Pete injured his foot

roxynoodle

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I'm not sure what he did, but now that he plays with toys he gets a little crazy sometimes. Next thing I know he went to the bottom of the cage because apparently it hurt him to perch on it. He spent about the next 1.5 hours down there. I put in a call to the vet (who hasn't returned it yet though), and put his food and water dishes down there. Of course Pete is my bird who is afraid of any new thing or change so he was cowering in the corner, afraid of the dishes even though they are the same ones he eats from every day. He could walk on it, but gingerly. Finally he went back up to the perch in front of his food dish. So I put his dishes back. And I gave him some of the pureed squash I made for the birds yesterday so he had something to eat that he didn't have to hold. He did eat it plus some other veggies. Right now he is still sitting there, but at least he can perch again.

I wish the vet would call to further advise me. I've never had a bird injure it's foot before. I also want to ask her if he can have some Celebrex for pain and inflammation, but I'm not giving him anything without her advise.
 

BillsBirds

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Is there a visible cut on his foot? Is it his toe? I wonder what he could have done.
 
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roxynoodle

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No, no cuts at all! And I can't see any visible swelling. He is an old bird though, 29, who spent the majority of his life sitting on a perch in a tiny cage. So exercise is kind of a new thing for him! He can be a bit clumsy.
 
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roxynoodle

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He did fly today for the first time, but only like 1 foot, lol! And he landed on the pillows that make up the back of the couch. That was hours ago as well and he was his normal self after that. I was surprised he tried it though. He has maybe half his wing feathers on one wing and only 2 on the other, and he's kind of a load.

I think you could call it more of a wing flapping leap than actual flying.
 

cdog

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Poor Pete, I hope it isn't anything serious.
 
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roxynoodle

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Well, he went back to the bottom of the cage for awhile. So I put extra food and water bowls down there and a big, thick towel for him to sit on. I also figure if he should fall or something during the night, the towel will help with the landing.

The vet hasn't called me yet, but she might be out of town speaking at a conference. She does that every couple of weeks.
 

luvmytooo

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I'm hoping it isnt serious Roxy...Poor baby.
Keep us posted.
 
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roxynoodle

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I believe I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight! Now he's back in front of his food bowl eating pellets, but he hasn't drank any water for awhile. And I'm worried about him falling tonight if he decides to sleep up there.
 
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roxynoodle

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Ok, don't laugh, but I know he likes plastic bottles and when he sees me drinking from one he says, "Glug glug glug." So I just offered him water from a plastic water bottle and he drank quite a bit. Whatever works I guess.
 

Enjru

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I seem to remember you posted before about something happening to Pete in the middle of the night. I wonder if that could have been a fall as well. I wonder if he has some arthritis in his feet which prevents him from keeping a tight grip on his perch. I've seen wire panel platforms for sale on parrot websites that you can hang onto the sides of the cage, which might be safer for him than a perch. I think the thick towel at the bottom of the cage is a good idea. Hope your vet can give you some good advice very soon and be able to provide Pete with lots of extra special care, and I hope Pete recovers very quickly!
 
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roxynoodle

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He didn't actually fall the other night. I know because I hadn't gone to bed yet. He just started shrieking (best way I can describe the sound he was making). But, he was on his top perch where he usually sleeps. He didn't fall today either. He was playing with toys, then just went to the bottom of the cage and stayed down there. So I was like, what are you doing down there, Pete? Because he never stays down there very long; usually he goes down to get a block to play with or because he wants to watch Merlin at the bottom of her cage. But, Merlin was in the top. Then I saw he was walking funny and holding his left foot up.

He might have arthritis though. I should add a platform for him. If I do it right now though he will freak out about it. I have to introduce things really slowly to him.

Oh, and when he went down there he also talked to me nonstop the entire time and kept begging for attention, which of course he got as I was concerned.
 

triordan

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I hope Pete feels better soon and I hope you get good night sleep on the couch!
 

