rescued racer with broken legs!

[lizz]

really? i was thinking about getting a bigger 'flight suit' for trooper, but the boy is a freaking guano machine, and i figured i would have to tie a plastic grocery bag to him somehow, for him to drag around behind him. and even then i'd still have to change it out every dang hour.

i'll go look and put my site there. and thanks for the compliments, i do make them all myself!

[Maggie-NC]

Lizz, this is Boni's site: http://www.birdwearonline.com/

[Lovebirds]

Lizz, the news is wonderful about Trooper trying to walk...........they are pretty amazing creatures huh?

[mr squeaks]

Originally Posted by lizz

really? i was thinking about getting a bigger 'flight suit' for trooper, but the boy is a freaking guano machine, and i figured i would have to tie a plastic grocery bag to him somehow, for him to drag around behind him. and even then i'd still have to change it out every dang hour.

i'll go look and put my site there. and thanks for the compliments, i do make them all myself!

I would strongly suggest you check out Boni's PGWear! I am one of her most enthusiastic fans!

I have a Flight Suit for Squeaks and had to go 4 sizes BIGGER than the one recommended for pigeons!

With Boni's wear, they are "custom" made for your bird that takes away the guess work! PLUS, she has some really cute designs that you can choose especially to fit Trooper's personality.

Best yet, Boni's diapers are very easy to put on and the birds seem to adapt easily to wearing them.

Besides being a lovely person, Boni has pigeons of her own who model her designs.

Do check out her website. I'm sure you will be impressed!

Shi &
Squeaks (who says: "I approve this message!")

[lizz]

i think i'm gonna have to get one. they look less constricting than flight suits. you know, i dropped a BUNDLE on two each for the 'eeks', and one giant one for kai, and the elastic was shot within the first month. not to mention the fact that they hated them. they work great, but with these nutty hookbills, they can destroy anything in seconds, so it was a lost cause.

really i think trooper would go along with anything. he's such a lover. i had to take him upstairs last night while i was reading in bed just so i could glance over every page or so to smile at his little grey cowpie self snuggled up under the covers.
he was a very content little boy.

hey, here's a weird update, minor, but .... after the giant hole on his side started to heal closed, dr. lindstrom told me to stop using neosporin on him, so we could start getting rid of the oil on his feathers, and just use peroxide. so i have been. i scoop him up, turn him belly up, and pour. guess what? you know how peroxide bleaches things out? works on pigeon feathers, too! i didn't even think about it, and now his dark feathers on that side are starting to turn a more cinnamon color!

this poor bird, broken leggies, greasy hair, can't take a bath, and now he's tie dyed.

[lizz]

hey everybody! quick over-the-weekend update--- this boy never ceases to amaze me.
all the dogs were outside, so i took the birds out, and sat on the bottom step with trooper. i set him down on the driveway, in the sun, he looked sooooo happy, very alert, but for no reason, as olive, the black headed caique was on the lookout for 'scary birds'. whenever we see anything that qualifies for a 'scary bird' she cocks her head, squints at the intruder, and makes this quiet growling noise. which undoubtedly scares off all of the afore-mentioned 'scary birds'. terrifies me....
so i'm keeping an eye on everybody, and i look down, and the little grey boy is hobbling across the driveway! that's pretty cool in and of itself, but i get up and go walking toward him to bring him closer [you know, cause those 'scary birds' might be out there...] and the little monkey sees me coming, and starts trotting away from me! i'm like, HEY!!! you get back here! i couldn't believe it!
his stuff barely works, and off he goes, the minute i try to be overprotective! not just creeping along, but darn near running! hahahaaaa! it killed me, i was so surprised, and so proud of him, which i tell him about 100 times a day.

we go back to the doctor's on saturday the 31st, and i'm hoping that at least one of the casts can come off. AND that i can drop one of the antibiotics that he's on. i HATE dosing him. hate it hate it hate it. and so does he. we've gotten really good at it, i have this nifty one handed headlock/beak slide thing i do, so that his lower beak slides to the side a bit, so i can shoot the meds down the side and back a drop at a time. good times.
sooooo.....apparently he'll be running birdie marathons in the near future. i have to go sew him little running shorts now.

[Trees Gray]

Wow!!! I can just see him rrrrruunnnnnnnnnning!!

They can get pretty fast on those legs, just imagine how fast he will go with the casts off!!!!

Thank you for the update.

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by lizz

sooooo.....apparently he'll be running birdie marathons in the near future. i have to go sew him little running shorts now.

