Feather transplant

S

ScottB

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Location
QLD Australia
Parrots
Fergus; a male Solomon Island Eclectus
Hi all,
Posted a couple of times on the forum since picking my boy Fergus up a month or so ago. Breeder gave him a brutal single wing clip and its been fun and games since.
Travelled to a specialist avian vet today to try and sort things and he gave Fergus a feather transplant!

The vet was pretty disgusted with the breeder and confirmed that Fergus had probably fractured his sternum at some point following a crash landing, which I was absolutely gutted to hear. It seems he is also quite small for his breed and has a congenital curvature to his spine, likely due to poor breeding practices.
Vet went ahead with the transplant from a feather bank and now for the first time Fergus appears to have two equally sized wings....just needs to start using them now.

I have only just started harness training with him so I'll obviously need to be careful but I'm relieved that this should finally be an end to him hurting himself.

Thanks again to all those who offered such sound advice, much appreciated :)
 
Wow! I had no clue feather transplants were a thing! I'm glad your vet is really invested in helping Fergus get a good restart :) Did the vet say if the fracture (I assume healed by now?) and congenital curvature will significantly affect him?
 
Yeah, I didn't know it was a thing either but a an hour or so later Fergus has a matching pair!
The fracture is well healed now but there was also a significant callus overlying which i had previously noticed when in the shower with him; I feel awful to think of the pain he must have been in. Vet doesn't think the curvature will hold him up too much.
Sent a txt to the breeder this afternoon just to let her know how her practices had affected Fergus, also mentioning the irony if how my latest vets bill was more than I actually paid for fergus! Her response was nonsense, stating that a single wing clip is the safest way! I actually dared her to demonstate the courage of her convictions and field a debate on this forum...i won't hold my breath.
Scott.
 
I love your vet!!
Well done!



Now he can fly he can also battle the curvature a bit.
 
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OMG!!! WHATTTTT?!
That is amazing--I had NO clue this was possible...Did he use your bird's own feathers or the feathers from another bird?


I wonder what would have happened if the transplants hadn't matched your bird's coloration lol. It might have looked snazzy but I bet it would have bothered him/her if he/she suddenly had 2 colorful (non-matching) feathers. This seems like something you would see in parrot celebrities lol...This just in: the new bird fashion trend for 2018-2019-non-matching feathers are all the rage.

I am so impressed lol
 
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The breeder actually told you that clipping one wing "is the safest way" to do it? Yeah, bring that breeder on, please do...what a horrible breeder, has no business breeding birds at all...How did she explain the fractured sternum and the curvature in his spine? Wow, I'm sorry that you had to find this breeder, what a horrible thing...I'm glad that Fergus found someone who was willing to spend the money and time to get him the help that he needs..

I've seen a couple of "Imping" procedures on parrots, all of which were successful, but I had no idea that there is now a "feather bank". All of the birds that I've seen Imped used "donor-feathers" brought along by their owners or friends of the owner, either feathers from another one of their birds, or from a friend's bird, etc. That's always the main problem with Imping, having enough feathers, and strong enough feathers, to do it with...well, that and having them hold.

I'm actually surprised that you found an Avian Vet who was willing to do the Imping procedure on Fergus...That's a great Avian Vet, hang onto them!
 
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I'd send the breeder the bill if I were in your shoes! Let's see how safe a procedure they find it when they're the one paying for the aftermath
 
noodles123 said:
OMG!!! WHATTTTT?!
That is amazing--I had NO clue this was possible...Did he use your bird's own feathers or the feathers from another bird?


I wonder what would have happened if the transplants hadn't matched your bird's coloration lol. It might have looked snazzy but I bet it would have bothered him/her if he/she suddenly had 2 colorful (non-matching) feathers. This seems like something you would see in parrot celebrities lol...This just in: the new bird fashion trend for 2018-2019-non-matching feathers are all the rage.

I am so impressed lol
Click to expand...

Hi Noodles123,
Me neither. He referred to a "feather bank" presumably donated following moults. I think what I found most impressive was the speed of the process; I left Fergus with the vet and went for a coffee and I received the call to return within the hour!
Colour was a perfect match thankfully, didn't need any further issues with him receiving red female feathers! :)
Scott
 
EllenD said:
The breeder actually told you that clipping one wing "is the safest way" to do it? Yeah, bring that breeder on, please do...what a horrible breeder, has no business breeding birds at all...How did she explain the fractured sternum and the curvature in his spine? Wow, I'm sorry that you had to find this breeder, what a horrible thing...I'm glad that Fergus found someone who was willing to spend the money and time to get him the help that he needs..

