Splay leg - too late to treat?

[amoonswirl]

I was recently gifted with a juvenile ringneck dove - approximately 8 weeks old. It has a very mild case of splay leg and 2 crooked toes.

The bird is not crippled in any way - one leg and foot just turns slightly inward. I am wondering if I should try splinting the leg to straighten it out.

I don't want to cause this bird any discomfort if it is not necessary. But I'm wondering if the crooked leg might cause problems down the road. Any thoughts?

[Pidgey]

Picture?

Pidgey

[amoonswirl]

These are the best I could do. He kind of stands on the left foot/leg sideways.

[Matt D.]

If the bird has no pain when all its weight is on that foot... leave it alone! Dont fix what aint "broken" -so to speak...

[Reti]

What a cutie!!!!
It isn't bad, the leg I mean, if he can walk fine and stand on it fine you can leave it alone.
Can he perch?
Reti

[amoonswirl]

Hi Reti & Matt,
He seems fine with perching, hopping, and walking. He just uses the side of the left leg & foot instead of the bottom, and his left foot is usually curled up like he's making a fist. Doesn't seem to have any pain though.

My concern is that as he gets older the muscle and tendon fatigue will get painful for him. What do you think? Is there a chance that he may even grow out of it without splinting?

[Reti]

I don't think it will self-resolve but in time his muscles will grow stronger and he should be fine. One thing I would be concerned about is, if he uses the side of the foot he might develop ulcers.
If you think splinting wouldn't stress him out too much you could give it a try.

Reti

[amoonswirl]

Hi Reti,
Hmmm...it is a tough call. I am not home enough during the week to keep an eye on him in case he gets stressed or tangled up in something. So maybe I will just let him be.

There's one natural branch perch in his cage that seems to help him hold the foot straight. Something about the shape of it and the angle of the knots in the wood are just right. I try to encourage him to sit on that one as much as possible.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

[Pidgey]

It doesn't technically look like splayed leg. Cynthia made some little booties once for a bird that might help with that. I'll PM her to have a look.

Pidgey

[amoonswirl]

Originally Posted by Pidgey

It doesn't technically look like splayed leg. Cynthia made some little booties once for a bird that might help with that. I'll PM her to have a look.

Pidgey

It looks more like "pigeon toes" than splay leg, lol. It is a little more pronounced than what shows in the photos - especially when he lands on a flat surface. Toes curl inward and he uses the side of the foot & leg to walk instead of the bottom of the foot.

Little booties sound like a less stressful option than a splint though.

[Pidgey]

I did a search and found that often Cynthia called it a "foot glove". You can do a search with those terms and pull up several references. Here's one:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?p=78172

I thought I'd once seen pictures that Cynthia had posted of a bird with those gloves on one and maybe even both feet. You can think of them as a little shoe that keeps the toes somewhat outstretched so they don't clump up and stay flat for the most part. If would be therapeutic to put him in a cage so that there aren't any unflat surfaces for him to perch on for awhile.

Pidgey

[Feefo]

Cynthia made some little booties once for a bird that might help with that.

You have to be very careful about splinting doves, the stress can kill them. Pidgie is talking about Doveling, we used self adhesive bandages to help her legs point in the right direction and tube shaped bandages to straighten her feet. It worked well, but now her legs turn inwards and she walks on the sides of her feet again. However, that doesn't seem to bother her and amazingly she is able to perch.

Here are links to the original thread and a video in which Doveling is nearest to the camera. I will try to get another video tomorrow.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showth...referrerid=560

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40jsxHTcRRw

and this is a photo of Doveling in her corrective booties:



Cynthia

[amoonswirl]

Oh dear Cynthia,
Doveling sounds like she was much worse off than this little one. (Sunshine)

Thank you for the photo & video.
How long did you need to keep the booties on to correct the problem?

[Feefo]

How long did you need to keep the booties on to correct the problem?

I honestly can't remember! I kept taking them off to check their effect.

Yes, she was in a very bad state, when we got her her legs were flaccid and useless as well as crossing on her stomach. She is a happy little bird now.


Cynthia

[mr squeaks]

Hi Karen...your little one is a real cutie!

Just mind trippin'...

- massage?
- using homeopathic cream to help keep supple?
- let callus develop if he continues to use side of foot?
- some type of gentle physical therapy?

Please keep us updated. Meanwhile, Squeaks and I send

Love, Hugs and Scritches...