# Need help to fix a pigeon's broken angle!



## ippychick (Sep 19, 2007)

Hi everyone!

We were feeding some city pigeons a few hours ago; a young pigeon with a broken leg (angle) joined the other birds. It looks really bad and it's obvious the bird is in pain ~ good news; we managed to CATCH the pigeon!!! 

The bird is with us now and seems to be in good spirits despite the injury. It's in a box resting with some food & water. (we've done this before)

OK, so here's the problem; 

We can't find a vet who can fix the leg, and the animal rescue places said they'll just put the bird down. We can't find anyone, and we experienced this same thing 4 years ago with our first rescue pigeon who had a broken leg.

So... CAN WE FIX IT OURSELVES?? I've done some online search, but if you know any good sites/etc, please let us know asap! And if there are any German pigeon lovers (Larry?) out there who know a pigeon-friendly vet in North Germany, please give us the info! We're willing to make that drive. 

Thank You! 

Ps. We're in Denmark (kolding). 

I'll try to post a photo soon!


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## ippychick (Sep 19, 2007)

*Photo!*

Here are photos of the leg (the injury seems to be in the foot/joint, not in the angle);


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Taubenklinik Essen
Dr. Ludger Kamphausen
+49 - 201 / 848390 (this phone number may be obsolete)

email:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Katernbergerstr. 115
45237 Essen
Germany

http://www.brieftaube.de/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=75&lang=de

Taubenklinik

http://www.taubenklinik.de

45327 Essen - Katernberg
Katernberger Str. 115

Telefon: 0209/48132, Fax: 0201/8722499
krankenhäuser und kliniken, tierzüchter, tierärzte, öffnungszeiten
ÖFFNUNGSZEITEN
Montag: 08:00-17:00
Dienstag: 08:00-17:00
Mittwoch: 08:00-17:00
Donnerstag: 08:00-17:00
Freitag: 08:00-17:00
Samstag: 10:00-12:00



From my 2007 notes:

Pigeon clinic. I took pigeon Rosie there on Monday 29. October 2007. U-bahn Linie 107, Haltestelle Katernbergstrasse. Montag: 9.30-12.00 Uhr 15.00-18.00 Uhr Dienstag: 9.30-12.00 Uhr 15.00-17.00 Uhr Mittwoch: 9.30-12.00 Uhr Donnerstag: 9.30-12.00 Uhr 15.00-17.00 Uhr Freitag: 9.30-12.00 Uhr 15.00-17.00 Uhr Samstag: 10.00-12.00 Uhr.
At Essen Hauptbahnhof, Gleis 1, U-Bahn Linie 107 Richtung Gelsenkirchen, Haltestelle Nienhuser Busch after Haltestelle Haniel Strasse. 
I took female pigeon PP2C with sore lump under left foot, and squeaker Deuce caught at Duisburg Bahnhof on the way, with a broken right femur, to the clinic on Monday 26 November 2007. Paid 8€ for blood test.


Dr. Kamphausen did free surgery on feral street pigeons. Did a free leg amputation on pigeon Deuce, and a free wing amputation on pigeon Rosie.

Larry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

This looks like an old injury legacy which has long since resolved to the limits of what it could do...and, not a recent event/injury.


So...probably there is not much which could be done for it at this point.


I assume the Pigeon is putting weight on it, but, favoring the other Leg?


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## ippychick (Sep 19, 2007)

*@Larry*



Larry_Cologne said:


> Taubenklinik Essen
> Dr. Ludger Kamphausen
> +49 - 201 / 848390 (this phone number may be obsolete)...


Hi Larry! 

Thanks so much for the info! I sent Dr. Kamphausen an e-mail on Saturday, but I haven't heard back from him yet ~ I did write in English though, so I hope he understood. I'll call them tomorrow when they're open again. 

Thank You again for the valuable info, Larry! I'll be posting a follow-up. 

Jo (/Ippychick)


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## ippychick (Sep 19, 2007)

*@pdpbison*



pdpbison said:


> This looks like an old injury legacy which has long since resolved to the limits of what it could do...and, not a recent event/injury..


Oh, you think it's an old injury? I don't know, the photos might be a little misleading now when I look at them. It's obvious he has pain in that joint and avoids walking with it at any cost. It's very swollen too and he doesn't like it to be touched, and he keeps lifting it up all the time and covers it with his wing.. That said, I'm obviously not an expert! But I'll post a follow-up about this little fellow ~ wish us good luck! I hope there's still hope. 

