Bruised leg

[MP]

Hello,

My pigeon has had problems with his legs since I found him/her. He/she has one of his/her legs that bends up directly behind and the other leg kind bends out to the side alot(looks bow legged). I just noticed a bruise that starts at the joint and runs a little a further down on the legs that looks bow legged. She uses this leg to move around alot and I am afraid that she has hurt this leg somehow perhaps fell asleep on it in an awkard position or something... I don't know how to treat this. I thought about crushing some ice and wrapping it in a towel or placing a warm towel on the leg??? Please advice... Thank you, Mary

[TAWhatley]

Hi Mary,

Is this something that just happened with the bird? If I'm reading your post correctly, it appears that the bird may have been splay legged all along but now the condition is worse. Is there swelling around the bruised area? Any chance the leg has gotten broken? Since I'm having difficulty envisioning the legs/problem, I'm sort of at a loss for offering any advice.

Terry Whatley

Hi, Mary

I've seen things like this treated successfully. Please wait, and people with more experience will help you.

[MP]

Originally posted by AlStreit:
Hi, Mary

I've seen things like this treated successfully. Please wait, and people with more experience will help you.

Hello,
Thank you for your reply! The leg does not appear to be broken. The pij is able to move it the leg... It is actually beginning to look better! I have been keeping his/her body and leg elevated to try to maintain the leg extended as much as possible to prevent any weight on the leg... The bruise has disappeared and the swelling has gone down...

Though I just came accross another problem last night. As I was holding the him, I noticed a little blood on one of my hands. I checked underneath the wing and it looks like one of the feathers broke and its bleeding a little. I applied some bacitracin but am not sure what else to do???! any ideas?

Thank you!

[TAWhatley]

Hi Mary,

I'm glad the leg is improving. Please keep us posted on this. As long as the bleeding has stopped, everything should be OK. The bird may have broken a blood feather.

Terry Whatley