, they completely freak out. She is staying under the heat lamp until I go into the room. And I don't know if I am even able to splint. So tiny, and I'm afraid I'll make things worse. I envision making a tiny little finch papoose like they do for the big parrots to groom them just so I can immobilize her to work on her. Then I am afraid I'll give her a heart attack. I would like to try, but I'm scared. I feel that if I leave them alone as much as possible, she will have a better chance of healing than if I go in and stir and muck it up. I feel so helpless.

[KarenB]

Oh, on a brighter note, I checked their egg under the societies to see if they have kept it alive, and it looks to still be cooking. There were 9 eggs altogether, and in my urgency to keep the good one warm, I just put them all in. I ended up removing 3 of the duds just so it wouldn't be as crowded, because they looked to be a bit cramped trying not to squish any. I think that 6 eggs should still be plenty. All four societies are sharing the one nest, but they are not all sitting at once. The two females are taking turns, it seems, and of course, they all cram in there at night.

[Ginene]

So sorry to hear about your owl hen . Such tiny little legs and joints...I can't imagine splinting or setting an injury like that either. Sending you both HUGS! As for your eggs...CONGRATS! I had 4 societies raise a wonderful clutch of 5 babies (society babies). They all sat and fed the little ones. I have heard of babies being suffocated by too many adults in a nest though. Thankfully, mine were fine...hopefully yours will be too. Just keep a close eye on them once they hatch

[MiaCarter]

KarenB -- So difficult. Sending hugs!

It is tough. I've splinted tiny legs before and it's very stressful for everyone involved. For me because I'm trying to get it done quickly and properly, without causing pain and minimizing fright. For the bird for obvious reasons.

It can be done but it's not easy.

And the fact that they're super skiddish makes it all worse.

Honestly, if you're nervous about it, I would take her to the vet and let them deal with it. And you could watch them do it so you can replicate it. Watching others is how I learned whenever I had to splint a foster (I've never actually had any fractures on my own birds, knock on wood).

I wouldn't leave it unsplinted in the long term, only because it will dangle and that just ruins any bone healing that takes place. And if it continues, it never heals totally. When bone heals, it first forms a soft flexible structure that's tendon-like in consistency, and then, with immobilization, that soft flexible structure calcifies and solidifies into solid bone. But if you don't immobilize, it stays flexible, forming a false joint.

The main danger with that --- especially with a fresh break when you may have sharp bone ends --- is that it could cut into the blood supply, tendons, etc. or cause severe swelling to the point where it causes compartment syndrome. And then you lose the foot.

But hopefully with a hospital cage set-up where she's more or less ground-bound and stays on the cage floor, she should hopefully be able to keep it more or less immobile --- hopefully not much flopping around.
Instinct will incline her to do that, but the skiddishness really sucks since you can't avoid going in to feed at least once a day.
She knows she's vulnerable and so does the mate, so I think that could play a big role in making them skiddish.

If you do try to splint, I can give you some tips (and if you have any questions, feel free to PM). I can see if I can find some pics of splints I've done. I've done a few finches and more than a few parakeets and other small birds like lovebirds, etc. (No, I don't break bird legs for a hobby. LOL Our rescue takes in lots of law enforcement seizures and surrenders, and often, they're injured, neglected, etc. So they go to a foster home - like us - until they heal.)

The trick is to cut the self-adhering bandage/vet wrap into a super thin strip. Too wide and it's really hard to wrap. It needs to be super thin. I'm awful with guessing measurements. But definitely about the width of a cigarette or a bit thinner than your average pen - what's that; maybe a quarter inch? Thinner is better.

The other trick is to hold them so their face is covered and they can't see. It calms them.
Oh and rather than holding them properly, with the head between your pointer and middle finger, I found it was easier to hold them across your palm, with the bird's back against your palm and the head at the side with the thumb.
I always have my husband hold the bird while I do the bandage so you'll have two hands free. His hand was large enough to make a tiny little bird cage (LOL) so we could hold the bird securely but without any risk of squeezing. You just pop the leg out between his fingers.

We'd always use a thin piece of fabric to pick up the bird so they couldn't peek out. As long as they can't see, they're calm and remain motionless.

And if you need to gain confidence making the splint, you can try it on a dummy. You're going to laugh as I sound like a total geek, but to practice my wrapping, I made a dummy little bird leg out of craft wire. Twist 4 pieces together then at the end, each piece turns into a toe. Then you just bend it into the proper shape and stick the leg in a body (I used a lime.)
Then I practiced my wrapping method. It helped me perfect the width of the wrappings and just gain confidence working on such a small scale.
HTH!

[KarenB]

Ok, I got up the courage, after brooding about it all day, to splint the leg. I got a smaller than average diameter straw and cut it to the length of the total leg coming out from the body to the beginning of the foot. I cut a slit down the length in order to open it up. To bend it, I cut triangles out on each side at the bend spot so it would then bend 90 degrees. Then I got florist wire and cut that to the same length and bent it at a 90 degree angle. I caught her and made a papoose from first aid wrap and a piece of velcro. Then I could work without having to constantly fight and hold her at the same time. This worked great. The hard part was getting the straw placed on the upper leg first, then inserting the wire, then wrapping the lower part of the wire with vet tape as a cushion, then placing the lower part of the straw around all that, then taping it all together on the outside. I think with the straw around the leg, it allows space inside the whole wrapped burrito. It is clunky, and she is having trouble lugging it around. it definitely is keeping her from moving it, but it looks uncomfortable.

[MiaCarter]

Oh I think that looks great!
That's exactly why I like using the straw/stirrer. It gives them a bit of space so you don't need to worry that it's too tight.

That's super clever on cutting the straw so it would bend. I would have just put it on her upper leg. I wouldn't have thought to do that. Great idea! I'm going to remember that!

Is she perching with it? (I see she's trying to in the photo).

Yeah, splints always seem big and clunky and they're never happy about it. But she'll adjust.
I remember my dog broke her leg once and they gave her an actual plaster cast at the ER. We brought her home all drugged up and she was hobbling around, acting as though the cast was following her! Clearly annoyed and perplexed! LOL

I think you did a wonderful job! It looks great!
I bet it was scary for you. It's always nerve-wracking the first time!

Curious on the papoose bit!
I've never done that before on one of the tiny ones! (But on the big ones?For certain as you'd lose a finger! LOL)
I can't believe you did it all by yourself! I'm in awe!
Yay for Karen!

[Sally]

I am absolutely amazed at what some of our members are able to do! Please keep us posted on how this works out, this is fascinating.