# Mangled leg



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Joan and Joe found this one on Thorpe Green. They thought it was dead but fortunately went to check. 

Her leg and foot are very mangled, I don't know whether this is a result of an accident or an animal.

I have given her Metacam because there is no way she will attempt to stand on that leg, and an antibiotic in case a dog got her. Joan says she has had a drink of water but I have Hartmanns if she needs fluids injected. For the moment she is on a heating pad and looking a bit sleepy. I hope that there are no internal injuries.

Cynthia


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

If the leg's really bad, you could sling the bird for a week or so. That's fairly easy to do with some really basic stuff. Phil showed Licha how to do it on Pirate's thread with lots of pictures.

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, I just went looking and Phil has had to remove the pictures, probably because of the site memory limitations. Maybe we can goad him into loading them on webshots and then linking them in those posts so that you can see them. It was an excellent series on a very simple, makeshift way to do it.

Pidgey


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Pidgie,

I think that Braveheart was a very good illustration of how to sling a pigeon, and I did it with Houdini, but I don't think it is apppropriate if only one leg is injured. But I will be taking her to Rob (my vet) tomorrow so that he can assess the damage .

Cynthia


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## Garye (Feb 20, 2005)

What a beautiful redhead! I hope it makes it. Reminds me of Julius - just as cute and pretty (even for a male bird).

I know you'll give it lots of love.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Rob won't be available until Monday. In the meantime I have cleaned and plucked the leg and found that it has a puncture wound which is quite wide. Dog or bullet but I don't know which yet.

The foot isn't mangled...it is completely paralysed but it had a peanut stuck to it. Because of the blood and the mess I thought it was a partly severed toe. I have tried to stop Joan giving peanuts to sick or injured pigeons the moment she finds them but I think I will have to send her Cindy's basic steps post.

Cynthia


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Cynthia,

I'm glad the foot isn't mangled, but still sounds very bad considering the wound and that it seems paralyzed. What did you put on the wound?

Peanuts certainly aren't an ideal nutritious meal, especially for sick and injured birds. I give them rarely to healthy pigeons, and I like to cut them in small pieces when I do. I can't imagine what a poor canker pigeon could do with a whole peanut anyway. I think providing her that link is your best bet.

Thank you for the update, the bird will do well under your care.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Trees,

I flushed the wound with sterile saline and covered it with Intrasite gel. He (he has ink spots!) is also on synulox.

Cynthia


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thanks Cynthia, I was just curious as to what you used.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Treesa,

The pigeon isn't paralised, the injured leg is lifeless so probably broken at the site of the injury. I am not certain whether it would be right to "set" it while there is an injury, particularly when the injury site is so swollen. Any ideas on what would be best? I have an appointment to see Rob on Monday morning but two or three days is a long time in the life of a fracture.

Cynthia


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Cynthia, I am sure others will weigh in here, but my first instinct would to be to at least do a temporary set/ immobilization to the leg. You have cleaned and flushed it well, covered with Intrasite gel and he is on Synulox, so this is covered. I think three days seems a long time if things are not lined up properly to leave until your vet can see him. Pidgey's idea of slinging him may not be a bad one to consider again for the three days, to get all his weigh off the leg.

Ron


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

cyro51 said:


> Hi Treesa,
> 
> Any ideas on what would be best? I have an appointment to see Rob on Monday morning but two or three days is a long time in the life of a fracture.
> 
> Cynthia


Hi Cynthia,

I would administer some Arnica Montana for the swelling to get it down quickly then you can asses where the break/fracture is tourself, as 3 days is a long time.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Thanks Treesa, I have given him Arnica.

Ron and Pidgey, we have tried putting him in a sling but the leg that is okay gets him in trouble as he manages to get that inside the sling. He was extremely stressed byt the whole experience, I will try to keep the injured leg in place with a bendy straw until I get him to Rob on Monday.

Cynthia


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, it's kinda' hard to say without knowing exactly which bone is affected or what part of said bone is. The freshly broken legs usually do seem quite lifeless, though. Yes, they don't deal well with slings unless you get them such that they can't really do anything whatsoever about it. Phil's setup was pretty good.

