# Antwan the broken collared dove



## jemz (Jul 16, 2005)

hello! we and my partner found a baby collared dove on our pavement in the garden, it must have fell from its nest as we see his parents fly in and out all the time.

He eats a lot we have got him everything he needs and he drinks enough but he has a deformity on one side of his body affecting his leg and wing, maybe he was crushed in the nest? or Ive heard they can get metabolic bone disease ( lack of calcium ) we have put chunks of cuttle fish bone into his feed and he wolfs them down more than anything else!

heres the sad part....weve been trying to enourage him to perch and fly and took him ( i will call him a boy until i see an egg ) to the park for a flap around and i noticed he got a little restless.... he never really used his leg before it was just curved but now its very loose and fully twisted around..... were taking him to the vet tommorow.... i thing it would be better for the bird to have the leg removed so it can move around....I also hope its not in too much pain... weve made him comfortable and put every thing he needs with in pecking distance... is there anything else i can do before he gets to the vets tommorow ( xx


----------



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Jemz,


Can you make some images and post a link?

We would really need to see this as best as possible to render opinions.


Phil
Lv


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

How old is the dove? If its bones are soft due to its age or calcium deficiency it might be correctable...worth trying, anyway. Please don't let them put him down!

It would be interesting to see a photo, I have a baby collared dove, Fudge, that also has a leg problem, we could work together and compare results. 

One dove was given to me by a wildlife hospital, he was expected to do no more than shuffle around...he is flying now, although I didn't attempt to correct his leg as I assumed all efforts had already been made.

I am in Norwich


----------



## jemz (Jul 16, 2005)

ok waiting for pictures to upload, his leg is not good ( we wont let the vet put him down weve grown too attached and we do want to see him fly away one day if he can manage.... do they not do amputations? aw. If im honest i think his leg is way past correction... i mended birds with borken legs before but this if unreal i dare not touch him at the moment! x


----------



## jemz (Jul 16, 2005)

hope hes not in pain x


----------



## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Hi...thanks for helping...the vet is the right avenue to take here (hopefully he/she is an avian vet and not just a general vet because oftentimes they don't know much about birds). Good also that you will clarify BEFORE handing the bird over to the vet that euthenasia is not to be done.

If the dove is in pain he will tend to be fluffed up, eyes squinting or closing a lot, breathing heavily, not alert, stuff like that. Are there any such signs of this ?

If you like, Children's Motrin or Children's Advil liquid can be given in a very small dose for some pain reduction (PM me for dosages).....but if he seems alert and gobbles up food and wants to flap and move around, I would tend to just skip it and wait for the vet to chime in.

Just a word of advice...do be careful when allowing him/her o flap outdoors in an unprotected area...even when you are nearby. Many a story about folks who were certain their lil' pal could not get airborne ...only to have them fly just enough to get out of reach of their human friend being able to ever recover them.

Am keeping fingers crossed that somehow the leg can be mended or splinted or such. if not...well, I have cared for a pigeon before who has a 'kickstand' leg which is really of little use to him. he is living a very happy life up in Sonoma, California with Forum member MaryJane & her lofts.... and the deformity certainly doesn't seem to really keep him from enjoying life !

Thanks again for saving the dove ! Keep us posted.

(BTW, uploading pics...just use the "manage attachments" button below the message reply window on the "go advanced" reply setting page. if the photo file is too big, use an online image resizer to compress it).


----------



## jemz (Jul 16, 2005)

*antwans twisted leg*

ok heres the picture i added it to attachments


----------



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi jemz, 



Would you make and post a few more images please? Showing different views?


There are some details there with the Leg, which I can not make out well in that image.


Probably, this is a version of what is called 'Splay Leg', which is something that can happen when a Baby Bird is in a Nest condition that does not provide good enough gripping textures for the Baby Bird's Feet to grip on, and, one or both Legs end up sliding out from under them, where, one or both Legs can end up remaining in an odd and impractical position.

But, a Broken Leg, or one which had Broken and then healed in a wrong attitude, can have this appearence also.


Can you gently feel with finger-tip-pads, along the entire length of each Leg Bone to see if there are any swollen or unexpected 'loose' places?


If so, let us know.


If finding none, then, could you gently and sensitively see if the Leg is able to bend in the right places, and, to assume a normal position as if the Bird sere sitting?

Be very careful please, since the Foot is now reversed, and, you need to bear in mind definitely, the structure of the Leg, and the location and orientation of each Joint...and, to keep it clearly in your mind, which way each part is actually oriented as it is, and in relation to as it would be if nothing were wrong...for which, have a friend help you, so both of you can see if you can have your impressions correct on how the Leg will correcty bend at each Joint...do not use any force of course, it will be fine to be very slow and gentle in doing this.

If you encounter resistence, then do not to it now, but wait for more instruction.


