Mel's leg issues...

[Izzy]

Ok, I know something isn't right here, so I'm going to try to explain this in as much detail as possible and see if any of you have any thoughts about this.

I watched Mel and Misty very closely today. I moved them around the room so I could observe them walk and run, well, walk really fast.

Misty stands up very straight, with only her toes on the ground, the 3 toes up front and the one back toe, like a tripod to support her. The joint in her leg is straight and she moves around very quickly.

With Mel, it's like the joint in his leg is a heel. All his toes are on the ground, like Misty's, but instead of pulling himself up straight, with the joint straight, the joint stays bent and acts like a heel of a person's foot. So, he kinda looks like he's really short or squatting when he walks. A couple of times he did straighten out the joint and stand tall, but didn't do this when walking.

Even when Misty eats, she's standing up, but Mel is always kinda squatting. It's not the position he uses to sleep in, then you can't see his feet at all.

I'm almost positive the sponge/bandaid trick isn't doing anything at this point. I mean, all it does is keep his legs/feet together, but not doing anything to make him straighten out that joint and stand up straight...does this makes sense?

Anyone seem something like this before? I'm wondering what I can do to strengthen that joint or if that is what I even need to be concentrating on, maybe it's his hip joints?

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
Izzy

[re lee]

I think I would not use any devices any more . I think the problem started there. And has perhaps weakened or stiffened the joints. Try a week without any thing And he might just get better.

[cyro51]

Hi Izzy,

That was an excellent description. Pigeons are supposed to walk only their toes, not on the whole foot.

I can't think what could be causing the problem and putting her back in her restraints won't help. I will do a bit of research but I think this might be one for the vet. Did we try extra calcium for Mel? Maybe she has a problems absorbing calcium? Although all my pigeons get good food and plenty of grit there is one that has a calcium deficiency so her eggs come out without shells. I have to give her 2 drops of liquid calcium daily when she is preparing to lay and this solved her problem.

Cynthia

[Izzy]

Took the sponge thingie back off last night. I decided to take it off on Saturday, as I felt he had worn it long enough. It did help straighten his feet out, I mean, now they are straight when he sits down, doesn't stick out like duck feet anymore. I think the sponge did help, but whatever is going on now the sponge can't fix.

Anyhow, after I found those cuts yesterday, I kinda freaked out, that's why I put the sponge back on. I figured he never had cuts before when I had the sponge on, so that was why. With his nails trimmed and the bandaids on him, I know his crop is protected now, so that has eliminated some worry.

I feel he's been getting plenty of calcium. Not only is he eating soaked seeds mixed with formula, but I also add Prime and ground up cuttle bone into the mixture. I hadn't thought of liquid calcium before, so maybe I'll pick some of that up today.

After talking with others, I think Mel's legs are just really weak. I mean, he wore that sponge for close to 2 weeks and that's half his life! Since he had limited range of movement, I don't believe he was able to develop the muscles in there. So, I've decided to start him on daily exercising, by taking small walks. We'll start out slow, but I'm hoping by doing this several times a day that we can build the muscles up.

Not sure if this will do anything or not. I'm wondering if he maybe has a genetic defect with his legs. Either way, I'm keeping him, so whether he has perfect legs or not, he'll always be feed and kept safe.

Thank you for your advice and feedback,
Izzy