Quaker Broken Leg Advice

Hi Everyone,

I have a Blue Quaker parrot who is 12 and called Blu.

3days ago I was walking in the house and he was behind the door so to my horror I caught him under it.

He wasnt able to put his leg down so I took him to the vet and they said his left leg is fractured.

Now here is my dilemma. Blu has had breathing problems in the past (fine now) but I and the vet believe that he would not wake up if he was put under anesthetic.

I have got metacam from the vets for him which I am giving him, currently he is in his small travel cage.

He cannot put his foot down and it is bent to the side, but he is eating fine, drinking, and pruning himself as normal he is just sleeping a little more than usual.

I have no idea what to do because I cannot tell if he is in a big amount of pain because it doesnt seem like he is with how he is acting.

Obviously he has a broken leg so I know there will be pain there.

My dilemma is,

1) Risk losing him in surgery or

2) Let the bone set itself,

If I was to let the bone set would he get the use back in his claw because at the moment there is no movement whatsoever

Any advice welcomed for my little man.

Thanks

This is a picture of him from today

I'm so sorry to hear that!

For now I would place him in an aquarium with towels underneath to prevent climbing and further damage to the leg as well as his food/water and some chew toys. It's so difficult in these cases, especially since your poor boy isn't a good candidate for anaesthesia. Is it at all possible to have the leg splinted? I'm not vet nor have I dealt with a broken parrot leg, but I'm curious if a potential splint could help the leg set itself properly. It's better than just leaving it free range.

I hope some others can offer some great advice. I hope your boy heals well and heals soon.

I'm so sorry about your baby! You made the right choice about surgery, I think. I would worry about putting him under based on his age and size alone. Where is the fracture? How severe is it? It's pretty difficult to splint a bird and it possibly wouldn't even help depending on where it is.

The good news is that parrots are super adaptable! Make his life easier by keeping everything low and easy to acsess and everything will be okay. What Chantal said about the aquarium is a good idea for now.

He's so pretty. I think if he was my bird, I would go ahead with the surgery. Perhaps she can do a modified, less-invasive version of the surgery, such as lining up the bones and splinting which would help it heal better than just leaving it askew the way it is now. That should be able to be done under relatively mild sedation and done more quickly than pinning the bone or something, which is probably what it really needs. You say his breathing is fine now, so hopefully he would be just fine with something quick like that.

Prayers and positive thoughts for your beautiful boy. Sorry that happened.

You could just set the bone and put popsicle stick on eaither side of it, and use vet wrap on it to make a cast. He will walk funny for a while. You'll need to change the cast out once or twice, and keep him on amoxycillin for the duration. It should take ~3 months if I had to guess. Shouldn't need any sedation at all, as long as someone knows how to hold him to prevent biting.

Perry had to go through a similar process with his toe.

Edit: I was assuming a break, but re-reading the post it sounds like it wasn't a complete break. The same might still apply, but I would at least get the amoxy to diminish the chances of infection during the healing process. Wrapping it in vet wrap would help ease pressure some.

I'm so sorry about Blu's accident. He's absolutely adorable. I hope he recovers quickly.

What a beautiful bird! I hope Blu recovers well whatever course you choose.

While a surgical repair offers the best opportunity for normalcy, there is always a risk with anesthesia. Is your vet an avian specialist and experienced with avian surgery - this may help determine the best course? Sevoflurane gas is generally the preferred agent as it is quickly effective and offers a fast recovery - but it is expensive.

Best of luck, and keep us advised!

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the replies, I am taking all advice in board.

Blu is still the same as when I first posted but every time he has his metacam he gets a little drowsy which I guess is understandable.

I have been trying to research as much as I can about this problem but I am really glad to have found these forums as obviously I think some of the best advice comes from people who actually have and understand parrots.

Blu is still eating ok but still not as much as he normally would, and drinking ok when I show him his water bottle.

At the moment he is still on his perch with his comfort ropes (had them since he was little)

He seems comfortable on the perch as I am still keeping in him in his travel cage with the door open which small and compact.

He is not trying to climb around everywhere but funnily enough for a parrot its not something he did before the accident, he climbs up and down for his food and out sometimes to see whats going on but he isnt the type to be trying to fly everywhere.


These are two videos I took of him today, I tried to show his leg on it if you can see...

Video 1 link:

https://vid.me/O0gy


Video 2 link:

https://vid.me/e/VL1m

(Please ignore the music on the 2nd video lol)

My Senegal went through very similar incident.

What we did is use a small flight harness, this makes it easier to attach a splint
and low grade surgical tape to hold leg in one place up against it's body. By low grade I mean it's not real sticky.This allows for the bone to set and less likely for the bird to pick on it. using the harness is better than wrapping surgical tape around the whole bird, not good.

For my senny, I used the tube from and Ink pen, the outter plastic part. Cut it down middle so you have 2 halves. Place leg in one half, cover with other half and tape up.
Secure that plastic tube to harness lightly and This acts like a cast and sling.

My Senny recovered so well, it's hard to tell he ever broke it. But do place your bird where it won't climb perches and bars. lot's of soft blankets and you'll be fine.

Hi guys, just a small update on Blu, he seems to be doing better. He still cannot put any weight on his foot but he his eating fine and drinking well.

I gave him a cracker today and he even tried to hold it with his foot, and there was a little movement in his claw as he tried to close it! Which I'm really happy with.

Thanks for all advice too. I really appreciate it

Thanks for the update! The videos show Blu as attentive and reasonably active and comfortable despite the injury. Hope he continues to improve!!

When we received our Sun Conure, she was in the very same situation. She had a leg band on the same leg so I had it cut to remove it. Then I started massaging her foot and leg daily and stretch them gently. Over time she's recovered pretty good as she does use the foot to climb and to stand. She still flies around and gets around pretty good. Just be real patient.

MikeyTN said:

When we received our Sun Conure, she was in the very same situation. She had a leg band on the same leg so I had it cut to remove it. Then I started massaging her foot and leg daily and stretch them gently. Over time she's recovered pretty good as she does use the foot to climb and to stand. She still flies around and gets around pretty good. Just be real patient.

Click to expand...

Mike, I'm sure you'd wait until after the fracture is completely healed though, no?

I wouldn't recommend massaging and/or touching broken limbs that are mending as you'd be undoing the healing progress.

Yep Wendy, her damage was already done for a while before I received her.