I ran home from work at 8:30p to check on him and he was up on the food bowl holder thing again. I have to switch cages, or get one of those acrylic boxes, he is determined to perch.
Before work I had put some of his favorite foods in the cage, along with some nutriberries, and as of 8:30p, he didnāt eat any of it. Not even the pistachios. So I put some peanut butter on wheat bread, he loves that, but when I got home from work, it didnāt look like he did more than just move it around. I heated up some spaghetti and cut up a green apple and he did wind up eating a little of bothā¦so I was at least able to give him some of the tramadol and the inflammatory med, both of which say he needs to take with food.
I am going to call my vet in the morning. She isnāt an avian vet, but she has parrots herselfā¦see what she says. Then I am going to call Penn Vets in Philadelphia, part of the Pennsylvania University veterinary school, and supposedly the best place around.
I did not know the femur was in the pelvis. That is scary. And I donāt remember if the vet told me what kind of a fracture it is, and the paperwork only says āsignificant,ā not sure exactly what that means. In 31 years, I have never seen him fall, until yesterday, which was after I noticed he was injured. Could he have just had a minor injury, causing him to not want to bear weight on that foot, and then that caused him to fall yesterday, causing the fracture, right in front of me? As for not doing anything, just giving him time to heal..that sounds so appealing. He is still able to move around well, and even uses that foot, tonight he picked up a piece of apple with itā¦I just donāt know what the downside of doing that will be. Sure there is one.
This is all very interesting but let's get back to Geslina and poor Max with the fractured femur. We all want Max to recover. Broken bones happen to birds in the wild, and even if their injuries doesn't cause fatal internal bleeding or infection, injured birds usually succumb because they are at least temporarily disabled from finding food and keeping themselves safe from predators. We provide our injured birds with plentiful nutritious food and ensure their safety during the healing process and after if their bodies don't function quite as well as they used to. Maybe they limp. Maybe they can't fly anymore. But they can still lead happy lives with their humans. If Max has so far survived his fracture and he's still eating, drinking and pooping, all he may need now is good nutrition and a safe place to rest and heal. Give him a habitat that minimizes climbing, which would put stress on his healing femur, and provide low perches and a cushioned floor so he can't fall and reinjure himself. That and lots of love and attention.
Funny you say that, I was just thinking about wild birds this morning, what happens when they break a bone. You are right, it is probably a death sentence. Though I see geese and ducks sometimes with missing feetā¦probably snapping turtles to blameā¦and they seem to do ok.
Max isnāt eating that great, but he is eating. I think even with the Tramadol every 8 hours, he is still very uncomfortable. I think I have to put his food in dishes that are up higher, it might be more painful for him to lean downwards. But he is vocal, moving around, wants my attention, has been preening this morning, and is chewing on one of his rubber Kong toys right now. I put some very lightweight shoeboxes on top of his cage bowl holders, they crammed in there perfectly, so he has stopped trying to climb up there and perch. I also moved his cage to where he can get more direct sunlight, if he wants it (there is also a shady part of cage) I was reading somewhere about sunlight and vitamin D synthesis and all that for bone healing.
I found a surgeon who has experience with avian fracture repair, even though I will have to drive over an hour. The place has a great reputation, they work on zoo animals and some wildlife cases too. The emergency place I took him to on Saturday, itās also a regular animal hospital, and they have a lot of students and residents there, more of them than regular ārealā vets. I was there for over 8 hours, spent $705, and never even saw a vet. Just got a couple minute phone call with the X-ray results. I donāt want a student doing this surgery. I know they have to learn somewhere, but let them learn on someone elseās bird. So, this other place called me back right away, they are going to get his records and xrays from the emergency vet today, and see what they think. If I go with the surgery, it will range $5000 - $7000. I am actually surprised it is that low!! Will probably be getting an appt tomorrow, and then will discuss all the options with the vet - letting it heal on its own, having surgery, or amputation. If I go with surgery, likely I will have to leave Max there, I am sure they will want to do the surgery right away. I asked the emergency vet on Saturday what he would do when he told me what my choices were, and he said that if money was no object, he would do the surgery, that it was his best chance of returning to normal, or at least close to normal. I donāt want Max to be lame. I donāt want him disabled and not be able to do all the things he loves to do. If that happens, then of course I will deal with itā¦.but it will break my heart. It is just so hard to know the right thing to do.
I really appreciate everyoneās replies, and by the way, I beleive in chiropractors 100%
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, we really need them right now.
