# Broken Leg



## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

What is the best first[aid for a broken leg. On of my bird came home missing her ID ban (Snap on number ban) and has a broken leg. I have splinted aand taped it up is there any thing more I can do?


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

go to foys or any pigeon supply site online they have kits for broken legs.


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## atvracinjason (Mar 4, 2010)

get the plastic leg "cast" Tape and splint until it arives...watch for swelling...I had to modify the cast to fit a small bird


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

Thank you both for your input but ordering anything in not an option. Delevery time to Mexico is way to long. I was hoping for a diy fix not an order this. If anyone has any thought I'm open
Thanks


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## tpvang (Jun 15, 2010)

I had a roller once that rolled into a tree and came out with a broken leg. All I did was rested the bird. The birds leg was swollen for a while when it was healing, but it healed fine without any kind of treatment. Nature has a way of healing itself IMO. The roller now is still flying and rolling in my kit 'till this day with no signs of limping whatsoever.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Well...no...the problem with that is if the leg sets improperly, you have a gimpy Pigeon for life.

I am glad it worked out in your case, but leaving it alone is not a good option.

....preferably something a bit rigid would help out your legwrap, GEM. If you think you have set it correctly, then can you make a splint out of popsicle sticks ?

I am assuming there are no Avian vets nearby.


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## atvracinjason (Mar 4, 2010)

go get some PVC pipe...then cut it down to length...file the cut edges so they taper inwards(less chance to cut the skin), now cut the pipe in half(halfmoon), again clean the pipe burrs. Pull apart some cotton balls and line the pipe on one side...zip tie the piecs back together clamping the leg in the middlerun a piece of tape over the zip ties to prevent them from slipping or cutting into bird. My best guess will be to make the cast long enough toprevent the bird from opening his foot and placing it down and adding weight. I used the bird casts from foys and my bird was healthy again in 3 weeks...best of luck! You need to keep a "mule" bird up at a loft in So Cal so we can send you light weight supplies....just think I could have a bird on the way too you now carrying medical supplies.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Thing about that is, aren't real pigeon splints angled, not straight ? So one would also have to heat and bend the pvc so it angles at the leg joint. You could also use Pex tubing (plastic water piping). It is more flexible than PVC but still rigid enough.

A simpler solution would be a single piece of flat plastic, heated and bent slightly and taped to the backside of the leg. As Atvrac astutely suggests, always file off any sharp edges and don't let the actual splint contact the leg.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Repost:

It's possible to splint a broken leg on any bird with masking tape and it's pretty simple as well--that's what most vets do if it's not too complex of a fracture. You can take a look at this page and study the skeletal drawings to help you figure out the applicable anatomy:

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

In any case, you can roll up a towel into a donut that the bird can settle into the middle of in such a way as to take any pressure off of the leg easily. Sometimes, you can bring them in the house and treat them like the Queen of Sheba with food and water right in front of them and they'll behave pretty well. About the only thing they'll stand up to do is poop and if you dutifully keep that cleaned up and then gently put them back down, they can learn to take it real easy and heal up just like that.

Otherwise, you sometimes have to clip the feathers of the leg closely with scissors and use masking tape to immobilize the leg as shown here:










...and it might come out looking like this:



The break on this bird was high enough on the tibiotarsus that I extended the tape up and over the back to help it immobilize it--otherwise, following the drawings above wouldn't have gone high enough to actually do the job. I clipped all the feathers short where the tape went, too.

Pidgey


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Pidgey (and others),

I took a word pigeon with a broken right femur a local vet with bird and pigeon care listed on their website. The older woman vet had her right arm in a sling, and supervised the younger newbie vet in splinting the leg, while I helped hold the pigeon.

Pigeon loosened the tape, and the tube of tape slid down the leg. I noticed something didn't seem right, so ...

a few days later I drove an hour to an avian vet (Dr. Peter Coutteel) who said that usually the best thing for a lay person to do right away is to tape the leg against the body in its natural position. Wrap the lower leg (above the claws), then wrap the tape around the body, under the wings. The bones will set very quickly. My pigeons bones had already set into a position so that when he tried to take aster with his right leg, he would step on his left foot.

The vet took a fecal smear and found a huge amount of trichomoniasis eggs almost ready to hatch, so he gave the bird an antibiotic shot. 

A month or so later I brought him a feral pigeon ("Pigeon 10-26") with a broken right humerus (upper right wing bone). The bones had already begun to set, one end of the humerus was fusing to the middle of the other half of the bone, and he said the bird would never fly again. He said the best low-cost solution at hand for most lay people is to do a Figure-8 wing wrap (take 18 inches or 50 cm of tape, wrap the tape around the pin feathers, then, holding the bird with the injured wing folded in a natural position against the body, wrap the tape around the body and under the other wing. He demonstrated how to do this while holding the bird by himself, with one end of the tape stuck to the "kitchen cabinet door handle." Took him about two minutes to demonstrate. He said some people might also tape the end of the injured wing to the tail feathers 

These were the techniques he himself would usually use. Keeping the leg or the wing taped against the body in a natural position is probably the best bet to ensure the proper alignment of the bones.

With larger birds such as raptors, he uses holes drilled into the bones and pins and traction systems. Pigeons and smaller birds are harder to work on, though.

Even though I watched him do this, I would probably try it myself, but then take the bird to him to make sure.

These things often seem to happen on week-ends or when vets are not handy or available, or when money is a big issue.

Also, I might add that although I studied the anatomy charts and skeletal charts in both cases, I was filled with misgivings about getting the broken bones aligned properly. Both breaks (the wing, and the leg) seemed to have a mass of scar tissue or something resembling a big wad of chewing at the sites of injuries.

After talking with this vet a while, I have a lot of confidence in him.

Larry


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Yep, calluses usually happen. In time, the bones will often "remodel" themselves to the point where you can't feel the calluses anymore. I've taped A LOT of pigeon wings and legs...

Pidgey


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