# Splayed Legs? How old is too late to fix it?



## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

I have a 16 day old who I believe has slightly splayed legs. At what age is it too late to tape them and try to reverse it?


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

It's not too late but you must take immediate action.
Can we see a picture?


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Gonzo must have been at least 6 weeks when I found her because she was flying in a flock, I thought that would be too late to correct her splay but it worked, although now she waddles when she walks.

Cynthia


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

Here are a couple of pics of him, I noticed that his left knee/leg also seems awful swollen and red


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Is it just the picture or is the band too tight on the leg?


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

No, not just the pic that leg is swollen. I can still spin/wiggle the band I just don't know about taping them with that leg all swollen like that.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Does the swollen leg feel hot to the touch?


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

Nope, seems to feel like the rest of him temperature wise


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

OK. First off...you need to make a donut, out of a towel, just his size and secure the ends so that they stay together. I use duct tape. Follow the instructions for tapping the leg as described in the resource section. 
It's good to have a towel underneath him too.


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

OK now I am a bit confused!! LOL Some pictures showed it being done above the knees and others around the ankles? With his swollen leg which would be better?


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Experiment and see which one seems to be the most comfortable for the bird. Just getting him in the donut will help some. Remember, the donut shape needs to be just his size so he can't move the leg out away from his body.


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

OK got him in the donut with no help from him! Funny how well he can use both the legs to kick and fight with me LOL!! Gonna wait for the hubby before trying to tape them.
Any thoughts as to why that one leg is so swollen and is there anything I can or should do for it?


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

moonshadow13 said:


> OK got him in the donut with no help from him! Funny how well he can use both the legs to kick and fight with me LOL!! Gonna wait for the hubby before trying to tape them.
> Any thoughts as to why that one leg is so swollen and is there anything I can or should do for it?


Can you get a good picture of the two legs for comparison? Is the swollen leg the one that seems to be splayed or is it the other one? Or both?
Do you have any snap bands?


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

I will try to get better pics when we bring him in to tape the legs. But for now if you look at the first pic I posted the leg that is on OUR left is out and slightly forward but not swollen and HIS left leg is the swollen one and is kind of pushed back towards his butt.
Yes I do have snap bands.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

moonshadow13 said:


> I will try to get better pics when we bring him in to tape the legs. But for now if you look at the first pic I posted the leg that is on OUR left is out and slightly forward but not swollen and HIS left leg is the swollen one and is kind of pushed back towards his butt.
> Yes I do have snap bands.


OK. That's what I thought, but wasn't sure.......when I fix splayed legs, I use the band that's on the leg already and a snap band and a rubber band between the two. Taping will work and if that's easier, then do that. 
I'm just wondering if it has injured that leg somehow. Was this a single baby?


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

He didn't start out as a single baby but I lost his nest mate over the weekend. I hadn't been paying close enough attention since the parents did such a good job with the first round and didn't realize that the smaller one hadn't been getting fed. By the time I noticed he was very weak and being inexperienced at handfeeding I wasn't able to save him. I still haven't had the heart to go update my thread and tell them the bad news.

The leg problem is my fault as well, most of the breeders are in big nest boxes with bowls and nest pads. But I also have a stack of poor man nest boxes (milk crates) with cut out pieces of wood for the bottoms. The first round these two built a fortress for a nest but not so much this round. Once I noticed he was sliding around I slipped a nest pad under them but apparently not in time.
I'm not sure if he injured it or just over used it trying to compensate for the one sticking out. I do know I wasn't swollen a few days ago so the swelling is recent.


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

OK just went to make sure he was still in his donut and the swelling on his leg is getting worse. Earlier when I took the picture I could spin his band easily and now it is getting tight.


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

moonshadow13 said:


> OK just went to make sure he was still in his donut and *the swelling on his leg is getting worse*.
> *Earlier when I took the picture I could spin his band easily and now it is getting tight*.


Do you have access to a vet who could help you get that band off?

Somehow it needs to be removed ASAP.

Cindy


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

I must be doing something wrong with the tape and the donut. I tried taping around the ankles and he just climbed out of his donut with both his legs sticking out behind him pathetically. So I taped above the knees and he is still climbing out of his donut either way he is not cooperating LOL!
AZ we don't have any avian vets and the vets we do have are already closed for the day.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Does your husband have a Dremel tool? We just (not WE, Everett) used one last week end to remove a band from a guys birds leg that was swelled up. It wasn't easy and took a little while, but they finally got the band off. 
Did the swelling get worse AFTER you taped the leg?


