Leg amputation within a week?!

Sara.0001 · Sep 7, 2016

Hi all,
I am a very concerned owner.
My female green cheek conure, Asura, is 6-8 months old and has a swollen, bruise-coloured and probably fractured ankle. The foot from the ankle and below is also slightly turned. I have attached 2 pictures (her feathers are hiding the top part of her ankle which is also swollen).

I took her to the vet immediately (I would have liked to go to an avian vet but there were non available at the time).
The vet looked at it, touched it to see if Asura could feel her toes which she couldn't, but no x-ray and he didn't put a bandage or support around it because of the swelling. I asked him whether I should see an avian vet and he said that's not necessary.

He then gave me antibiotics and told me if it doesn't start healing in a week we'll have to amputate it! Doesn't that seem a bit quick? And is there anything else I can do? Shouldn't the leg be corrected to heal properly?

Although she's such a brave girl, I just want the best for her and stop seeing her struggle, whether that's with one or two legs.
(I am already designing a 3D printable prosthetic, the engineer in me... hehe)

Additional: I have minimized her activity and naturally she is resting a lot. However, from time to time she likes to fly and land on her perch or other places which got me worried!

Thank you in advance!!

GaleriaGila · Sep 7, 2016

My God!
I think you are being very ill-advised!
I'll wait for more expert members to jump in, but I DO want to say...
GOOD FOR YOU, FOR GETTING A SECOND OPINION FROM US!!!!
I would say... if you can... get to an avian vet ASAP!!!!!!!!!
Hang in there!
Hugzszszszszs!!!

Sara.0001 · Sep 7, 2016

I've just come across this:
If a parrot's leg is broken does he need special treatment

A lot that has been described there explains Asura's situation, which kind of tells me it is unlikely that it'll heal.

"Dr. Jo : Sometimes fractures damage the blood supply to the rest of the leg below the fracture and this can lead to the death of all the tissue below the fracture site. This causes loss of the leg and sometimes death.

Dr. Jo : The only type of fracture that can heal well on its own would be so minor you wouldn't even know the bird had a fracture. It would only show up as a tiny hairline fracture in the bone on an x-ray. There would have to be NO bent angle to the bone at all, and ideally the fracture would be in a location where it had the support of another bone side-by-side with it that was not broken."

But.. " Dr. Jo : If left alone, the fracture will remodel the shape of the leg into something crooked, unstable, and painful for the rest of the bird's life,"

Terry57 · Sep 7, 2016

Please find an avian vet, that is the best chance Asura has of keeping and regaining use of her leg. I personally know of people who have had birds with a broken leg, and that leg did heal. It is obvious how much you love your baby, and I hope she doesn't have to lose her leg. I would definitely get a second opinion from an avian professional.
Please let us know how she is doing.

GaleriaGila · Sep 7, 2016

Ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh...
Well, I am of course no avian vet...
I hope some more members continue to chime in soon.

Allee · Sep 7, 2016

Asura is darling, I'm so sorry your baby girl is hurting. I would definitely make an appointment with an AV Vet as soon as possible. She may not have to lose her leg but if she does, I would want an experienced avian vet to do the surgery and follow up. Hugs and best wishes, please keep us updated.

SailBoat · Sep 7, 2016

Sara.0001 said:
Hi all,
I am a very concerned owner.
My female green cheek conure, Asura, is 6-8 months old and has a swollen, bruise-coloured and probably fractured ankle. The foot from the ankle and below is also slightly turned. I have attached 2 pictures (her feathers are hiding the top part of her ankle which is also swollen).

I took her to the vet immediately (I would have liked to go to an avian vet but there were non available at the time).
The vet looked at it, touched it to see if Asura could feel her toes which she couldn't, but no x-ray and he didn't put a bandage or support around it because of the swelling. I asked him whether I should see an avian vet and he said that's not necessary.

He then gave me antibiotics and told me if it doesn't start healing in a week we'll have to amputate it! Doesn't that seem a bit quick? And is there anything else I can do? Shouldn't the leg be corrected to heal properly?