Cynthia, can you take a gander at this and see where what bone is broken:

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/skeleton.html

Pidgey


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

> Cynthia, can you take a gander at this and see where what bone is broken


:


Presumably the tibiotarsus since that is the site of the wound, but there is too much swelling to feel the bone.

Another worrying thing is that the wound bleeds a little when I examine it, I don't want him to be struggling because he will lose more blood.

I will have another try with a sling. I had a proper cradle from Boddy and Ridewood but when I used it on Houdini he managed to get into a potentially dangerous position in it. He also almost hanged himself when I used a sock sling.

Cynthia


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Last night the pigeon passed several black and tarry poops, which indicates internal bleeding. His injury is too far up the leg to see if it continues into the body. I hope that this isn't another shooting incident. We are off to the vet's in half an hour.

Cynthia


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Will be waiting for updates from the vet.
Best of luck with this little one.

Reti


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

....thinking positive thoughts.....


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Thanks for your good wishes. The vet thinks that the leg is beyond repair, the lower half just dangles and there is no crepitus when it is moved so most probably a dislocation. He thinks amputation is the best option but won't do that while there is any risk of infection so Red will be on antibiotics and painkillers for a while.

The vet also thought that Red was shot and that the pellet is still inside him.

So, I will make him as comfortable as possble wile he waits for surgery.

Cynthia


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Cynthia,


That poor bird. I sure hope and pray all goes well with surgery and that the pellet can be removed safely too.

Thank you for everything you are doing for this bird, and the update.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Has he xrayed him? That would show if there is a bullet inside him.
How sad the leg can't be saved. I was hoping for better news.

Reti


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

Poor little Red  . Sounds like he may have to stay in a retirement center. Certainly my thoughts and prayers are coming Red's way for a good outcome.

PS. I have a little one-legged finch "_Flit_" and he does well enough with the various accomodations we've installed (including a very nice little companion _Flutter_), but I'd never let him into a large flock of finches. I don't think he could survive long. I think having only one leg makes it much more difficult to do some bird tasks, like preening and just resting.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I already have a one-legged pigeon. A few years ago the vet (not Rob) removed the whole leg when it would have been sufficient to amputate at the hock.  Until a few months ago she was fine, able to hop around, perch and bathe, but then she started to have a lot of trouble. I would see her flopping along the aviary floor being jumped on by any cock she passed on her way back to her nest.

Now we have to give her food and water in her nesting box and take her out for a sunbathe in a little cage so that no one can bother her. We give her treats to eat in her cage and then she lolls in it enjoying the sunlight. When her mate starts to get agitated abot her absence we return her to her nesting box.

Cynthia


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

I can certainly understand that. No defenses at all if they are set upon by the flock -- and the "pecking order" is real.
Flit has absolutely no leg that we can detect. He was a save, thanks to my 10-year old (he spotted this one little finch (a bronze winged manakin) in a cageful of about 150. The saleslady said he was the only one to spot it (i don't even think they knew it). He kept coming back so many times to look at it that he finally struck a deal with the sales lady to take it and a ton of finch food home for $5. The rest, as they say, is history (and $$  )


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

> He was a save, thanks to my 10-year old (he spotted this one little finch (a bronze winged manakin) in a cageful of about 150. The saleslady said he was the only one to spot it (i don't even think they knew it).


Wow! He already has "the eye"! It is amazing how many people can look at a sick or injured bird and not see anythin wrong Others can look in the direction of a bird and not see anything there. Your son will soon be busy with rescues.


Cynthia


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

*Update*

We returned to the vet this morning. The lower part of the leg has slightly stiffened at an angle across the chest which the vet considers a good thing as it means it might not need amputating. He admitted that he doesn't like carrying out surgery on pigeons because they die so easily under anaesthetic (as I have mentioned before he is very honest, unlike other vets I have met who bluff their way through everything.) They would also need to be anaesthesised for an X-ray, which is why I tend to avoid them unless there is a good chance that the X-ray will reveal something that can be life saving.

The wound is still slightly infected but Red has progressed to the aviary so that we can monitor how he manages to get about. He is doing well but hasn't flown up to a perch although he has done some helicoptering which used both wings.


Cynthia


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