Foot injury, break or sprain?

Hi my 20 year old white fronted Amazon flash landed on the door I didnt realize and hurt himself from me closing the door on his foot. I immediately took him to the vet who felt around but said it was sprained by feeling it and said it should heal in 4 to 6 weeks . Well it's been 8 weeks and my poor parrot can still not use his foot properly and cannot put weight on it or climb like normal. Should I suspect a break and take him to a different vet? Worried about my baby. Need advice. I had taken him the second time to the vet and he had said it was just stiff and to move it around. He can move it but no weight bearing. Help

Re: DYH Amazon toenail injury

is the vet a certified avian vet? If not definitely go to a different vet. If they are then say they're still unable to walk and you want an X-ray done

FYI it's better to start up a new thread when you have a new topic as some people won't look at threads they've already posted so you may not get replies as fast

Re: DYH Amazon toenail injury

Amazonflash said:

Hi my 20 year old white fronted Amazon flash landed on the door I didnt realize and hurt himself from me closing the door on his foot. I immediately took him to the vet who felt around but said it was sprained by feeling it and said it should heal in 4 to 6 weeks . Well it's been 8 weeks and my poor parrot can still not use his foot properly and cannot put weight on it or climb like normal. Should I suspect a break and take him to a different vet? Worried about my baby. Need advice. I had taken him the second time to the vet and he had said it was just stiff and to move it around. He can move it but no weight bearing. Help

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Sprained /cracked bones in Parrots commonly require a form of bandaging that supports the area while healing. The extent of damage is very difficult to determine by feeling. However, it helps define whether it was broken, with X-ray confirming.

At five weeks, you should have called with an update. At eight weeks there should have been note-able improvement. You are your Parrot's first line of care and if you are not seeing continual improvements, you should always call.

Depending on the skill base on your Vet, and the availability of Certified Avian Vets in your area, you may need to change to another Vet.

Re: DYH Amazon toenail injury

Amazonflash said:

Hi my 20 year old white fronted Amazon flash landed on the door I didnt realize and hurt himself from me closing the door on his foot. I immediately took him to the vet who felt around but said it was sprained by feeling it and said it should heal in 4 to 6 weeks . Well it's been 8 weeks and my poor parrot can still not use his foot properly and cannot put weight on it or climb like normal. Should I suspect a break and take him to a different vet? Worried about my baby. Need advice. I had taken him the second time to the vet and he had said it was just stiff and to move it around. He can move it but no weight bearing. Help

Click to expand...

Get a new vet immediately and if that vet does nothing, find another vet! An x-ray should have been done the first visit to determine if there was any broken bones, which I imagine there are if the bird is still experiencing pain weeks later. In fact the vets inaction may have complicated things as the foot has undoubtedly started to heal improperly due to the bones not being set or a cast applies. Get your bird into a certified avian vet ASAP if possible. If none exists in your area, an exotic animals vet with parrot experience. My moms DYH broke her foot about 15 years ago and we lived in a rural area. 2 local yokel dingbat vets wanted to put her down which was beyond comprehension to suggest over a broken foot and the 3rd, a general vet who also saw exotics, couldn't make any promises but did consult with an avian vet in the nearest big city and managed to do a good job fixing the foot. It has been completely functional for her, though is turned slightly inward. Point is, broken bird feet can be fixed, but you just have to find a vet willing to put in the effort for your bird.

Re: DYH Amazon toenail injury

Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forums family.

I agree with all of the above. You need a second opinion from a certified avian vet right away.

And good luck to you both, with hopes for a speedy recovery.

Re: DYH Amazon toenail injury

Wow thank you also so much for the replys. My intuition told me the same as you mentioned having a xray done early and I was calling the vet bugging them worried. i live on a island that has no avian vet just someone with some knowledge of birds as far as I know. Im going to call back the vet tomorrow to find out if he can do the x ray and if required surgery. You confirmed what I thought myself thank you so much. I'll keep you all updated. Just wondering I avian vet in eastern Canada right now im on the furthest eastern point. . Newfoundland

Please keep us posted. We all care and hope for a good outcome.

texsize

Hello there......I am from Ontario and I was looking for an avian vet in Newfoundland for you, but the closest I have found so far is in Nova Scotia and I found a couple in New Brunswick....too far I know, but maybe a phone/internet consultation with your vet in Newfoundland might be a possibility:

Vet Name: Companion Animal Hospital
Location: Dartmouth
Phone: (902) 434-3111
Address: 920 Cole Harbour Rd, Dartmouth, NS B2V 2J5
Website: Companion Animal Hospital | Veterinarian

Frank Cook
Veterinarian
Moncton Animal Hospital
771 Mountain Road
Moncton
New Brunswick
E1C 2R3 Canada
506-857-4271 (Phone)

Lethan Dwan
Veterinarian
Vet Care Pet Hospital
30 Trites Road
Riverview
New Brunswick
E1B 2V6 Canada
506-388-8880 (Phone)
506-389-1168 (Fax)

A cursory google search didn't turn up any avian specific vets in Newfoundland.

In the absence of an avian specialist, you need to start looking for vets with an interest or specialty practice in exotics as a first choice then vets who treat wildlife and if neither of those exist, then start looking for vets who treat farm animals (chickens, geese etc...). Heck, I'd just start calling every vet in town and ask if they've ever treated a broken bone on a bird before. Up where you are, I'd imagine tropical birds like parrots to be rather uncommon, however a vet who treats wild birds or poultry birds would likely be able to handle this type of injury. When my moms amazon broke her foot, she was put under for the X-ray. The avian vet in a bigger city that was consulted by the local vet treating her gave parameters for the correct amount of anesthesia and setting on the X-ray machine for her species/weight. Be sure the vet that puts your bird under is either very confident in what they're doing or insist they consult with an avian expert somewhere. While under, the break was set and a cast applied. It took over the estimated 6 weeks if I remember right for the break to heal to the vets satisfaction.

Good luck with your baby and don't forget, he's relying on you to do your homework and find the best medical care possible in your area!