# Bad Break In Femur



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi All,

I received a young pigeon this afternoon that has a very bad break about midway in the femur. The bone is completely snapped, but it is not a clean break. I can feel the jagged and uneven edges. I'm waiting til my friend and neighbor gets home to try and at least stabilize this break as I was not able to even come close with only one set of hands.

Anybody got any advice or tips for how best to go about this. I think this is going to be one that my vet will have to handle, but I don't want to allow things to get worse between now and when I can get the bird to the vet tomorrow.

Terry


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Cut all the feathers (or is he younger than that?) off and tape him up good with the leg in the folded up position. You just have to watch that you don't compress the ribcage because he needs that to breath. Simple midshaft femur breaks aren't that bad with cage rest and binding. A comminuted fracture is going to be a little iffy. Surgery won't be an option, though.

Pidgey


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Terry, 



A simple Sling to suspend the whole Bird, legs dangling through comfortable holes, back open so he can poop out the back, would keep him off of an open and un-splinted break...( so long as the sling is tolerable for his comfort, and they can be such 'Wiggle Worms' if it is not...)



I have splinted various broken legs by myself, and I do the proceedure about the same as I deal with 'String Feet'...( Bird on a vertical incline so he is on his back but semi-upright, on a rupley towell against me left thigh as I sit ) which usually, if I cover his Head lightly wiht a light cloth or Hanky, I can have both Hands free but with the caution that he oculd wiggle at any moment, but usually they abide very well and let me do the splinting.


I usually make a splint out of modifying a ( shallow "U" channel type ) Plastic Spoon Handle section, bending it to ohhhhhhh, an angle of maybe 120 degrees or so, over a small flame, and softening the ends and calculating each end to be right for the overall best fit...padding it lightly and Taping it in Place securely with 1/2 inch width Micropore Tape.


This lets them lay down or stand on one leg and generally seems to work out well.


Sometimes I have had to trim a lot of feathers off the leg to do this...and Femur regions tend to be especially densely feathered of course.



Good luck..!


Phil
l v


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Thanks, Pidgey. The bird is old enough that I'll have to remove the leg feathers to better see what I'm doing. I can tape/splint it up as you have suggested, but I'm concerned that I won't get the break point aligned very well. There are a lot of jagged/splintery pieces to try and get lined up. I'll let you know how it goes when Denise finally gets over here to help.

Terry


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Thanks for your advice, too, Phil. I guess I'm not explaining this very well at all. 

The upper and lower pieces of the femur are completely detached and the ends of both the upper and lower pieces are jagged. With nothing holding the lower portion in place, the lower leg just dangles with the foot/toes pointing out to the side rather than forward as would be normal.

If Denise gets home in the next little bit, I'll try to get some pics and then she and I will try to put the leg back together again.

Terry


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

Terry,
I hope you can get that leg back together.


Does anyone have pictures of how they splinted legs?

I have a pij right now with a broken leg. I tried the rehabbers (three) no luck. 

Cindy and I did what we could. I even ordered those legs splints from Foy's and for the life of me could not figure out how they work. I'm thinking I have a short pigeon.



> I usually make a splint out of modifying a ( shallow "U" channel type ) Plastic Spoon Handle section, bending it to ohhhhhhh, an angle of maybe 120 degrees or so, over a small flame, and softening the ends and calculating each end to be right for the overall best fit...padding it lightly and Taping it in Place securely with 1/2 inch width Micropore Tape.


I'm trying to vision this. Do you have pictures?


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

KIPPY said:


> Terry,
> I hope you can get that leg back together.
> 
> Does anyone have pictures of how they splinted legs?
> ...


And I think we did a fine job, if I do say so myself.  

Trip just needs to learn to keep his 'bootie' on.  

Cindy


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

The femur is the bone that goes from just either side of the actual tail feathers (yeah, way back there) to the actual knee (complete with patella, just like our kneecap) that you almost never see on a pigeon except when they're young and unfeathered. Bad place for a comminuted (three or more pieces) break. The body will have to ossify a lot of the surrounding tissue in order to firm up the segment and the bone pieces would have to callus back together. Hopefully, the pieces will retain enough of their individual blood supply to remain alive. It stands a pretty good chance of resulting in a non-union. Immobilization is very important in a deal like this--you'd almost want to put the bird in a plaster body cast.

Pidgey


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

TAWhatley said:


> Thanks for your advice, too, Phil. I guess I'm not explaining this very well at all.
> 
> The upper and lower pieces of the femur are completely detached and the ends of both the upper and lower pieces are jagged. With nothing holding the lower portion in place, the lower leg just dangles with the foot/toes pointing out to the side rather than forward as would be normal.
> 
> ...



Hi Terry, 


Forgive me, I am an idiot sometimes! 


I was thinking of their 'Tibiotarsis' ( for which a Splint is forthright enough usually ) and NOT the 'Femur" ( which is about impossible or is impossible to Splint ) even though you had been quite clear.


Femurs being under their side Skin and so on, so...


