Mother with an injured leg

[Guest epiphany]

Hey. The story is, there is a mother in my aviary with a clutch of eggs in the nestbox. I went down to the aviary to feed them today and found that the mother was on the floor next to the food, not moving, surrounded by 3 or so of the males, who were 'comforting' her. I wanted to see why she was sitting down there so I opened the aviary door and shooed them away, and it soon became obvious - her leg/foot was limp and she could not use it. I wasn't curled up like when they're sitting on a perch with one leg, it was splayed out like she was standing on it and broken it that way.

 

I did not know how long she had been out of the nestbox, why she was out of it, or how she broke [i'm assuming it's broken] her foot. I caught her and put her back in the nest box and she is now sitting on top of her eggs. I gave the rest of the budgies food and water, but I'm worried about her - especially so since my parents are out of town at the moment and won't be back until monday.

 

Will the other male budgies feed her? If her injury can't be fixed and she has to be put down, I don't want to have to sacrifice her eggs - I want her to stick around long enough to raise them.

 

Assuming that these eggs aren't empty [her last clutch were duds], how long does it take after the mother leaves them alone for them to die? The mother could have been off the eggs for 20 minutes up to 20 hours.

[Guest Lin]

I really think you need to forget the eggs and bring the bird inside to a small cage. Keep her warm, set up the cage so she doesn't have to move too much, and keep a very close eye on her. Make an appointment at an avian vet for Monday, when your parents get back, and ensure that she is well looked after. If she doesn't eat and drink this evening, then find a friend or relative who will take her to the vet tomorrow, as Monday may be too late.

[chirpy 0]

That bird needs to be seen by an avian vet immediately. She could be in agony, she probably is.

[*Nerwen* 0]

You need to move her as Lin has said, she can't raise babies with a bad foot budgies need to be in tip top shape to handle the care of babies.

 

Since you don't know how long she was off the eggs you can be sure if they became to cold or not. Are there other nesting budgies? If so you can mark the eggs (water base and non toxic pen) and foster them out. You might be lucky. But you can't leave that hen in there it would be considered cruelty.

[hath 0]

imwith every one else the eggs are secondry to the eggs take her to a vet

[Guest epiphany]

Alright, I need some sort of urgent help.

 

Ive taken the mother out of the aviary [she wasnt in the nest box anyway] and put her in a cage in a warm room with seed and water. She kept trying to go on the perches but got stuck there so I took them out, and now she is on the sand floor, and it is her right leg that is broken, not the left.

 

The problem is that out of her 6 eggs, I believe four of them are full. I was considering shooing the other mother out of her nest for a minute while I put the marked [what would I use to mark them?] full eggs in there as well - the problem is that the other mother has a new chick, and I believe she may have turfed out the egg that didnt hatch, so she may be out of the egg-rearing stage. Should I try and put the eggs in with the mother in her cage, or with the other mother in the aviary, or just leave them for dead?

 

Edit: In terms of a vet, I won't be able to see one until tomorrow anyway.

Edited September 4, 2005 by epiphany

[chirpy 0]

Why not an emergency call out?

[Daz 0]

The longer the leg is left untreated the less chance it is that it will mend.

[Guest epiphany]

The longer the leg is left untreated the less chance it is that it will mend.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Sorry it took me so long to reply, I've been busy with other things. Bella had an untreatable break in her leg, and the whole thing was screwed up, with a broken knee. She had to be put down as she was in pain and we couldn't fix her. RIP Bella.

Edited September 7, 2005 by epiphany

[Guest Lin]

Oh that's awful to hear. I'm glad you took her to the vet.

[Daz 0]

Whats happening about the eggs? Have you moved them? :nest:

[Guest epiphany]

The eggs had long been cold before I could do anything about it. The good news is that the other mother is doing fine with her [single, again] chick.

[Guest budgeover]

sorry to hear about Bella!

glad you got to a vet and she is no longer suffering though

R.I.P Bella

[Guest Julie]

Aw how sad

 

Good Luck with your other though

[Boris' Slave 0]

Sad news about Bella.

[Daz 0]

Yes that is sad. Hope all goes well from now on.

[Guest epiphany]

Thanks guys.

 

I feel it neccessary to make a correction - just today, the remaining mother was out of the nestbox and I had a quick look. She isn't feeding one budgie, she is feeding four!!

[Daz 0]

if i read it right. thats great news.

[Guest Lin]

[Guest Julie]

Wow!

[chirpy 0]

Am sorry about the loss of your budgie. Have you any idea HOW she could have sustained such a serious injury?