I've seen a couple of "Imping" procedures on parrots, all of which were successful, but I had no idea that there is now a "feather bank". All of the birds that I've seen Imped used "donor-feathers" brought along by their owners or friends of the owner, either feathers from another one of their birds, or from a friend's bird, etc. That's always the main problem with Imping, having enough feathers, and strong enough feathers, to do it with...well, that and having them hold.



I'm actually surprised that you found an Avian Vet who was willing to do the Imping procedure on Fergus...That's a great Avian Vet, hang onto them!
Click to expand...

Hello again EllenD,
She sure did. Kept things as civil as possible but had to end the back and forth in the end because she could accept absolutely no part in what Fergus has suffered. I must upload some pics for everyone; the new feathers look great but you'll be able to clearly see the brutality of the clip as the green feathers were not transplanted.
The vet is clearly progressive; not sure if the feather "bank" extends beyond his practice, but a really good outcome. Fergus flew for the first time today (twice in fact), he is still quite uncoordinated but is able to achieve a controlled descent now :)
Scott.
 
ChristaNL said:
I love your vet!!
Well done!



Now he can fly he can also battle the curvature a bit.
Click to expand...

Thanks ChristaNL, just wish I'd gone to see him from the start. Fergus is going to be OK now though
 
LordTriggs said:
I'd send the breeder the bill if I were in your shoes! Let's see how safe a procedure they find it when they're the one paying for the aftermath
Click to expand...

Hi LordTriggs,
Yeah I suggested that she give me a full refund seeing as this latest trip to the vet cost more than I'd paid her for Fergus; wasn't holding my breath, and got exactly what I was expecting...nothing!
To be fair, the money was less important, I was already quite resentful of the breeder because things have obviously been challenging since we picked Fergus up, but hearing about the congenital stuff and then the injuries really upset me. I was hoping she might just acknowledge her role in all this. Still hoping that she will learn from this though, its just so unnecessary.
Scott.
 
ScottB said:
The vet is clearly progressive; not sure if the feather "bank" extends beyond his practice, but a really good outcome. Fergus flew for the first time today (twice in fact), he is still quite uncoordinated but is able to achieve a controlled descent now :)
Scott.
Click to expand...

I'm so, so, SO HAPPY to hear this! Surely it's going to be a confidence boost for him and make for a happier fid now. After all this time of struggling to make sure he has a good start to being a happy and healthy ekkie, how wonderful it must be to finally see him take flight!
 
Already flying...that is SO wonderfull!


Now your little one can grow up "parrot" instead of "penguin".
So happy for you I could burst!
 
charmedbyekkie said:
ScottB said:
The vet is clearly progressive; not sure if the feather "bank" extends beyond his practice, but a really good outcome. Fergus flew for the first time today (twice in fact), he is still quite uncoordinated but is able to achieve a controlled descent now :)
Scott.
Click to expand...

I'm so, so, SO HAPPY to hear this! Surely it's going to be a confidence boost for him and make for a happier fid now. After all this time of struggling to make sure he has a good start to being a happy and healthy ekkie, how wonderful it must be to finally see him take flight!
Click to expand...

Hi Charmedbyekkie,
Strange thing with all this has been that despite the clip and all the crash landings, it hasn't seemed to have affected Fergus in his attempts to fly; and that's probably why its been so hard, I've become so paranoid and watch him all the time for any sign that he's about to launch.
Yeah I was pretty stoked yesterday with him flying, and he has been constantly doing "ground checks" since the transplant, flapping his wings to get a feel for them...exciting stuff! :)
Scott.
 
ChristaNL said:
Already flying...that is SO wonderfull!


Now your little one can grow up "parrot" instead of "penguin".
So happy for you I could burst!
Click to expand...


Lol, I like that...I saw someone with a gif on here a few weeks back with a male eclectus and the classic Kermit the frog line "its not easy being green" and that's what I say to him all the time following his mishaps...probably end up in his vocabulary ha,ha
Scott.
 
Sooooooooooo late to this party, but WOW! I love this! And I'm so happy for Fergus! I've known about the imping procedure for some time now (I think MonicaMc was the first one who'd told me about it, and shared video links), but you are the first member that I know of who has had the procedure done on one of their parrots. Please post pics and video as his flying advances.

I'd recommend working with him using 2 adjustable height training perches.

I'm so happy for you and Fergus! Thank you for sharing this!
 
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