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

It had continued to swell before we taped the leg it seems to have leveled off I can spin the band again. We just taped it a few minutes ago (sort of) LOL!!
We do have a dremel but EEK SCARY hubby is looking at me like I am nuts, he is afraid he will cut the bird and although I am good with big saws that little dremel gets away from me. 
Is there anything short of cutting the band off to help reduce the swelling? You will probably think we are crazy but we were just trying to design some sort of traction for him to keep him still. Sort of like a hammock with little leg holes cut in it? Kind of dangle him? LOL!!


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

moonshadow13 said:


> It had continued to swell before we taped the leg it seems to have leveled off I can spin the band again. We just taped it a few minutes ago (sort of) LOL!!
> We do have a dremel but EEK SCARY hubby is looking at me like I am nuts, he is afraid he will cut the bird and although I am good with big saws that little dremel gets away from me.
> Is there anything short of cutting the band off to help reduce the swelling? You will probably think we are crazy but we were just trying to design some sort of traction for him to keep him still. Sort of like a hammock with little leg holes cut in it? Kind of dangle him? LOL!!


Yea, I hear ya about the dremel. I would NEVER attempt it myself, but my husband is good with stuff like that. He hasn't cut any legs off yet...LOL
Honestly, I don't know that traction and keeping the baby off of his legs would be a good idea. He needs to use his legs, BUT, while they're in the correct position. 
I would try the band method. I don't know if I can explain it or not.........you take the rubber band, stick it down through the permanant band and loop it through its self. Then put the other end on a snap band, then twist the rubber band until it's about the correct length to bring the legs in position, then put the snap band on the other leg. 
I guess the main problem with trying to fix a baby this age is that they are somewhat mobile at this age. When I fix splayed legs, the babies are usually 7 or 8 days old and are just sitting in the bowl, on their legs in the right position and after about 6 or 7 days, their legs are fixed. 
The baby really needs to be down in some kind of bowl or container so that it can't get out and move around, but then you have to deal with the parents and will they feed it. 
Unless of course, you take the baby and feed it yourself.........that would make things a little easier maybe. 
I don't know........just throwing out ideas.
As far as the swelling............I don't know what to say about that. Just keep an eye on it. Jewelers have a tool that they use to cut off rings......do you know anyone that works/owns a jewelry store? LOL

Here's one on Ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/J24-New-Stainle...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Do you have an emergency vet clinic near by? You need to get the band off ASAP. The thing with using the dremel is that it gets very hot and you need to stop frequently to cool the area down.
Have you thought of icing the leg a bit?


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## pigeonpoo (Sep 16, 2005)

Fire crews and A & E departments also have the tool for removing rings in the UK.


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

How are things going?
Were you able to remove the band?

Cindy


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## moonshadow13 (Dec 13, 2008)

Good Morning! No I wasn't able to get the band off yet but the swelling has gone down a bit, the band spins easily on his leg again. I finally found something deep enough that he can't crawl out of it and thankfully the bowl didn't scare the mom away, she was in with him last night. I am hoping that I can keep him in the bowl and off the leg give it a chance to heal more before I go back to taping the splayed one.
Charis I had thought about icing the leg but didn't know if it was safe on something so young. I was thinking instead about soaking him and the leg in Epsom Salt? Isn't that supposed to be good for swelling etc.?


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Appreciate the update.
Glad to hear the swelling has decreased. 

Please do keep us posted.
Best wishes to you both. 

Cindy


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I was thinking you could ice just enough to reduce the swelling, to give you room to snip the band off. If you do use ice, use a bag of frozen peas or corn. Epsom salt may help too but with no personal experience using it for swelling, I can't say for sure. I can say for sure that you need to get the band off the leg. 
Do you have a vet near by that can help you?


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## kippermom (Jan 11, 2006)

I am not sure what method you are using for taping but we had a badly splayed squeeker (Henry) and ended up having to tape both his legs to a foam "block"....that kept the legs the correct distance apart and at a better angle. Then we sat him in the famous donut in a 3 sided box that kept him in it better...he could look out the front and mom could feed him...but the partial enclosure seemed to keep him in the bed. The bad news is we ended up also having to have one of the legs surgically repaired because it ended up being a hip structure that was simply malformed....all the taping in the world was not going to fix the little guys problem. Two years later he is alive and well and ruling the roost...with only partial use of one leg.


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## David234 (Aug 11, 2011)

please help me i have a baby parakeet and he/she has two Splayed Legs i know its not a pigeon i was just hoping you guys could help


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

David234 said:


> please help me i have a baby parakeet and he/she has two Splayed Legs i know its not a pigeon i was just hoping you guys could help


You will need to bind/tape the legs together, the same as you would with a pigeon. Here a a couple of links that will guide you. I, myself, would use tape, but there are a few options for you to use.

http://www.officialbarrieshuttbudgerigars.com/splayedlegs.htm
http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index.php?showtopic=14002

Good luck,

Karyn


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## David234 (Aug 11, 2011)

thanks alot


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