Limping parrot

[diboroan]

Dear all,

My love bird angel got into a fight with its mate today got bit and fell to the ground from waist level height. I allow them to free roam in a bird room on their play stand.

I did not notice any problem until when it was bed time I realized it had trouble using one of its legs, I tested its grip and indeed one side was pretty weak and he would avoid using the leg if all possible. He can still walk although he looks a bit unstable and can still step up and down. He is also constantly grooming his injured leg.Hes still eating and drinking but clearly uncomfortable with his injured leg.

I plan to bring him to a vet first thing in the morning but I cant get myself to sleep as I'm worried about the little fellow.

Can anyone give me advise do you think if its a break or muscle strain? And what I should expect tomorrow? I would break down if the worse happen :(

[Voslover]

Can't you just walk into your vet with Angel, since this could be a minor emergency if the leg/foot is broken?

[diboroan]

Hi Voslover,

I would love to do that but the problem is I only realize the problem pretty late when I got him to step up to go to his sleep cage which was already past 9 and now I can't find any avain clinic in Singapore that runs for 24 hrs :(

Angel is fast asleep now and I guess my best bet is to bring him down first thing in the morning. The problem is I cant help worrying about him so would like to know if there is any other thing I could do for my little friend. And if anyone has any experience on the different symptoms for breaks or strains.

[Scritch]

When my baby cockatiel broke her leg years back, we actually took her to an emergency vet -- and well, long story short the advice was to leave it alone till we could get her to our regular vet in the morning. We put her in an aquarium with no perches and a towel and dishes on the floor so she wouldn't try to climb. Actually, in the end, the regular vet didn't really do anything either -- because of where the break was she couldn't set it without doing major surgery on a very tiny, young bird which she didn't want to do. It healed just fine on it's own!

Anyway, point of the story being, your little guy should make it okay till morning. If he's climbing and perching pretty normally, probably not a break, maybe just a bruised muscle... but if he seems uncomfortable you might want to put him in a different cage like we did with the cockatiel. Sounds like it hurts him pretty bad... poor guy.

Toss us an update when you can, if you don't mind!

[diboroan]

Hi Scritch,

I actually went to steal a look at Angel, lifted the cloth cover which woke him up and he took a look at me then started stretching and grooming himself and he could actually stand one legged on his injured foot which actually confused me a bit until Angel switched foot and stretch the other side as well. Keeping my fingers closed that hes not just acting fit.

Thought it would be too late to get him to do a bit of test walking so left him alone, will wait till tomorrow to see if he gets better. Hoping that the vet visit would just be a routine check up...

[perchingbird]

I... panicked so many times when my sun fell. He fell often due to an illness, and his wing was injured thanks to a poor emergency vet visit (if you ever need e-collars on your birds, don't hesitate to trim them back and put tape on them to protect your bird!), so when he fell, he always fell hard.

I had to learn to wait a few hours before I reacted, because just like us when we fall, sometimes it just plain hurts for awhile! If he is putting weight on it likely it is fine. It can't hurt to go to the vet though if he still favors it a bit the next day.

[diboroan]

Thanks perchingbird,

I have been reading up on the old posts regarding leg injuries to get a better idea of what Angel could be suffering from. Hoping I have overreacted.

Hope he gets better tomorrow morning after a nights rest.

[jenniferag]

That's good that the bird was perching on the injured leg... if he doesn't improve, I would definitely take him to the vet though.

Good luck!!

[LovelySydney]

poor baby! I hope he feels better soon!!

[diboroan]

Hi,

Angel looks better this morning managed to step up with either foot, hop on both legs and even climbed up the ropes from the ground to its play stand. Its grip still feels weaker on the injured foot and his turning looks a bit rusty but other wise he is able to close its toes and walk normally. Appetite is still good and after a heavy meal the flock are now enjoying their grooming session.

I think I will still pencil in a vet visit over the next few days but would I be putting him under unnecessary risk of catching diseases at a clinic? The worry is Angel has always been a sick little baby and I nearly lost him when he was about one plus. The vet told me he had a slim chance of survival due to an infection, he couldn't eat and was really weak but somehow we managed to pull through together.