Hi,

 

I am a newbie to the forum and also a newbie to having budgies. We have had Jackson and Jaimee for about a month and then the worst happened - Jackson broke his leg. I went straight to an Avian vet and the leg was put in a splint and we got him back the next day (injury occured last week Thursday and he come back home last week Friday). I kept him quite (tried to..). They stay in the cage during the day (took away the perching stuff as instructed by the vet) and keep them in a box at night as Jackson kept on climbing the cage and hanging on with his beek..). He was lloking good over the weekend and even started puting weight on his leg but as of yesterday the leg does not look good to me and it just looks lifeless and he does not use it at all. He still hops along and eats and looks okay but I am devestated that he does not seem to improve. We have an appointment for a follow up tommorrow. Does anybody have some advise for me please? How long before he may be allowed to perch again also?

 

Thanks

Estelle

Its great to see that you have taken him to a vet. Also welcome, I wish it was for better reasons.

 

I can't advise on the condition of his leg but I do hope it gets better. I know one member has a one legged Love Bird who is happy and well so there is always hope that he can live a full life even if it is only on one leg.

Hello and welcome.

 

Birds bones heal very quickly.

 

Can you post a picture??

 

I hope all goes well at the vets tomorrow.

Its great to see that you have taken him to a vet. Also welcome, I wish it was for better reasons.I can't advise on the condition of his leg but I do hope it gets better. I know one member has a one legged Love Bird who is happy and well so there is always hope that he can live a full life even if it is only on one leg.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I just wish there was more I could do for him..feels like we failed him at this stage.E

Hello and welcome. Birds bones heal very quickly. Can you post a picture??I hope all goes well at the vets tomorrow.

Hi, thanks for the reply. It has been 5 days today - how long does it take for it to heal?Do you want pics of them before or after his accident? How do I post the pics?E

Hi,

 

Hope I am doing this right -

 

here is some 'before' pics:

2008/08/09

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/e...jj/DSC00200.jpg

 

2008/08/09

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/e...jj/DSC00234.jpg

 

here is some of the 'after' pics:

 

2008/08/31

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/e...jj/DSC00667.jpg

 

2008/08/31

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/e...jj/DSC00668.jpg

 

2008/09/02

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/e...jj/DSC00673.jpg

 

2008/09/02

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/e...jj/DSC00675.jpg

Edited September 2, 200816 yr by **Liv**
images changed to links because they are over the 640 x 480 limit

Aww poor little mite. I dont have any advice, but welcome to the forum and I hope you get news tomorrow at the vets.

They are very cute. He probably doesn't want to use his leg, because it hurts so much. Humans take 6-8 weeks to heal bones, so i would imagine it would be closer to that.

Welcome to our forum Great photos and Jackson looks good despite his ordeal. You did a great job on the photos. Hope all goes well for you and the birds from here on.

 

Cheers Kaz

I am not exactly sure how long the bones take to heal, but its about 14 days or so from memory??

 

He may have nerve damage caused by the accident. Wait until the plaster is off and if the bone has set right you could try some physio with him to hopefully get his leg back in action.

 

If all else fails, he will be fine with one good leg - a number of us have disabled budgies and they all go great with their impairments

Thanks all for your replies! Sorry about the size of the photos, they were taken with a Sony A200 and the original size was huge.

Do you think it is serious that he extends his leg more backwards than he did after his operation? It looks the same now as just before I took him to the vet and he got the splint. He looked better on Saturday but maybe because he was still under some pain management? It looks less swollen but his use of it has grown less since Saturday and he does not use it at all?

 

Estelle

Oh I am sorry to have to say hi under these circumstances ...

Poor little guy - I am glad that you took him to an avian vet

and i hope that he heals to a happy and full recovery

The actual foot and leg looks really good. Circulation is great and i don't see much (if any) bruising or swelling.

 

When the plaster comes off you will have a much better idea of how his leg has healed as at the moment the plaster would be making it hard to move and use.

 

when you place your finger under his foot, will he grab it???

Edited September 2, 200816 yr by **Liv**

You have been given good advice, I just wanted to say welcome and he is a cutie

Liv that is the perfect question!!!

 

when did the vet say to come back? or did s/he say if you notice any changes to bring it in?

Firstly, hi and welcome aboard! Secondly, your budgies are very cute... and young. Their age will help in Jackson's adaptation to his leg (if it doesn't go back to normal) As many have said, budgies can cope quite well with disabilities and don't stress too much. You have done a great job thus far and your avian vet visits are perfect. You haven't failed him AT ALL!!! You got it seen to and it will get better. Even if he doesn't use it like he used to... he will be fine! :sad: maesie xo

Thanks Neat!

The actual foot and leg looks really good. Circulation is great and i don't see much (if any) bruising or swelling. When the plaster comes off you will have a much better idea of how his leg has healed as at the moment the plaster would be making it hard to move and use.when you place your finger under his foot, will he grab it???

He does not grab at all and the foot hangs loose to the one side (more than it did at first after he got the split) - it looked and reacted better the weekend than it does now. I have moved my follow up appointment with the Avian Vet to this morning rather than this afternoon. Will post back to you guys with all the news.

Liv that is the perfect question!!!when did the vet say to come back? or did s/he say if you notice any changes to bring it in?

Hi, yes, I have to take him in today and moved the appointment to this morning rather than this afternoon.

You have been given good advice, I just wanted to say welcome and he is a cutie

Thanks Elly!