Tammy

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Mr. Precious hurt his foot like a month after I first got him. He would perch on the tops of doors that were open & my mother closed the door not realizing he was there. He had two small cuts & some swelling. I rushed him to the vet. Even though they are open on saturdays, because I didn't have an appointment & rushed over I got charged the emergency visit $165 - just to be seen! He gave me antibiotic cream for the cuts & had me monitor to see if he could put more weight on it in a day or two.

I am NOT advocating skipping the vet. I'm only trying to hopefully bring your worry level down from a 10 to maybe a 3 or 4. I panic when it comes to Mr. Precious & I don't want you worrying yourself sick over a minor injury that the vet can fix. Hope he feels better soon & hope you can rest a little easy.
 

Remy

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Does he let you touch it? Maybe you could examine it and get a better idea of what's going on.

Maybe while you're waiting to get to the vet, you could try giving him some homeopathic arnica or rhus tox and see if they help.
 

luvmytooo

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Maybe take his perch out just for tonight ? This way he is safe and you wont have to worry through the night. Just a thought...
 

KBEquine

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So about a week ago, PaulE was displaying on the playtable & I wanted to move him back to his cage & used a perch to pick him up (standard procedure; sometimes he'll ask to step up to hand, but when he doesn't, he is always good about stepping up to the perch).

Except this time, the perch spooked him, he flew into the window (a foot or more away, so he wasn't at full-speed & he, too, doesn't fly much or far).

Anyhow, I called a friend with a private rescue because the vet was too far away & I wasn't sure what was wrong.

Her general first aid advice for a bird is this:

Of course, call the vet & follow instructions. But while you wait, confine the bird if possible in a smaller cage where he can either stand on the floor or on a perch that is VERY low. Keep him warm because when a bird injures itself, its body temperature drops.

I had PaulE in his cage & I had him in the warmest room in the house. He was just shaken up & his usual self the next day. I elected NOT to put him in his travel cage because I thought he would be quieter in his regular cage with his 'regular friend' beside him, and he was. If I needed the confinement of the smaller cage to keep him from moving around, I would have put him in his amazon-sized travel cage - or in Goose's macaw-sized one.

So, you may want to encourage Pete to stay on the floor of his cage & keep him warm. If he is afraid of change, putting him in his travel cage will probably freak him out (save THAT for when you need to do it).

Good luck & let us know how things go.

By the way, Goose is now asking for "Mer-Bert" which I can only assume is a combination of Merlin (Roxynoodle's Grey & Goose's former roommate) and Gilbert (my husband's Grey and Goose's current roommate).

Never a dull moment . . .
 
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roxynoodle

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Maybe I should have taken out his big perch as I couldn't keep him in the bottom of the cage last night. He decided he wanted to sleep where he always does. I was hoping he would just stay on the towel. He has stayed there all night though, I'm pretty sure because I sleep awfully and wake up all the time. I also thought of putting him in his carrier, but knew he would be all worried. He is a worrier. He also has a thing about poop. He won't poop outside the cage. He even went up to a perch yesterday evening just to poop and then would come down again. So I have had him now 4.5 months and he has never pooped on me or anything in the room. Every so often I have to take him back to his cage so he will go.

We shall see how he does today. I may have to take him in even if it's arthritis so I can find out for sure that he does have it. I already know, x ray is $98 (see all the things you've taught me, Merlin?). But, if he could benefit from medication, I will get him the medication.

I've been trying to introduce him a rope perch as I figured his old feet are probably tired old feet. I will make him a platform today as well and start introducing him to that.

Mer-Bert, lol! Goose is quite a creative little comic! I love his stories:D
 
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roxynoodle

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Yes, I did completely examine his foot (twice) and could not be sure where the pain was exactly. I suppose it could even be the leg? Possibly as high as the thigh? I remember I had a horse injure her shoulder and we couldn't figure out it was that without starting with nerve blocks in the fetlock and moving our way up. All we knew to begin with was that something was hurting her left front leg.
 

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