Feral With Probable Broken Leg!!!! Help!!!!

[xxmoxiexx]

i caught a feral that could onl;y walk on one leg, like hop, didnt even use hurt leg to limp on which i havent seen before, couldnt get to food before other birds so i have him here now. is there anything i can do on a very very limited budget to help him??? i will try to get and post pics later if my camera is working, but is there anyway you all can tell me what pics to take and of what???

THANKS!!! I NEED HELP ASAP!!!

[Feefo]

It could be broken, sprained or bruised.

For the time being just keep it warm and quiet. Don't give it painkillers.

Was the hurt leg held up from the ground or does it dangle?

Can you check whether there is grip in the toes? Is the foot warm?

If you run your fingers down the injured legs and then down the healthy one can you feel any difference?

Cynthia

[Pidgey]

Well, first of all, feel the leg and compare the joints of the bad leg to the good leg. They can get an arthritic condition from Paratyphoid (or E. coli, or Streptococcus, or... ) that can have them limping around without it even being broke or otherwise hurt.

If there's no joint swelling, then you might have a real injury to contend with. You may or may not be able to find a break. Sometimes, it's very difficult to find them. You can try to settle the bird into a towel donut with food and water close at hand. They can sometimes learn to accept your help and just sit there and heal. Sometimes they can't. Anyhow, there are ultra-cheap methods for securing a broken leg with 2" wide masking tape and I'll go fetch a link for that and post it in a follow-up.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

Read this one and look at the pictures:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=13878

Pidgey

[pigeonperson]

You can set the leg very inexpensively but first, you have to look over the entire leg from top to bottom in order to make sure this isn't a compound fracture (one where the bone protrudes from the skin).

If there is no compound fracture, even if the leg isn't broken, it can be supported by a splint while it heals.

If you have any tape, then tape the highest point on the leg, not tightly, just snugly. Then, wrap a layer of tape around the middle of the leg (the joint). Lastly, wrap a piece of tape around the base of the leg just above the foot.

Straighten out a paper clip with pliers and cut off everything except the straight piece of wire. Make sure that what you have left is straight. Measure the wire by lining it up with the leg. so that it doesn't go above the highest point of the tape on top and the lowest point of the tape on bottom and cut off any excess.

If you consider that an outstretched leg is equal to 180 degrees, make a small bend in the wire where it will lay up against the middle joint. Make the bend no more than 160 degrees. You don't want a straight splint but want a very slightly bent one.

Wrap the wire in tape on the top and on the bottom to make sure the end of the wire doesn't penetrate into the skin and then lay the wire on the leg in a straight line. Use the inside of the thigh as a guide. First tape the wire in the middle over the tape that's in the middle of the leg to make sure the wire lines up straight. Then, when you have determined that the wire is laying straight, tape it to the top of the thigh where the tape there is. Then, tape the wire to the bottom of the leg where the tape there is located.

As you tape the wire to the leg, use your finger nail to press in on both sides of the wire to make sure it stays put.

Never tape a leg tightly to endanger circulation from being cut off but instead, make it snug enough so it doesn't move.

If this is a young bird that is still growing, You nave to loosen the tape once a week to allow for bone growth. If this is an adult, you don't have to watch out for that.

Keep checking the position of the wire daily to make sure it hasn't slipped and keep the splint on for three weeks.

Three days ago, I picked up an adult with a broken left leg and did the exact same thing except that instead of using a paper clip, I use electrical wire that is stiff enough for me to be able to bend but which the bird can't. There are other ways to splint a leg, one of them being to wrap it in vet wrap enough times to prevent any movement while the break heals but this is probably the easiest and least expensive way to do it.

How do you know the break is in alignment? Before you start using tape, you pinch the bone all the way down with two fingers, in order to align it. Do this from top to bottom along the two sides and then from top to bottom from the top of the thigh to the bottom of the leg. Without an X-Ray, this is the only way to try to align the bones.

[xxmoxiexx]

...at leg as you suggested. first off, he has been sitting in the water i gave him all day, so when i took him out he was soaked and when looking underneath him i noticed he has no feathers along his breast bone, totally bald. is that normal?? i know the big fethers that would usually COVER over it (cover, not grow, over breast bone) are wet , but i wasnt sure if he's supposed to have fluff there.
i am loading pics now, will post in a few minutes.....

so, i looked at leg, his good leg, right leg, seems to have a tiny bump on the joint directly above his foot, that the bad one doesnt have, which doesnt make sense, right?? but his bad leg, isnt cold, he doesnt grip with it when i am touchy feely on it, and i couldnt feel a discernible difference, until i started to follow the leg above the feather line, the thigh i suppose, and there is a joint that feels bigger in the bad one.

pidgey, i know you always post a link to the pigeon skeletal system, could you post that for me???

i'll go google it anyhow, and post the pics and be right back.....

[Pidgey]

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

You might need to start this bird on Baytril. It's possible that he's been this way for awhile and has rubbed the feathers off his chest. Remind me what meds you have from the care packages that you got.

Pidgey

[xxmoxiexx]

ok, i have flagyl, then you sent me a small glass vial of powdery yellow stuff, and another small glass vial of pills that are kinda creamy color, fit into the glass vial perfect (a glass vial with a cork lid that you also sent some silicone in ),, the vial is a tiny bit wider than the pills, and one side of pill is smooth, other side has one line through middle for easy breaking in half. if you still cant figure what pills they are i can post a pic???

i'm posting pics of bird here, you can see in some of the pics on his right leg, the joint right above his foot has a small bump on the underside of leg, or the back side of leg that would be facing his rear end if he was standing.

http://www.msnusers.com/pigeonbroken...nw?albumlist=2

go to this address, i'm having trouble posting pics on here

[xxmoxiexx]

pidgey, i guess it would be around the patella and cnemial crest that seems swollen, not sure if im guessing right, will check again later.

[Pidgey]

Get a magnifying glass and see if there's any writing on the pills. If not, then a picture will have to do. Take a picture of all of it. I sent you a PM telling about that and Reti sent you some stuff, too.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

Is there enough of that food left (the good seed) to tide him over for awhile and what do his poops look like?

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

When they get an arthritic infection, it's pretty painful and they don't like to move the affected limb much at all. There's usually an overproduction of synovial fluid which is essentially joint lubricant. It's the inflammatory response to the pain in a joint. So, it makes a serious swelling at the site. It's not usually completely hard like the bone of an unaffected joint feels like--it's somewhat softer but still substantial instead of being completely watery. If that's the case, then you're definitely going to need some antibiotics to fight it.

Pidgey

[xxmoxiexx]

yes, i have enough food to last for a few days to a week i'd guess. you know, i tried to find pigeon seed a while back and they dont have that or dove seed around here anywhere. his poops look like white with a little green on top and a little of just green poo, grass green to sometimes more dark forest green. i have real good eyes and there isnt writing on the pills.
what did you think of the pics???
i'll take pic of pill and post it....

[xxmoxiexx]

i didnt get any new PM's

[xxmoxiexx]

you know, i MIGHT be able to get the baytril if there is a human use that my friend can call in for me... (he's a pharmacist, and did it for me for flagyl way back when)... that is if he can do it, i can find out for sure tomorrow..
but he cant call it in if it's only for animals, birds etc....