Sometimes dangers lurk where we don't expect them, and even when we try to make sure that the toys and environment we provide for our budgies are safe, the unexpected still occurs.

 

My budgies love to chew on wicker, so whenever I come across something that looks safe and fun, I'll pick it up for them. Usually I check to make sure it's not painted or finished, or in any way resembling a nesting spot. But it never occured to me that the actual wicker could be the real trouble.

 

Here is a picture of the culprit:

 

 

I've had this fixed to the wire of their cage for a couple of months now, and as you can see, they have really gone to town on it! Occasionally I pick up long pieces of the wicker that they have chewed off, but I never realized, until last night, that those long pieces they expose were a potential hazard.

 

Well, last night when I went down to do my evening budgie chores, I found one of my hens stuck, wedged between the wire and another toy. She looked in really bad shape, and I guessed that she had been stuck for quite some time. I immediately reached in to remove the toy, and discovered that the toy was not the problem, but she was good and stuck to something else. Her foot was jammed between the bars, somehow.

 

Turns out, her leg ring had slipped over one of the long pieces of wicker, and she had slid down to the bottom of the piece and could not get free. I don't know how long she was like that, but it must have been some time. She has a largish bloody wound inside one of her wings, which I suppose came from her struggling to free herself, or else maybe another bird was trying to pull at her?

 

I thought she was a goner. She was weak and limp. (Although she was still biting really hard, still had some fight left in her.) Her wing and leg joints all looked out of place, and her feathers were all ruffled and bent, worse than I've ever seen before. Her caught foot looked broken and useless. I felt she needed a vet, but it was Saturday night, and I didn't expect she would survive until Monday.

 

So I popped her into a small hospital cage and put a 60 watt lamp over her, and some seed on the newspaper floor, right in front of her, and moved a drinker down to her level as well. And also put a perch a couple inches above the floor. She was stumbling around a little, so I put her on the perch to see if she could hold on, and she did, with the good foot. The bad foot even tried to grip the perch, and she used it for balance, so I had some hope that the foot would be okay.

 

Then she either jumped or fell off the perch, and went to sleep huddled on the floor. I figured her ordeal made her very tired, and probably hungry. I wished then that I knew how to crop feed, because even though she pecked at some of the seed, she looked too tired to eat. I began debating on whether to mix up some hand rearing formula and see if I could get her to eat out of a syringe. Since she's not tame, I was worried I would stress her out and kill her from shock if I tried.

 

I also thought I could put her mate in with her and see if he would feed her, but she just looked like she needed rest, and that her mate would irritate her too much, just yet. As I was debating all this, she woke up and began eating seed. The way she went at it gave me some hope that she could eat enough on her own. Since there wasn't anything else I could do for her, I decided to leave her for the night and check on her in the morning. All night I kept expecting her to be dead.

 

But she is looking much better, this morning!

 

She is up on a higher perch, holding on with both feet! This tells me that her foot is usable, and that she has perked up enough to shun the floor. She has also preened her feathers back into some semblance of order. She looks fine, other than a few feathers that I imagine will remain ratty looking until her next moult. I can't see the wound under her wing, and as of yet, I don't want to stress her out by catching her up to look at it.

 

I will keep an eye on her as the day progresses, and once I think she's doing fine, then I will catch her and look at the wing. Whether or not I take her to the vet tomorrow will depend on how she goes today, and how she looks on Monday morning. I won't put her back in the flight cage until I'm sure she's 100%, but after she's had a rest, I might decide to put her mate in the hospital cage with her, if I think it will make her happier.

 

Well, the main reason for this post is to warn people that long strands of wicker can be dangerous. But in truth, anything that can catch onto their leg rings could cause this, and we can't forsee every possibility. I guess the best we can do is to be vigilant about things we notice they can get stuck on, and when a problem like this occurs, it's just another thing to add to the list.

 

What will I do different now? Well, I'll still give them wicker, but I'll add to my safety check whether or not the shape and size of the item will be hazardous after they have been able to chew it down and reshape it. They do have some small things with finer and softer wicker, and I don't want to deprive them of their chewing fun.

 

And if anyone else has any comments on their experience with wicker, it would be good to share. Hopefully you all can learn from my mistake, and our birds will all be the safer for it!

Great info Finnie! And yes ANYTHING can be a problem.

 

Years ago when I was just using natural perching (cut natural branches) I found out very quickly that I needed to trim ANY smaller branch off. I lost a budgie after it got it's leg ring stuck over one of the smaller branches. It obviously got frightened and tried to fly, only twisting itself around it's stuck leg. When I got to it, it's leg was just a pulverised mess! A gruesome and horrible way to learn a lesson.

I think that is an issue we have all dealt with at one time or another.

 

To alleviate the problem I put branches in up-side down, this makes sure they cannot 'slide' down a branch and get caught. Besides they would have a clue if the branches were right side up or not. I find it also helps them exercise there better as it seems much harder for them to actually perch on a branch in this position.

Great info Finnie! And yes ANYTHING can be a problem.

 

Years ago when I was just using natural perching (cut natural branches) I found out very quickly that I needed to trim ANY smaller branch off. I lost a budgie after it got it's leg ring stuck over one of the smaller branches. It obviously got frightened and tried to fly, only twisting itself around it's stuck leg. When I got to it, it's leg was just a pulverised mess! A gruesome and horrible way to learn a lesson.

 

 

Oh, Nubbly, that must have been awful! Poor bird and poor you, too.

 

I don't know how long my Ava was stuck there struggling, but I'm glad I got there in time. Here she is looking none the worse for wear now:

 

 

Her ring leg looks fine, it's not swollen or anything. I have a picture of her healing wound under her wing, but it is kind of gruesome, and it looks worse in the picture than it does in real life, so I won't post it. I'll just keep an eye on it for signs of infection until it is all healed up.

 

RIP, that makes sense, having the branches point downwards. Then if they get caught on one, they could fall down and get free.

 

One time one of my kids had a freak accident. (She was fine.) And the pediatrician said that even though they are always giving warnings about seat belts, bike helmets, choking hazards, water saftey, etc... There is always going to be something unexpected happen that no one could have thought to warn you about.

 

I guess it's the same with budgies. All we can do is try to be careful, try to be ready for an emergency, and try not to be too paranoid about stuff we can't control.