# Advice Need about Baby White Dove born with Crippled legs



## guev7777 (Sep 16, 2011)

I recently had a cute dove that hatched 20 days ago on April 29th. I am concerned because it is not walking. One leg has a obvious crippled deformity (the claw are curled up), while the other appears to be more straight with more potential of movement. The baby's weak legs are not able to hold its own weight. I currently have newspaper in the cage and the baby ends up doing the splits having its legs spread apart. She rarely moves around in the cage so I'm hoping for any advice of what I could do? Also, baby is not interested in eating the seeded food, is this normal? Should I worry about this?


Second, does anyone know why this happened? The mother, is only a year-old. And the father, is the mother's daughter, so I'm not sure if it's a breeding problem. it appears that this baby birds going to be crippled for the rest of his/her life. I don't believe the bird will ever fly again, since doves use her legs to push so they can fly, right? I'm hoping to make the bird life as comfortable as possible, and I hope that I didn't create a problem because of the mother's age or because the father mated with his daughter. 


Advice will be greatly appreciated, blessings and THANK YOU in advance!
Angel


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Can you post a picture of the deformity?

Perhaps the baby has a splayed leg which is a common occurance if they don't have proper nesting material, their legs (one or the other or both)can come out from under them and will stay in that position unless corrected.

Splay leg (if that is what it is) can be fixed with intervention, one way is you can actually tape the legs in the sitting position with limited mobility and keep them that way until they are fully grown. 

There is a wealth of information on the subject, check in the resources section about it, because if it is it needs to be corrected NOW, it's much harder to correct once they are fully grown.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I agree with Treesa... it sounds like you baby has splay leg. Lack of calcium, vitamin d3, vitamin A and vitamin B's can also be a contributing factor. 
At 20 days old, usually there is time to correct splay leg but you must act quickly or the dove will be disabled for life.
Rather than putting newspaper in the bottom of the cage, put a towel so the baby won't slip.It would also help to put the baby in a towel lined bowl, that fits the baby perfectly, keeps the legs from going out to the side. This will help the legs correct as the baby grows. 
Look for nesting seed mix at the pet store....*Petimine* is one brand...*Pretty Bird *makes one too. It's loaded with vitamins and calcium and the parent birds love it. Doesn't mater if it's for parrot type birds. If the pet store doesn't have one, it's available on line and you need to find some ASAP and hopefully this can be corrected.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Angel...here's a link. The nesting food I had in mind is made by Sleek and Sassy. It's a conditioning and nesting food.

http://www.myparrotfood.com/index.php?action=products&pid=306


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## guev7777 (Sep 16, 2011)

Hi Charis & Treesa thank you for you advice & the URL of the Nestling Food. I will follow up with these accommodation with the towel & food. I'm not able to post a picture Basically, one leg has its the claw are curled up, and the other is more straight with more potential of movement. 

It a blessing to have you two as contributor of the website. Thank you, again! Angel


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## AZCorbin (Feb 28, 2011)

I wonder if this curled leg you speak of is not a result of inbreeding?
Welcome to the forum!


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## guev7777 (Sep 16, 2011)

I found this on the net: "To fix splayed legs, so I'll re-edit this answer. The older your budgie is, the harder it is to fix, as the bones are calcified and rigid. Push the baby chick onto its back, I recommend using a pipe cleaner, they can easily bend. First, wrap the pipe cleaner a little above the chick's ankle to prevent it from falling fown. Make a loop around the foot, not too tight or too loose. Then, wrap the pipe cleaner again around the other foot, so that it will look like: O----O. I also want to warn you that the mother might reject the baby or try to rip the pipecleaner off. If that happens. you will have the hand-raise that chick. This method only works when the bones are still developing."


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## HeavyDlofts (May 23, 2012)

I have never tried it but I bet it works


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Pip cleaners work better on small birds. Pigeons and doves do well if you can keep them aligned with tape. Either wrap the leg first so the tape doesn't stick to the leg, or use a self sticking tape that won't stick to his legs. Here is a link to a picture of how you want it to look.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1193591190044786621MuWGtk


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## guev7777 (Sep 16, 2011)

FYI - Treatment (Try one of the methods below)

There are several creative ways to treat splayed legs:
1. Pipe cleaners can be bent in a figure-8 shape around the bird’s legs to bring them closer together.
2. Placing the bird’s legs in a small cup so they are straight underneath him can help straighten the legs. 
3. Use vet tape (tape or bandages that stick to themselves) to wrap around the legs and bring them closer together. 
4. Sticks or straight objects attached to the legs to straighten them can also be used, but be careful that the materials do not scratch the baby’s legs.
5. Sponges can be used with holes cut out for the legs at the desired angle. This solution can provide a soft and safe alternative to correcting the bird’s legs. Unused makeup sponges can be cut to fit for this purpose.

Legs must be kept in place- for small babies, by using sturdy paper towels and nest lining and cup the nest so the baby is supported. Babies and younger birds respond best to treatment since they are still growing. Older or fully developed birds may not be able to be treated. If splayed badly, i.e., both legs out to the side, you will most likely have to customize their cage for them to accommodate their disability. NONE OF THESE METHODS WILL WORK IF THE LEG OR HIP SOCKETS ARE DEFORMED.


I found this on http://petsadviser.com/pet-health/caring-bird-with-splayed-legs/


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