Jo (/Ippychick)


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Hello Ippychick,

If you talk with Dr. Kamphausen or Fr. Dr. Elizabet Peus, you can mention my name and remind them that I'm the guy from Cologne who brought some feral pigeons to them, who were then adopted by Christa Griese. She has a small aviary in her back yard. 

Everyone at the klinik/clinic speaks English, as far as I am aware. 

Also, Dr. Kamphausen once looked at some photos (jpegs) I had sent him in an email, concerning ruptured air sac/bloated crop in my pigeon rescue *Jimmy Z*, and gave me some advice.

From my 2007 log, November 29, concerning a pigeon (*PP2C*)with a lump under her foot:



> Talked with Frau Doctor Elisabet Peus (young-ish vet) at the Taubenklinik Essen (pigeon clinic Essen) on Tuesday afternoon.
> 
> The squeaker with the broken leg, *Deuce von Duisburg*, underwent surgery Tuesday morning after waiting overnight, had a cast on his leg, and will walk again with it if it heals properly. He had a strong will to live (which means, he had a strong will to evade capture by me).
> 
> ...


Larry


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## ippychick (Sep 19, 2007)

*@Larry*

Hi again Larry

I couldn't get in touch with Dr. Kamphausen or Fr. Dr. Elizabet Peus ~ instead, talked with Sekretariat Tanja Krebs. I sent her photos/video, and she promised to get back in touch with us soon. Haven't heard from her yet, so I'll give her a call tomorrow. 

Time's running up, feeling slightly pressured ~ if the foot/joint is broken it can't go untreated long.. But, let's hope for the best ~ at least the bird is getting plenty of rest and good food! He does seem to be in good condition despite the bad leg. 

Anyway. I agree with you about pigeons understanding their names! Our Vivi does the same; if we suddenly mention her name in the middle of a conversation, she responds with 'roo-coo-coo' ~ it can't be a coincidence as it has happened several times. 

The (female) pigeon with the sore lump under her right foot ~ do you have any photos of it? 

The pigeon found on Friday has swelling in the joint, but it had gone down when we had a look at it yesterday. 

By the way, I really enjoy reading your pigeon entries! 

Ippychick


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Ippychick,



You can make an Orthopaedic or Diorthotic 'Shoe' - or a graduated series of them - to bring the Thumb back to a correct position ( if it is not 'frozen' where it is ), and, possibly, help the Wrist in general, also.

Old injuries can still remain painful.

Can you post some additional images showing the underside of the Foot, and, showing the Thumb as it is, form the underside?


Phil
Lv


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Howdy Ippychick, howdy Phil,

Ippychick, I can't find any photos of pigeon *PP2C* ("*P*igeon with *2* *P*ale white *C*laws on left foot, pale inner white claw and central claw, other claws dark") with her lumpy right foot.

I caught her when I enticed him to come inside the window for some seeds, on a Sunday afternoon 25 November 2007. Took him with me to the Taubenklinik Essen ("Pigeon Clinic Essen") by train the next day, so possibly didn't make photos. 

My log notes from that day, on *PP2C*, and on *Deuce*, caught on the way:



> Just got home from the trip to Taubenklinik Essen, at 18:55. Watered and fed and put to bed the Cologne street pigeon.
> 
> Wanted to catch the direct 13:51-14:51 train to Essen, but there was a thirty minute delay posted. So dashed and made a train scheduled to leave a few minutes earlier at 13:32, but just then pulling in as I made it to the platform. A minute or two later we departed.
> 
> ...


Sorry I can't help you more, with a photo. Have some photos on an external hard drive; I am having problems accessing the hard drive. PP2C looked like he was standing on a pea, more or less, if that helps any.

PP2C did suffer a trauma, apparently, since the swelling went down, no infection was reported from the lab results on the drawn blood sample. 

Did have PP2C come inside again on 10 January 2008 (through 17 January) for observation of PMV symptoms and a short recuperation.

Deuce had his right leg amputated. He had to be kept separate from the other pigeons in Christa's aviary for quite a spell, but eventually mixed in.

Also, doctors take Wednesday afternoons off in Germany. I believe there is always someone on duty at the clinic. Not too sure about night shifts. Pigeons in re-hab cages have a nice quiet well-lit room, with all cages facing the same direction. Individual feeders and water containers.