Firstly, hi and welcome aboard! Secondly, your budgies are very cute... and young. Their age will help in Jackson's adaptation to his leg (if it doesn't go back to normal) As many have said, budgies can cope quite well with disabilities and don't stress too much. You have done a great job thus far and your avian vet visits are perfect. You haven't failed him AT ALL!!! You got it seen to and it will get better. Even if he doesn't use it like he used to... he will be fine! maesie xo

Thanks Maesie!

So what did the vet say ....?

I am rooting for this poor little guy but the fact that he can't grasp with his leg has me worried ...

 

Please let us know the results and what the vet said ....

So what did the vet say ....?

I am rooting for this poor little guy but the fact that he can't grasp with his leg has me worried ...

 

Please let us know the results and what the vet said ....

Thanks all for your support!

 

The vet was not too concerned and gave two options: open the splint and re-xray now or start him on pain meds (anti inflam as well) to see if that helps him. We discussed it and decided to go for the pain meds for now. There is no swelling or anything else and we have to see her again early next week. But if I am at all concerned I need to take him in and they will open the splint and maybe re-xray to see what is happening. She said he does still have feeling in the leg as he did try to close his toes around her finger. I will check him closely and lets hold thumbs the pain meds help him

Glad you got a good report from the vet

Estelle,

 

I know what you are going through, as I went through it with Pegasis, one of my favourite birds. Peggy got her leg trapper in some wire somehow and then cut it and broke the bone. I took her to the vet, and she was in a split. The vet told me she might end up being an inside bird and that she would probably not return to the aviary.

 

That was many months ago, and Peggy is going going great. Her now healed leg is very visibly different to her normal leg, and she doesn't sit on it like a normal budgie does, but she gets by. Peggy prefers to sit on the wider branches where she is less affected by her injured lef. In fact, this coming summer she is going to be put down to breed. I will put a wider branches and a platform in her cae to allow her to sit properly during mating.

 

In regard to your little one, yes, it's leg may be different and it may not use it as well as it uses its uninjured leg, but it should be fine.

 

This is Pegasis with her broken leg

 

 

And now

Estelle,

 

I know what you are going through, as I went through it with Pegasis, one of my favourite birds. Peggy got her leg trapper in some wire somehow and then cut it and broke the bone. I took her to the vet, and she was in a split. The vet told me she might end up being an inside bird and that she would probably not return to the aviary.

 

That was many months ago, and Peggy is going going great. Her now healed leg is very visibly different to her normal leg, and she doesn't sit on it like a normal budgie does, but she gets by. Peggy prefers to sit on the wider branches where she is less affected by her injured lef. In fact, this coming summer she is going to be put down to breed. I will put a wider branches and a platform in her cae to allow her to sit properly during mating.

 

In regard to your little one, yes, it's leg may be different and it may not use it as well as it uses its uninjured leg, but it should be fine.

 

This is Pegasis with her broken leg

 

And now

 

Hi Dave,

 

Thanks, I noticed the wider perch advantage too today - the vet placed him on one of the portable wide perches and he actually almost perched normally. I will go and get a wider one tomorrow and see how it goes. I have also noticed now that after the pain meds he is also perching better with his leg and does not hold it off to one side? Well, so we learn and this is a great learning curve for me and my family who is new to having birds HA HA..

I will report back with his progress and I just want to thank all who has supported me in this adventure

Hi, welcome.

 

l'm glad to hear that he is doing better

Your avian vet sounds great... definately a keeper! That's great news from her and hopefully the pain meds will do the trick.

Estelle,

 

I know what you are going through, as I went through it with Pegasis, one of my favourite birds. Peggy got her leg trapper in some wire somehow and then cut it and broke the bone. I took her to the vet, and she was in a split. The vet told me she might end up being an inside bird and that she would probably not return to the aviary.

 

That was many months ago, and Peggy is going going great. Her now healed leg is very visibly different to her normal leg, and she doesn't sit on it like a normal budgie does, but she gets by. Peggy prefers to sit on the wider branches where she is less affected by her injured lef. In fact, this coming summer she is going to be put down to breed. I will put a wider branches and a platform in her cae to allow her to sit properly during mating.

 

In regard to your little one, yes, it's leg may be different and it may not use it as well as it uses its uninjured leg, but it should be fine.

 

This is Pegasis with her broken leg

 

And now

 

Hi Dave,

 

Thanks, I noticed the wider perch advantage too today - the vet placed him on one of the portable wide perches and he actually almost perched normally. I will go and get a wider one tomorrow and see how it goes. I have also noticed now that after the pain meds he is also perching better with his leg and does not hold it off to one side? Well, so we learn and this is a great learning curve for me and my family who is new to having birds HA HA..

I will report back with his progress and I just want to thank all who has supported me in this adventure

 

You have to remember that when the broken leg is in the splint, it is not exactly confortable. Think of it this way. If you splintered a healthy, non broken leg, a bird would not be able to perch normally. if you splintered your own leg, you could not walk normally.

 

You will not be able to fully ascertain the ability to perch until the leg is healed, no matter how it heals, and the splint and bandaging removed.

 

Best not to worry - it achieves nothing.

I had a bird that was attacked and seriously injured with nerve damage that paralysed his legs. With time, in a couple of months he recovered almost complete function. Budgies are pretty tough. If they survive the first 48 hours after an accident they often recover with time and TLC.