What I have done with Broken Femurs, is to try and monitor how well their own Musculature is keeping the break together and in align and to just allow it to heal by providing a soft Towel-Do-Nut for the Pigeon...which might not do for your situation of course.


The few I have had, turned out well this way...but, probably, were not so complex or vexsome a break as you are confronting.



As Pidgey mentioned - or to elaborate on it - if one can Tape round their Body, round their behind-the-Wings area, so that Leg is both 'folded' up ( as if they were sitting down ), and,
made to be stable that way, the extremity should not be able to rotate, but it still might be dicey as for whether one has the long axis of the Bone under a light pulling to keep the ends of the irregular break together.


Taping from the more or less 'Knee', to the small of their back, or to a dedicated round which occurs there being before their vent, and that 'round' then could bear some pulling and hold it alright...

So...that might effect the desired axial pressure to keep the ends together, and one would want to 'massage' the effected area as this is done to try and make sure the irregular break is in fact fitting into itself as best as possible and not just a high-spot or point hanging things up or causing a 'gap'.


Four Hands definitely would ba a lot better than "two" for this procedure.


I hope this helps!


Otherwise, far as I know, there is no 'good' or easy way to really answer this kind of Injury, other than what I have described, and, how well that is done, by who-ever is doing it.



Best wishes!



Phil
l v


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Thanks, everyone .. Denise is still not home. I've immobilized this young pigeon as best I can for tonight. I tried again by myself to get the break aligned and taped, and I just can't do it on my own. 

I really appreciate all the advice and concern. I'll get it handled tomorrow for sure.

Kippy .. I sent a member here not only the leg splints but also a sling .. both were so big that they were totally of no use for a normal sized pigeon. These things are almost big enough for ducks  though the ones I sent came from JEDDS.

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

KIPPY said:


> Does anyone have pictures of how they splinted legs?
> 
> I have a pij right now with a broken leg. I tried the rehabbers (three) no luck.
> 
> ...




Hi Kippy, 


I do not have any good images of splinted Legs, but I do have a few images of the kind of splint I usually make, with one iage showing it in use, but it is not really very clear how it is fitted in the image.


This is not for a "thigh' or 'Femur', but is good for breaks of the Tibiotarsus, and the Tarsometatarsus

http://public.fotki.com/PhilBphil/broken-leg/mvc-855s.html



Also, see this drawing for a lay out and names of the Bones -
http://www.apexcorp.com/~rmangile/Pigeons/Skeleton.html


In practice, the Splint is a section of any fast food or other plastic Spoon or Fork handle, bent to some angle ore than 90 degrees, ( one bends it over a Match Flame, and this kind of plastic gets very 'rubbery' very fast usually, when over a flame, then as it cools, it resumes it hardness...)


The ends of the splint should be rounded off with Sandpaper or a File, and 'flamed' a little to eliinate the 'fuzz' the sandpaper leaves.


The ends should be long enough to cover as far possible, but of course not overly long if the end is going to be inside a joint, since the bend of the splint is supposed to fit the natural Joint of the leg.


The 'U' channel of course is what one wants the leg to be 'in', and, one pads this with a narrow folded strip of Paper Towell or Toilet Paper so it cushions the leg but does not stick out the sides where the Tape would be sticking to it on accident.


Once satisfied one has the Leg in a good align and with the Bone ends together properly, one Tapes the Leg securely to the Splint...but not 'too' tight, since that could effect the circulation or comfort.


The Tape I use for this is called 'Micropore' and is available at any Home Medical sSupply place.


I have been happy with this easy to make Splint.


The crucial thing with it, or with any means of stabalizing a broken Leg Bone, is to make sure that the alignment and 'set' which the Splint is being asked to keep stable, is 'right' to begin with.


Phil
l v


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## jenfer (Jan 7, 2008)

Hi Terry,

One of my feral regulars had a broken femur a few months ago. Like yours, there were fragments of bone in there. She ended up having a pin operation (the fragments were removed) and healed really well.

Jennifer


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

> These things are almost big enough for ducks though the ones I sent came from JEDDS.


Thanks, I thought I was just not getting it. I saw the ones at Jedds and they do look to be the same.



> http://public.fotki.com/PhilBphil/broken-leg/mvc-855s.html


That looks like Tripp right now, blue bar with the pose. Now I know what to do with my plastic spoons, thank you!



> http://www.apexcorp.com/~rmangile/Pigeons/Skeleton.html


The break looks to be the patella/fibula area. Two rehabbers said it *was fixable* but I still have the pigeon. I went with my gut feeling and sorry if anyone disagrees.

It would be great if we could get a sticky on this subject of different ways members splint different breaks. Just a thought.



> I just can't do it on my own.


They are a more then a handfull.


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

Poor little thing! Way out of my league, so I'll just pray for you both. Best of luck, Terry.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

I know, working alone, something like setting a Broken Leg and Splint it, is a 'handful'.


