Homer came home with broken leg

[FeathersAloft]

Well, I had a bad loft release on Sunday. First let me say that my birds are about 12 weeks old, and loft flying daily.

On Sunday, I let my birds fly, and then, as they flew out the door, I noticed a purple banded bird in the mix. The purple snap-on bands were put on some 09 birds that I was given, that are NOT supposed to fly.

I watched carefully, as 10 of my flock formed up, circled a few times, and disappeared from sight. Got a little worried at that point, since my birds hadn't been disappearing that fast before, but had circled here for a while first.

As the hours ticked by, the 5 who had not left came through the trap, and were fed. None of the 10 showed up. At that point, I contacted the gentleman in Kentucky that the ones with the purple snap on bands had come from, as well as the gentleman in Mississippi that my young birds were bought from, in case any of the birds were found and traced to him by their leg bands.

The next morning, 2 of the missing birds showed up, followed by one more Monday afternoon. So far, so good.

Then on Tuesday evening, another bird showed up. I noticed this one was holding up a leg, and when I caught her, I saw that the leg was broken, above the 'knee' joint.

I did let her into the loft to eat, since she had worked so hard to get there, but after eating I moved her into a small cage by herself. She has food and water there, and a nest bowl, to give her an option to sit on or in.

What is the best thing to do with this bird? Should I try to splint it? If I do, do I splint it straight, or bent? if I splint it straight, I'm worried about the foot dragging, and bent, I'm not sure she could lay down.

She does not seem in pain, and can in fact pull the leg up against her body while standing, and even grasped my finger with her toes when I examined her. Should I just let her be, and then deal with however it heals?

I had someone on an email list suggest that I put her small cage into the loft, since that is home. But her cage is a bit large for that, with what loft space I have available. Should I put her in a smaller cage? Put it in the 'hall' of my loft?

Any advice is appreciated.

[Skyeking]

Is it compounded?

Please provide picture.

DO keep her from being able to move around, a small restrainted carrier or cage will do.

Splint it above the knee, if possible. Lay a donut shape towel inside her carrier and put her inside the donut and allow her to lay the splinted leg on the side of the donut.

Keep her calm, isolated if you have to, and keep spill proof small bowls of food and water near her. The little hamster bowls work well.

I'm going to see if I can get you some help from one of our expert rehabbers.

[FeathersAloft]

There is no visible break in the skin.

She is in a small rabbit hutch with food and water. Her eyes are bright and she is alert.

She is able to raise the foot (pull it up against her body) and has been standing on one leg to eat or drink, then laying back down.

[Dobato]

Hi FeathersAloft,

Sorry, to hear about your bird. Here is a post that has some pretty good information on a broken leg, I hope it helps you a bit.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f6/bro...elp-44038.html

Good luck with your little one,

Karyn

[Skyeking]

Originally Posted by FeathersAloft

There is no visible break in the skin.

She is in a small rabbit hutch with food and water. Her eyes are bright and she is alert.

She is able to raise the foot (pull it up against her body) and has been standing on one leg to eat or drink, then laying back down.

PLEASE post a pic.

SO you can actually see the break??? Unless you know for a fact that it is broke, it could also be sprained as they will hold there leg up for any reason that causes them pain.

Is there any bruising or swelling???

[Skyeking]

Originally Posted by Dobato

Hi FeathersAloft,

Sorry, to hear about your bird. Here is a post that has some pretty good information on a broken leg, I hope it help you a bit.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f6/bro...elp-44038.html

Good luck with your little one,

Karyn

Thanks, Karyn, I was looking for Pidgeys link.

[Dobato]

Yeah, Pidgey's the best.

Karyn

[FeathersAloft]

If you hold her up and tap the leg, it swings side to side. I'd say definitely broken.
But then again, she can pull it up, so I don't know.

I just went out to take some pics, but honestly, there isn't much to see.
She was very protective, and stood with the injured leg away.
I did pick her up, and look at her, but there is no outside sign of injury, no swelling, etc.

Her poop is bright green, which I am attributing to stress, but she is eating and drinking.
Her feathers are normally white and clean, instead of green and icky, but I think last night she wasn't worried about it, and laid back down in the mess after pooping.

http://www.furryfeathers.com/photos/...p?g2_itemId=23 has a pic of her, but she kept turning that injured leg away.

[Skyeking]

Please check the link that Dobato has posted, it has some excellent anatomy/drawings and you can figure out about setting the leg.

If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.

[FeathersAloft]

At what point is it too late to set? I'm going to have to wait until hubby is home this evening, at which point it will be 24 hours since she came home, and unsure of when she actually injured the leg, since she was missing for 2 days.

[Dobato]

All that I can suggest is that you circle the leg with the tips of your fingers and slowly draw your fingers down the leg, with even pressure, looking to find if you feel the break. If unsure of an area, feel the good leg for comparison.

Karyn

[Dobato]

Originally Posted by FeathersAloft

At what point is it too late to set? I'm going to have to wait until hubby is home this evening, at which point it will be 24 hours since she came home, and unsure of when she actually injured the leg, since she was missing for 2 days.

If it is swinging back and forth at a break, as you mention, I don't think it has started to set up and should be able to be splinted.

Karyn

[Reti]

The fact that she can move the leg up and down and grab your fingers with her toes is a good thing. Splinting might cause her more stress. If the leg is in an anatomical correct position I would let it be and just keep her confined in a small space for a couple of weeks, it should heal fine.

Reti

[Pidgey]

Oh, you're fine to tape it up at this point--just clip the feathers and go to it. What you don't want is for the break to end up in a "non-union", where the ends seal off and don't connect. That's why it's best to stabilize the leg through the healing process. Oh, I've seen a few wild pigeons with broken legs that I couldn't catch go ahead and heal on their own quite without my help but it's still a risk. And it's very easy to do. I'm traveling so it's difficult for me to log on "out here" but I managed this morning. That previous link that Dobato gave is what I would do. Your bird's leg is actually broken below the true knee and above the true ankle--it's just that their ankle is up in the air like if they were wearing high heels and their knees are virtually up under the skin of their trunks like with a dog.

Pidgey

[Skyeking]

Thanks for your response, Pidgey.