Budgie won't put weight on foot...

NightEule5 · Mar 13, 2018

Something's going on with my brother's (he got bored of it, I take care of it, long story) budgie today, it would be great if you could help.

So, yesterday, I cleaned the budgie cage, which caused them (there are two and not very tame) a bit of stress. Mostly they handled it well though. Then, as I'm not a heavy sleeper, I woke up in the middle of the night to some excessive flapping. I assume this is part of this injury that the one budgie has now, but I didn't think much of it and went back to sleep.

I went to school and came back to this (sorry for the bad camera):

He won't put weight on his leg but seems fine otherwise. Every once in a while he'll try to walk, but he's not very successful at it. Could he have sprained it, or could it be worse? What do we do? We never had any problems like this, except for chickens...

Btw, I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for this, I didn't know where else to put it (I haven't been on here in a while). You can move it if you want.

NightEule5 · Mar 13, 2018

Oh and he seems to be laying down on his belly, as in the picture.

SailBoat · Mar 13, 2018

There are any number of possible causes. The most likely would be that it was twisted or some way injured during a fall during the night that your heard.

Teachable moment: Always check when there is a disturbance like that during the night or day. Always check, prior to leaving even for short periods of time.

Over the next 24 hours, observe, observe, observe. You're looking for small signs of improvement or small signs of it worsening. In the meantime, (if you have not already done this) contact your local Avian Vet and inform them that you are watching your bird for signs of a possible broken foot bone. It there is no improvement by this time tomorrow, you will need to go in for a possible X-Ray.

NightEule5 · Mar 13, 2018

Ok, thank you for replying.

We've separated him because the other one was picking on him (biting) whenever we put our hands in the cage.

I'll watch him, and when I'm not at school I'll have Mom watch him.

As far as the vet, I really hope it doesn't come to that. We really can't afford it right now if it's expensive. Also, he's not very tame and the nearest vet I could find was in a city 45 minutes away. If it has to be an avian vet, that would be 4-6 hours away.

SailBoat · Mar 13, 2018

Time to find out to what level the local Vet can support Avian Clients. If your local Vet is a Farm Vet, they commonly take care of everything on a Farm, including their birds. If it Vet is a dog and cat only, that makes it more difficult.

Another teachable moment: When you have a Pet, their medical care is part of the responsibility of ownership. Consider developing a cash reserve for this kind of moments as it is just part of the requirements.

NightEule5 · Mar 13, 2018

Ya, I forgot. We do have a farm type vet 15 minutes away. They did help us with various chicken diseases, but I'm not sure about parrots.

As far as cash reserves, I do have about $1000 saved that could use as a worst case scenario. My parents, however, are struggling with debt and have very little money right now.

Thanks again for your replies.

SailBoat · Mar 13, 2018

WiseOwl5 said:
Ya, I forgot. We do have a farm type vet 15 minutes away. They did help us with various chicken diseases, but I'm not sure about parrots.

As far as cash reserves, I do have about $1000 saved that could use as a worst case scenario. My parents, however, are struggling with debt and have very little money right now.

Thanks again for your replies.

The choice between a Farm Vet and a Dog and Cat specialist, I will take the Farm Vet any day.

With luck in the next 24 hours he will improve. If not, well we can cross that bridge at that point.

NightEule5 · Mar 13, 2018

Ya, I hope he'll improve.

NightEule5 · Mar 13, 2018

He's very energetic still and he's definitely not resting like he should, lol. He climbs around the cage with his break and his stronger leg. He's still eating and drinking so that's good I guess.

Scott · Mar 14, 2018

Welcome back, thanks for stepping up (definitely no pun intended) and taking care of your brother's budgies. This is the best location for your issue!

By tomorrow a reasonable time should have passed if the issue was a sprain. Do you notice any improvement? If not, a consult with the farm vet may help. You'll have to read the vet very closely to see if he/she is truly sympathetic to a companion bird vs "livestock," if you get my drift. That he is active and eating is a good sign. As you know, birds try to hide injuries, but pain can put a damper on unnecessary movements.

Let us know how this progresses!

reeb · Mar 14, 2018

One of my show budgies, Mango, got a leg injury when we moved to our new house and the birds moved into their outdoor aviary. We are not sure what happened, but we think that his foot may have gotten caught in the door if someone closed it in a rush, or was injured in the flight down. My brave little flock of twenty got through a two hour flight to get to our new home!!