What a great update!! You certainly have a way of painting the picture so we can all actually see it happening. Trooper IS a real trooper..........

[lizz]

yippppeeeee!!! we went to the doctor's today, and one cast is off, one to go!!! doc says the infection is gone, and we can drop the antibiotics, and use the painkiller only as needed, since he's got a lighter wrap on the 'bad' leg. we're going back in two weeks, to hopefully take off the other cast!
a few days ago, i pulled out some giant gob of SOMEthing out of a hole on his bad leg....i knew something was in there, and i was trying to rummage around with tweezers trying to get a hold of whatever it was. finally i got so freaked out about something being buried in his leg, i just took a deep breath, and grabbed his leg, and SQUEEZED! something started to come out, and all i could think was, 'oh my god,,,, what if it's a huge bug? some giant black parasite, and it comes out like the things in alien???' being rather bug phobic, i was scared i was going to drop the boy, and run screaming out into the street. well, i grabbed my tweezers, and as this big gob of stuff is coming out, i grabbed it and puuuullllllled. euw. i'm still not sure what it was, i was rubbery, and i'm still not convinced it was organic matter. it was too squarish and i can't think of a single thing that would be in his body of that consistency. unless i just pulled out a piece of his liver. that's the color it was, but darker. after it came out, i started breathing again, like a gerbil, and doused him again with peroxide. i poked at the piece of 'rubber' and then tossed it. it was too gross to keep around. but whatever that was, it seemed like the day after it was out, he was a little perkier, a little more mobile, and now the infection is gone, and he's hobbling around his giant enclosure in the living room! it's giant by my standards, it's over five feet long....so apparently, the 'operation' was a success! phew.
he's been talking more lately, getting more fiesty, more curious about his surroundings, and today, he was preening my eyebrows! i felt very special. the other birds in the house are being really nice to him, but especially olive, my 3 year old black headed caique. she's trying to be very small, and quiet, and motherly toward him. when he's not looking. it's all very cute.
and just when i think we're on the home stretch...the little girls next door bring me a baby robin that was grabbed out of it's nest a couple of days ago by a cat, and then dropped in a driveway. i got him to eat, peroxided him too, and he's sleeping in a box of fluff under a washcloth in the upstairs bathroom..... sighhhhh.....will it ever end???

[philodice]

You should take Trooper to schools or something and show him off.

[Charis]

That's great he's doing better. I did feel a little queezy reading about you pulling the gob of something, out of his leg.
FYI, peroxide REALLY burns the skin. If you must use it on a bird or any other animal dilute it 10% to 90% water.

[lizz]

you know i take him everywhere! my 'excuse' is always that i don't want to leave him in the car with the dogs, even though i know darn well they wouldn't touch him with a stray dog's paws. i want everybody to pet him, and see how silky, cute and sweet he is, in hopes of getting some good p.r. for pigeons.
i'm taking pictures of trooper's naked leg tomorrow, and throwing them on photobucket. it's pretty strange looking, but still attached. AND dr. lindstrom said you never know how it could turn out, so.... keep your fingers crossed!

on the baby bird front, i woke up this morning thinking 'good lord, that is one loud bird outside...' and then i realized...that was coming from the bathroom. i shuffled in there, and was blinded by the screaming yellow mouth peeping like mad for breakfast!
i diluted the peroxide 50/50...btw, and i just did it to get the surface stuff clean. i've heard that it can damage the surrounding healthy tissue, so i generally dont use it much.

so, uh, you guys wanna start some fund raising for me to go to vet school, to specialize in birds?

[Charis]

Liz...you are right about the peroxide dilution percentage. I was apparently having a brain fart last nightI'm glad you aren't using it full strength.
You are doing a fabulous job and I greatly admire your sense of committment.
It's no wonder he is improving.

[Littlecoo]

Originally Posted by lizz

* on the baby bird front, i woke up this morning thinking 'good lord, that is one loud bird outside...' and then i realized...that was coming from the bathroom. i shuffled in there, and was blinded by the screaming yellow mouth peeping like mad for breakfast!


** so, uh, you guys wanna start some fund raising for me to go to vet school, to specialize in birds?

* Looking something like this eh? LOL!!! Couldn't help myself!


** We certainly can never have too many avian vets THAT'S FOR SURE!!!

[Pidgey]

Ya' know... I can remember way back to the days when we were all propping you up emotionally to stay the course with Trooper. You've come a long ways, kiddo!

Pidgey