What I do is really try and establish a basis for the Pigeon to accept my interest in his situation, and for him to be letting me do things with his consent or acquiesence so he ( or she ) is not confused or anxious or feeling threatened or too annoyed by what I have to do.

I talk with them, I point to my leg and to theirs, I do whatever I can think of in various ways to convey that I see that they have an injury, and, that I would like to help them, and that I want them to work with me on letting me do it.


Usually this works well, sometimes very very well, sometimes not-so-well.


If not-so-well, I just keep trying.


For 'Legs', I set the Pigeon upright, but angled so he is sort of laying back on his Back on an incline, Head highest of course, on a Towell I have rumpled and draped over my own left Leg as I sit.


I try and let them see and watch what I am doing, and I say "Let me have the Leg please..." for them to relax the Leg or thigh and let me extend it or whatever i have to do, and I examine the Broken Leg and if need be, trim off a bunch of Feathers, narrating as I go, and as they watch.


If they are too anxious then I lightly drape their head with a thin soft cloth or Toilet Paper, then try again in a little while to see if they will manage without having to havetheir Head covered.



If they get antsy or 'spooky' for not understanding or agreeing with what I am doing, I usually stand them up, or hold them in the adult Pigeon version of 'Hand Nest', and do what I can to get their attention, to get good Eye contact, holding them high for Eye to Eye 'eye contact', and for them to "listen" to what I have to say...and then I talk some more about what I want to do...then start over.


Usually, they do well with this and will relax the Leg and Thigh I need to work on, and, I show them the Splint and Tape and Scissors and so on, even put the splint against my own crook'd finger to show how it is supposed to fit, and I get things lined up and taped on and double check it, then let them stand up and see for themselves how it feels now and what the deal is for wearing it.

And then I offer lots of praise and copliments about how good the Slpint looks and how pretty they are aside from that.


Similar to how I deal with 'String Feet'...I have seen many really amazing co-operations with these Birds, and, with out their co-operation, it would be impossible for me to get these kinds of things done.


I do not know how a Pigeon can break a 'Thigh' Bone, but obviously, sometimes they can..!


Anyway, in all this, I move 'slow' for everything, I offer lots of praise and compliments all through about how well they are doing, how beautiful they are, how they are really being splendidly co-operative, how well the proceedure is going, and whatever other sorts of 'positive' affirms I can think of.


Because broken 'Thigh' Bones ( Femurs ) can not be splinted to be well stabalized, they will tend to take quite a few weeks to heal up and will likely have a big 'egg' of swollen area at the break, and a large mending mass which then slowly receeds once the Bone is strong enough in it's mend.

From what I can recall, a month, or even six-weeks is not unusual for a broken Thigh to be healed enough for them to be walking half way well again...and if sooner, then thats okay too of course.



Phil
l v


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Thanks for the additional posts and advice, everyone. It seems I managed pretty well last night to get the break stabilized and my hodge podge sloppy job is still holding. I'll be seeing my rehabber friend in the AM for a belated birthday breakfast and will have her take a look. If that doesn't work out, then we're off to see Dr. Lee tomorrow afternoon.

Terry


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

I sure hope this pij will be OK, Terry!! Sending LOVING HEALING THOUGHTS WITH HUGS!

There are people who have a special ability with animals. Many of our rehabbers on this site have a wonderful ability to work with pigeons. Granted, experience and time can help a great deal in gaining confidence and honing skills.

However, there are a unique group of humans called "whisperers" who have a way of actually communicating with pigeons. In my opinion, Phil is such a one.

My hat is off to our outstanding rehabbers! Not everyone can do what you do and you are VERY SPECIAL. THANK YOU!!

With LOVE and ADMIRATION TO ALL

Shi


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

*Released Today!*

Just a quick update on this pigeon .. the break calcified very strongly, and the bird was able to put pressure on and use the leg/foot. The leg is a bit stiff, but considering what we started with, I am pleased. This was an adult feral on arrival and very, very wild and human unfriendly and very unhappy in captivity. I did release him (most definitely him) in my backyard rather than the park just in case there was a problem. He looked around a bit, helicoptered a couple of times, then flew up to the telephone line and checked things out for awhile. He stayed in the yard most of the day mooching spilled seed but was gone when I checked around sundown. I suspect he will be back during the day tomorrow but will eventually go on his way.

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Good going Terry..!


Phil
l v


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Great job, Terry. 

Reti


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Wow! Glad it has healed already!


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## little bird (Aug 11, 2006)

Stick up another gold star on the blackboard for Terry!!


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Thanks, everyone! Femur bird was in the backyard when I checked very early this morning .. looks like he is going to hang around for at least a little bit, and that will be fine.

Terry


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Great to hear that Femur is "all better"!  Pat yourself on the back, Terry, what a great job.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Well, "Femur" is now named Peg Leg Pete .. he is here and residing in the backyard and doing well. I really gotta be careful about having too many free ranging pigeons in the back. They're fine if they stay here, but I have one neighbor who isn't too bird friendly .. if they stray over his way .. there will be trouble.

Terry


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