Lady Gouldian with broken leg

[Laguna]

I have a problem with a Lady Gouldian finch I rescued over the weekend. I had a thread going in March about finch with missing toes. This finch is from the same group. They were attacked by 1 or 2 hawks in an outdoor aviary at a small animal farm/zoo. The bird store that owns this zoo took all the finch to their store and were giving them away. I had a disabled bird myself that fell and broke her toes so I ended up with 3 in March from the pet store. I was trying to give the one bird company. Anyway over the weekend I went back to the store and they still had 2 left. No one was taking them so I took them both. They told me they could go in the cage I had with my 4 disabled finch.
One of the finch had a broken leg and a feather sticking out of one of her wings. I have set up towels on the floor of the cage and put food and water dishes on the cage bottom. I also have another towel set up so she can walk up to the water/food and just put her head down and get either food or water. I have two rope perches and a twig perch in the cage. It is a breeder cage (rectangular shaped). Most of the other disabled birds perch on the rope perches and sometimes the twig. I have taken 4 of the disabled birds to the vet and he said as long as they could fly to keep the perches in but low. This little one is trying to perch on the twig or rope perch but usually is on the floor. I Just called the vet today and they said they couldn't splint the leg as it had been to long but they might have to take the leg off. My brother thought it would be kinder to put the bird down. I am going to this vet (avian vet) on Saturday. Anyone have any experience with this type of situation?

[catschair]

She may do just fine with one leg. I have one budgie who can't grasp with her feet. For a long time I had her in a cage alone with platforms and ladders at a very shallow angle that she could get up. She uses her beak as a third anchor. She can fly well and has been in the aviary for quite a while. She found a boyfriend, who shoos off the other birds when they try to bully her and she is quite happy on the platforms or wooden "edges" I would definitely give her some time, and I am betting she may adapt just fine (if the other birds don't beat her up) whether with a poorly set leg or just the one. Let us know how she does!

[huntress]

WAIT! I had a canary with a lovebird attack that the leg was partially severed (she got out and landed on the cage). The vet cut the leg off above the joint. Bird did awsome. She learned to perch just fine and if you didnt look close you would never know she has one leg. She is rehomed now as a pet as she was supposed to be a breeder but that is the only thing she couldnt do because she couldnt support a male mating on one leg. I'm going to find pics!! It set me back $130.00 but she lives and for a female she even sings!

[huntress]

Found them!
first pic of her before the accident

next is of her the day she came home - day of surgery- recovery cage

then two shots after with her mate

this one is a cool accidental exposure - my "see thru" canary,lol!


Please do it - save the gouldian!!!!!

[Laguna]

Thanks for your quick replys. I (for some reason) can't get the photos so I email the "Contact Us" site. Maybe I am not hiting the right button. Hopefully I can see those pictures you sent me Huntress. I really appreciate that.

I actually had not thought to much in terms of putting the bird down until my brother mentioned it. My girlfriend is having trouble with a sick cat and her checkup is costing several hundred dollars. I then began to think about how much an amputation would cost. The $130 range that Huntress was talking about is not out of the ball park. If we get into the $1000 range or maybe even high hundreds then I may have to think about it. I have no idea about bird surgery cost. I just ran up several $1000 in putting down a couple of dogs and having 6 birds looked at and I am tight. This didn't happen all at once but did effect my budget.
The bird is real sweet. He/she is in a cage with 5 other birds that have missing toes and feet. They get along real well and don't seem agressive. They even huddle together at night. I put their cage by a couple of cages of finch that have no disabilities and they all have a great gossip session. I have placed towels just so so this bird can reach the food and water dishes but I like the platform idea form Catschair. Will have to try that. My biggest concern I guess was pain. To me hobbling around with an unfixed broken leg would be painful and something should be done to either fix or amputate the leg. I am a very good Animal Planet / Animal Cops... watcher and am not sure how good that is.
I am see the vet on Sat and will let you know what he said and the result. The said they will go over the options. I have seen these vets before and both of them are avian vets. and seem very good. I needed someone out there to tell me this was something that could be done, that there is hope, and you don't need to mortgage your house to do it. Of course, that being said, I live in Orange County, California but you have still given me hope. All is not lost. Will let you both know but it will be Monday as my home computer is on the blink. Thanks again. (Hopefully I can figure out how to see your pictures Huntress)

[catschair]

With all the houses being foreclosed in Southern Cal, the vets probably wouldn't want your house

[Laguna]

I hope not but I don't want to pay for the Vet's house either. I have spent so much money at the dog's vet I probably either sent him to Europe or paid for a year of collage for his kid. :)
I just called the Vet to see what kind of Dollars we are talking about if they take off a leg but they are closed. Will have to call tomorrow. Thanks again for your help. Will let you know.

[Laguna]

I thought I would post an update to my little finch with the broken leg. I took her to the vet's over the weekend. They said that the leg was broken and twisted. There seems to be some blood flowing to the leg but the Vet said the leg was useless. It twisted in a way that she is now using the joint (knee joint / elbow joint?) for moving around. The leg has also healed this way. Because the leg is already healed she is in no pain.

I can either leave it this way until the bird finally dies or amputate the leg. (I found out from the bird store that the finch is about 2.) I have to go back in 2 weeks to talk with another Vet about the amputation. This lady Vet that I talked to has never done an amputation on a bird. She also said that the other bird's leg is weak so I am not sure if amputation is a good idea.

The Vet said the finch was getting food as her weight was fine. She thought that maybe I should put her in a separate cage so she wouldn't get picked on. She is with 5 others that either have lost a foot or lost toes and 4 of them have been with her since the hawk incident. I have put the finch back in the cage with her friends since she has been fine so far with them. If I see any problems I will take her out but I can't see isolating her if I don't have to.

I am leaning towards leaving her alone since I think she would have more problems if I amputated since her other leg isn't any good. I will see what this other Vet said. Thanks to the both of you for your help.

[catschair]

If the tissue is healthy but the leg doesn't work, it should be fine, if it does not throw her off balance. Glad she is doing so well!

[foxxybrownn]

I am new to this site and posted a thread yesterday for some finches that I rescued. With the help of this site, I think I am on my way to being a successful and happy finch owner. I just wanted to say good luck with your female and I can relate to the vet bill thing. I have three dogs four cats and two 125 gallon aquariums so I was weary of adding animals to this already full house, but I could not leave those birds out in the rain. Thanks so much for taking in the birds. Although i am proudest of my aquariums I LOVE all animals. Thnaks to the advice up here, I just may make it!!!!