Larry


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Ippychick, here is a link to another thread where another caregiver made a "shoe" for a disabled foot, I thought it may be helpful for you to see kind of what Phil is describing doing for the foot.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpost.php?p=584146&postcount=256

Good luck with this little guy,

Karyn


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## ippychick (Sep 19, 2007)

*@Phil*



pdpbison said:


> Hi Ippychick, You can make an Orthopaedic or Diorthotic 'Shoe' - or a graduated series of them


Hi Phil 

You know, we have had a little 'shoe' on him ~ I think you gave us this same advice 4 years ago, so that's how we remembered it! (thanks) 

We changed the support 'shoe' today, so I was able to film his foot for you ~ here are 4 links! (I hope they're good enough quality) 


Video #1 (close-up of the foot) 
Video #2 (standing with the 'shoe' on)
Video #3 (parts the 'shoe' was built with)
Video #4 (walking on the floor with the shoe on) 

Looking forward to hear what you have to say! 

Thanks, 
Ippychick

*PS. *How long should the shoe be kept on? Do we need to check how the foot looks like every few days, or does it need to be left alone? It just gets very dirty pretty quickly, thanks to him stepping on his poo..


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## ippychick (Sep 19, 2007)

*@Karyn*



Dobato said:


> Ippychick, here is a link to another thread where another caregiver made a "shoe" for a disabled foot....
> Karyn


That's a great link, Karyn ~ Thank You! We could try that design. So well made, looks very professional! 

Thank You also for the good luck wishes ~ much appreciated! 

Ippychick & the little Patient


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## ippychick (Sep 19, 2007)

*@Larry*



Larry_Cologne said:


> Ippychick, I can't find any photos of pigeon *PP2C* ("*P*igeon with *2* *P*ale white *C*laws on left foot, pale inner white claw and central claw, other claws dark") with her lumpy right foot.....
> Larry


Howdy Larry

Replied to your post, but it's nowhere in sight! Not sure what happened, maybe I forgot to post it or Firefox crashed? Either way, will retype a quick reply! 

I'm so touched by your pigeon story. Sounds like it was meant to be that Deuce gets rescued by you! If both of you had not been in the right place at the right time, he would have most likely died within days. Poor thing, but such a happy ending. And it's amazing you managed to catch him despite being in a hurry to the train! 

So doctors take off Wednesdays in Germany? Hmm, makes sense ~ was expecting to get a reply from Tanja (the lady I talked with on the phone yesterday) this morning, but there was no word from her. Then called the clinic; a man answered, but he didn't speak any English. I said Tanja's name to which he replied something in German ~ I thought he was going to get her, but instead ended the phone call! I didn't understand it, but it makes sense now. Well, will just have to call them again tomorrow ~ time's running out though.. 

We're moving this Sunday so things are enough hectic. I'm so concerned about the bird and just want him to recover. I don't know whether he'll be set back to Flensburg if his foot heals well. Another option is that we keep him, or find him another home. 

By the way, Larry, here's a close-up of the foot ~ any comments? Have you seen anything similar with your past rescues? 

Here's how he walks with the home-made support 'shoe' on. 

Thanks for the post! 

Ippychick


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## ippychick (Sep 19, 2007)

*Update*

Here comes an update; 

The pigeon is doing great. He's still with us and has recovered very well. 

We took him to the pigeon clinic in Essen/Germany, as Larry advised; the clinic was amazing, every pigeon-lover's dream come true! 

As suspected, the bird had suffered a broken joint, and it was too late to fix it. The support shoe helped though, as he was able to walk a little better after wearing the shoe. The tests showed he also had some parasites, and was given medication for it. 

The doctor (Dr. Kamphausen) was so friendly and knew what he was doing. Two test samples of two pigeons (we also took our old rescue there for a check-up) + the parasite medication cost in total €10 (=$14) !! I was expecting a big bill as in Denmark a simple vet consultation would cost $100, and that's without any tests or medication!

The bird is doing great and walks really well. His flying is still not perfect, but getting better. He's eating well and follows our other pigeon a lot. 

Thanks to all of you who helped and replied, and to Larry for telling us about the amazing Pigeon Clinic in Germany!

Here are some photos of the patient, taken today; 






























Ippychick


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

A very very interesting and wonderful posting with everyone involved--really enjoyed and it was a learning experience to say the least....c.hert


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Ippychick, that for the very positive update on this little guy and for all you have done for him. Thanks to Larry as well, for knowing what sounds like a great resource to send you to.

Karyn


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