Macaw with broken leg three times

[panana2000]

I have a catalina Macaw and in September he fell off his play gym and got his leg caught in the rope for my roll up blinds and broke his leg. The vet x-rayed and pinned/casted the leg. The cast and pin came out 3 and 1/2 weeks later, x-rayed the leg and everything looked fine. After a week and a half or so he was getting back to normal and fell off his cage and broke the leg again. This time the vet x-rayed and casted the leg for a month, x-rays showed he had healed and about two weeks later, got scared and flew off his cage and snapped the leg again. The vet casted the leg again but he is not getting along as well this time and he is really grumpy this time too. The vet re-checked the cast after 2 weeks but he is still not getting along very well. Any ideas as to what I need to do to help his bones get stronger? I do not like keeping him inside his cage exclusively. He loves to visit us on the back of the sofa and help me cook on my kitchen island. He was abused when I got him with kids poking him with sticks and throwing things at him. The language was horrendous with the F--- word used frequently evidently. I took him to a previous vet for a wing clip and they clipped the inside feathers and since then if he falls he spirals. One wing the feathers have grown back in but not in the other. Will they?

[hollyhawkz]

Weclome to Birdboard!

Poor poor bird, It sounds like they did a show clip which may look good but is awful for the bird. They wing feathers should grow back every moult. Glad you found a different vet. Hopefully he will have more balance when they do. Check with the vet if they think the breaks are due to poor bone health. They may have a supplement you can try. Like avian missing link.

[expressmailtome]

Welcome! I am so sorry to hear about your poor macaw. Hopefully things will go better from now on! Enjoy BB.

Matt

[Monica]

How long have you had this macaw? How old is he? What is his current diet? Has he been to an avian vet for a full workup, including CBC panel and fecal done?

As for the trim, if they clipped the secondaries, then perhaps he needs those feathers pulled out. I don't really recommend this because pulling out a mature feather can cause feather follicle damage, however, the sooner he gets his secondaries back, the better! I suggest speaking with your current avian vet about this! I know that this procedure was done on one B&G that had no balance, and getting his flight feathers back in helped him.

What about keeping him low to the ground? Put soft pillows and comforters underneath him, incase he does fall it wont be so bad. Do this inside his cage. Don't have him more than 2-3' above the ground, unless you've got a good hold on him and your moving him to another location.