Anyway, we took him to the vet and luckily it wasn't broken (I was soooo worried haha), and the vet bound it up in a bandage to heal the sprain and consequent inflammation. He spent a couple of weeks in his bandage, in a cage in the house. For about 3 months after his injury he didn't put much weight on his leg, but after a little while he began to put more and more weight on it. Now he puts his full weight on it but still isn't the best at gripping the perch. He's still a healthy, happy bird.

What I'm getting at is, don't freak out! Your baby will probably be just fine after a little visit to the vet, and it may not be that severe anyway. Good luck!

NightEule5 · Mar 14, 2018

Ya, I'm at school right now, but Mom is watching him closely. When I was home, he was climbing on the sides of the cage, avoiding the perch. Now apparently he is using the perch more and doesn't seem as stressed about it.

The more we look at it, the more it appears to be paralysis in that leg rather than a sprain. It looks like he can't hardly move it rather than not wanting too. Really wierd.

We had a disease go through with paralysis in one of the legs in many of our chickens a while back. It's Marek's disease, and it can't be transmitted to any other bird but chickens. So it couldn't be that. That's probably a coincidence.

Mom will call the vet and get their input.

Thanks for your response.

Edit: I didn't see reeb's response. Thank you as well.

NightEule5 · Mar 14, 2018

Our chickens hid their symptoms until it was almost too late too. What is it with birds and hiding their symptoms? It's not just parrots either.

Scott · Mar 14, 2018

WiseOwl5 said:
Our chickens hid their symptoms until it was almost too late too. What is it with birds and hiding their symptoms? It's not just parrots either.

I was curious and searched to learn more about Marek's. Does not appear to infect outside the world of chickens. Hopefully it is a stable virus that has not/will not mutate.

Birds, with the exception of large predatory species, are creatures of prey and are considered a food source. To prevent an early demise, they have adapted behaviors to appear strong and healthy, capable of flight. Birds strive to appear healthy right up to the point their bodies cannot manage the illusion. By the time we spot a visibly sick bird, the process has usually been present for some time.

NightEule5 · Mar 14, 2018

Scott said:
I was curious and searched to learn more about Marek's. Does not appear to infect outside the world of chickens. Hopefully it is a stable virus that has not/will not mutate.

It does mutate. A lot actually. We actually read that we can't even sell or give away chickens to people who's chickens have the disease because it could have not been the same strain. You could bring a different strain back on your footware to your chickens or bring yours to their chickens. However, how I understand it, it's a retrovirus and therefore will never infect anything but chickens, so that's good.

Although, it can be carried on another bird's feathers.

Scott said:
Birds, with the exception of large predatory species, are creatures of prey and are considered a food source. To prevent an early demise, they have adapted behaviors to appear strong and healthy, capable of flight. Birds strive to appear healthy right up to the point their bodies cannot manage the illusion. By the time we spot a visibly sick bird, the process has usually been present for some time.

Ok, that makes sense I guess. For chickens it makes even more sense because they are cannibalistic and will pick on or severely injure sick chickens if the others realize they're weaker.

Aside from that, his leg appears to be unable to move. Although he is moving more and sitting on his perch more, his leg isn't improving. I've read that it could be a pinched nerve or something. I really hope it isn't that, for his sake. I've contacted the vet myself because Mom hasn't yet. They haven't replied to my message yet.

Scott · Mar 15, 2018

I don't know what to make of the situation at this point. Does the leg look different from the other? Can you hold him, does the affected leg seem a different temperature or sensitive to gentle touch?

NightEule5 · Mar 15, 2018

I don't know, he's not tame but I could try to hold him and see. I have, however, gently touched his foot a few times and it hasn't responded to it. I'll see again when I get home.

NightEule5 · Mar 15, 2018

I'm pretty sure we're taking him to the vet. Maybe tomorrow, but I'm not sure when.

Scott · Mar 15, 2018

Forgive the question, but do you believe the farm vet has empathy for a budgie and will consider it worth saving? Just my ignorance about this type of vet, hopefully you'll be greeted by a caring individual. Let us know what happens!

NightEule5 · Mar 15, 2018

Ya I don't know. I was contacting them through message (my phone can't call) so I couldn't read them that way. However when we had diseases with our chickens they genuinely tried to help us out.

We ended up, with the vet clinic's help, sending a few chickens for autopsies (long story). They shipped them to the lab at their expense (except for a $40 fee from the lab) and notifyed us when there were results back.

So yes, I think they actually care. But I guess we'll see if they really do.

Budgie won't put weight on foot...

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