Although she's such a brave girl, I just want the best for her and stop seeing her struggle, whether that's with one or two legs.
(I am already designing a 3D printable prosthetic, the engineer in me... hehe)

Additional: I have minimized her activity and naturally she is resting a lot. However, from time to time she likes to fly and land on her perch or other places which got me worried!

Thank you in advance!!

Please see an Avian Vet ASAP! Your Parrot needs an X-ray and than a determination of whether positioning and wrapping, or surgery will be needed. Neither can be selected until there is an X-ray.

It is not uncommon for their Tech Staff to arrive at or before 7:00 am. With it already Thursday in the UK, I would make every effort to be at their office first thing completing the paper and pushing for an X-ray. Thursday is much better than a Monday that commonly is filled with everyone from the Weekend. So, the calendar is on your side. Its a lot easier to give a later appointment time on the Telephone then face-to-face.

Your sweet baby, Be That Parent! Be there, pushing for your baby!

Sara.0001 · Sep 7, 2016

Thank you for the reassurance everyone, I will call an avian vet ASAP.

Scott · Sep 7, 2016

I have had two parrots* with broken legs, and in both cases they were large enough to have surgery to pin the fracture for healing. They regained full use of the affected leg! Size is problematic, and an avian vet will know precisely what can be done for your conure. She is so young you will want to give her the best chance to regain either full or partial use, hopefully without lasting pain.

*Eclectus and Timneh African Grey

plumsmum2005 · Sep 8, 2016

Two AV's in London
CJ Hall 02088769696 SW14 7PY
Midland Vet 02085393538 E10 6RA
Alan Jones Bird vet part time clinics in St London, Kent & Surrey 01342 835000 or 07787507427 ** very well known!

Sara.0001 · Sep 8, 2016

Good points mentioned by everyone. I've booked an appointment for this afternoon. I will keep you updated.

In the mean time she has become quite skilled with the one leg already.

Kiwibird · Sep 8, 2016

I hope the avian vet will be able to properly set the leg and that your baby can make a full recovery! And while he may not have set it, it is a good thing your regular vet got your bird on antibiotics ASAP. Infection of a broken bone is far more serious and life threatening to a bird than the potential of loosing a leg. My mom's DYH broke her foot many years ago and it got infected. A good local exotics vet set the break, put on a cast and got her on antibiotics. It was a difficult healing process and took longer than expected, but the foot healed up and is fully functional. Hopefully your birds break will be able to be set and heal too, but even if an amputation is necessary, birds are amazing at adapting to such disabilities. I will never forget on vacation once seeing a wild pigeon with no feet. It was walking around on stubs, and was still the fattest pigeon in the group lol, so obviously it was doing quite well for itself. If an amputation is necessary, there are lots of threads and wisdom around to help you set up the cage and bird areas to be disability-friendly for your bird

Sara.0001 · Sep 8, 2016

I took her to the avian vet today, she had an x-ray, turns out it was proper broken, but good news is that she does still have feelings in her toes.
He put a support around it and it should heal in 3 weeks!
Still a risk of the infection getting worse but a higher chance of it healing

.
I'm really glad that I took her and that they had a slot available so soon.

Sara.0001 · Sep 8, 2016

Kiwibird said:
If an amputation is necessary, there are lots of threads and wisdom around to help you set up the cage and bird areas to be disability-friendly for your bird

I didn't think of that yet, that is quite interesting!
And thank you for sharing your story

CherylCali · Sep 8, 2016

Good news! That's awesome!

CherylCali

Allee · Sep 8, 2016

This is welcome news! Thanks for the update! So glad you got her to an avian vet! I hope she will have full use of her foot again soon.

Kiwibird · Sep 8, 2016

Good to hear she is now under the care of an avian specialized vet and expected to make a full recovery! Very good news indeed

A lot of times, regular vets do all they can, but simply lack the knowledge to treat parrots comprehensively. They are good for nail trimming and/or clipping if more convenient to get to than the AV, but not much else.

In regards to my earlier comment, birds missing feet/legs is actually more common than one might think. There are a lot of very caring owners of disabled birds who have come up with brilliant solutions to make sure they lead a full and enriching life despite their disability.

Terry57 · Sep 8, 2016

That is such wonderful news! I am thrilled for you and Asura!

Leg amputation within a week?!

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