Here is a Map or diagramme which shows the Bones of the Leg in their correct orientations -


http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/46/51946-004-D003BC49.gif



Phil
Lv


----------



## jemz (Jul 16, 2005)

thats the best view we have his leg is fully twisted around! i have one more but its no clearer the photos take hours to upload from the phone x


----------



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Please consider to carefully do the exams outlined in my last Post.

Those are the things I would do, if I had the Bird here with me, to evaluate.

Depending on the careful evaluation outlined, the next 'steps' depend...as do our deciding what the next steps might be.


----------



## jemz (Jul 16, 2005)

ok i had a feel one leg is fine ad fits the diagram, the other starts off well at the top of the femur then it becomes inflamed, i cant tell if hes broken the femur and then its twisted around at the break or if hes twisted the knee cap and its twisted there poor bird but its around that area because the femur and the tarsometatarsus feel intact and does the tibiotarsus joint . the foot is limp ( and backwards. ) x


----------



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi jemz,


Are you still intending to appeal to a Vet later to-day? An Avian Vet or an all purpose Vet?


It would be good if they could evaluate the Leg also.


But, so far, your description does co-respond to what one would expect from a Broken Leg.

Does the Leg appear to flex easily at the swollen portion? Or is it ridgid there?


Phil
Lv


----------



## jemz (Jul 16, 2005)

i dont want to bend the area it seems too swollen and does feel rigid, he pushes his head into my hand at the slightest touch  i wont let the vet put him down, hes eating and drinking fine... ive been given advice to give him some water down asprin, he seems to perk up a few minutes after that... so if the problem is removed or healed he can be a happy dove.


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

First I have to warn you that they can get very stressed when their legs are being corrected, to the point where they can have a heart attack. Do everything slowly and gently and *if he starts to open his beak and gasp for air stop immediately and place him somewhere quiet to recover*

You might lso have to keep trying various approaches before you find the right one for him.

It looks a lot like Fudge's leg. The condition is usually caused by a calcium deficeincy, it is very, very common in our UK collared dove fledgelings!

Does te beak feel rubbery when you open it?

My little Fudge also is inflamed at the joint. I decided not to attempt manipulating the leg when the joint was inflamed and I give her 1/2 drop of Metacam for the pain and the inflamation. You can give a half drop by placing a small amount of water in a container, adding 1 drop of metacam and giving the dove half of the solution.

I will be trying a correction this weekend, because John will be here and it usually needs two pairs of hands.

What I will attempt to do is bandage each foot in the "perching position" across a small cigarette shaped roll of self adhesive bandage. Fudge's feet are drawn inwards so the rolls of bandage will keep them separate and in the right position, but I usually add a bandage to hold the legs in place so that the bird can walk without the legs sliding backwards, forward or sidewards.

This photo is of Doveling, a little collared dove that arrived with both feet and legs flaccid and crossed in the middle with all the toes tangled up...when she attempted to walk she ad to use her wings and her legs trailed lifelessly behind her. The correction worked well on her and she was able to walk properly for a couple of years which made me realise that periodically they might need to be put back in braces for a weel to reinforce the correction:










If you follow *this link* you will se a similar bandaging being used by Bedfordshire Wildlife Rescue to cerrect the feet of a collared dove with calcium deficiency.

In *this video*taken after her feet were better Doveling is the one nearest to the camera:


----------



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

jemz said:


> ok i had a feel one leg is fine ad fits the diagram, the other starts off well at the top of the femur then it becomes inflamed, i cant tell if hes broken the femur and then its twisted around at the break or if hes twisted the knee cap and its twisted there poor bird but its around that area because the femur and the tarsometatarsus feel intact and does the tibiotarsus joint . the foot is limp ( and backwards. ) x




The swelling though...is it noticed somewhere along the length of the Long Bone?

Not likely to be a Broken Femur, as the Femur points forward, and, is underneath their Skin, originating from the side of their lower back...the next Bone down, would be the candidate I think, and, would normally be one which points somewhat to the Bird's rear.


Or, is the swelling at the Joint?


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Bedford Wildlife Rescue left this information on another thread:

*It doesn't look like a calcium deficiency to me or splay leg to be honest. It's a bit late in the season for calcium/Vit D deficiency now. I think to be rotated like that, it looks like a fracture of either the Femur joint or the Tib joint and the problem with joint fractures is that they callus over and restrict movement. This would be partularly bad if it is at the top of the femur because she's unlikely to be able to weight bear or stand on it. The only advice I could give her was to get it checked over by a vet so that she knows exactly what is going on. Sorry I can't be more help at this stage.*

I hope everything goes well for this one and that it can be corrected without amputation. I haven't had a one legged dove, but I one legged pigeon coped well and another than that had amputations at the hock joint did too.


----------



## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Update ? Vet ?


----------

