is he in pain?

[skeetkeet]

new budgie eight days ago. He went through the usual afraid-of-big-human stage then became very realxed quite quickly, grinding his beak as I sung him to sleep and generally being very sweet on me (wagging tail when he sees me side to side, lots of blinks etc). When he started becoming more energetic about four days in he was climbing onto the bars and I noticed his toe was INSIDE his leg ring, as in the whole back toe was inside it and poking out the other end running against his leg.
He was enjoying head rubs from me, which was either him being well introduced to cuddles from humans before (got him from a breeder) or just being friendly to hide the pain, I tried to move the ring up and slip his toe out myself but it wouldnt budge, so I called the breeder and of course he tells me just to do it myself with a tooth pick and said he couldnt help me, after some exasperation from me telling him hes either ringed bullseye wrong or the ring is too big I gave up on help from him and called the vet. They took the ring off but didnt check him, and the toe is quite clearly broken/dead/somethings wrong as he doesnt bend it at all and it just sort of sits backwards.
He was chirping in the box home and I felt very guilty about having to put him in and out of this box and hold him at the vets while they prodded him and cut his nail to take bloods at the same time ( instead of me coming back for his first check up). And when we got home he seemed perfectly content, although pulling his foot up a little sometimes as if he was going to one-foot perch then putting it down again,
Now, he still sings, still eats, still comes to the cage door and has started eating anything that I show him to eat (romaine lettuce, gem lettuce, cucumber, millet and apple) and he doesnt seem to wince or be in pain with his foot although will pull it away if I touch it (which he doesnt do with the other foot), but he is sleepy as hell most of the day and WONT GRIND HIS BEAK. AT ALL. He seems to enjoy my company and when I gently stroke his cheeks he'll bow his head and does the *scratch behind my ear bit please* thing, closing his eyes as I stroke him, but still NO grinding like before. Not a peep. I find this really worrying, he has grinded very slightly once today and thats it, he used to grind his beak all night as I sung and spoke to him.
Also he is very sleepy most of the day with random outspurts of energy (singing, climbing around, shredding through his foraging toys/veggies) and he ONLY SLEEPS ON BOTH LEGS, he never perches on one foot.
The toe doesnt move at all, he doesnt curl it, it isnt discoloured either although his ankle looks a little black I feel thats probably the idodine the vets put on his nail.
What should I do?
the toe looks fine just he doesnt curl it up it just sort of sticks out of his foot as if it is numb.
perhaps hes overtired?

 

[itzjbean]

Did the vet give him any antibiotics? Any medication of some kind besides iodine? It still seems that your budgie is not 100% and if I were you, I would seek a second opinion. Where are you located in the world? A certified avian vet will be able to examine the toe to see if it is still functional/has blood circulation or if not it would need amputated. I am appalled the breeder did not help you. Often time birds get sick so quickly that any signs of change in behavior should be checked out by a vet. Lots of sleepiness is NOT a good thing and should be a signal to you to take him to another vet, ASAP!

 

[skeetkeet]

Did the vet give him any antibiotics? Any medication of some kind besides iodine? It still seems that your budgie is not 100% and if I were you, I would seek a second opinion. Where are you located in the world? A certified avian vet will be able to examine the toe to see if it is still functional/has blood circulation or if not it would need amputated. I am appalled the breeder did not help you. Often time birds get sick so quickly that any signs of change in behavior should be checked out by a vet. Lots of sleepiness is NOT a good thing and should be a signal to you to take him to another vet, ASAP!

Thank you Ill take him tomorrow, I live in scotland and bush campus/royal dicks exotic vets are there with an avian specialist just 10 minutes drive. Do you have any advice on transporting him? I want to cause the least stress, I have a small travel cage but also lots of boxes that I could maybe even stick a paintbrush handle through as a perch?

 

[skeetkeet]

Did the vet give him any antibiotics? Any medication of some kind besides iodine? It still seems that your budgie is not 100% and if I were you, I would seek a second opinion. Where are you located in the world? A certified avian vet will be able to examine the toe to see if it is still functional/has blood circulation or if not it would need amputated. I am appalled the breeder did not help you. Often time birds get sick so quickly that any signs of change in behavior should be checked out by a vet. Lots of sleepiness is NOT a good thing and should be a signal to you to take him to another vet, ASAP!

Also they just put iodine on it

 

[EllenD]

This is disturbing, the behavior of both the breeder, especially the breeder, and the first vet, though that was probably more just a lack of knowledge. I'm glad you are going to take him to an Avian specialist, because if he's acting sickly or not himself, it may just be because he's in a lot of pain from the fracture, but it could also be due to a Bacterial infection setting in, which can turn into sepsis very quickly and kill him very quickly.

As already mentioned, his toe will very likely have to be amputated, which will not cause him any future issues, they can do just fine without a toe, just like we can. My Senegal lost his backward-pointing toe on his left foot in a cage accident, and the only way you'd know is if you actually saw that the toe is missing. But if it's turning at all dark in-color, it's likely that the blood flow to the toe tissue was cut-off by the ring for too long a time period, and the tissue is now dead or dying due to the extended hypoxia. This will not only cause the toe tissue to become necrotic and die, but the necrosis will continue to spread up the foot, up the leg, etc. if not treated with the proper antibiotic. Amputation is the quickest and most certain way to stop the spread of infection, and then after they amputate the toe they most likely will give him antibiotic injections, not oral antibiotics, as injections of antibiotics work so much more effectively for a local infection like this. He'll be just fine as long as he gets to a vet ASAP. Be prepared, they will probably want to take an x-ray of the toe at this point to see if the infection is extensive and in the bone, that is if they can't tell just by looking at the toe. If they can tell just by looking then they'll just amputate it, either way, both the x-ray and/or the amputation will require your bird to be gassed, which is totally safe when done by an experienced Avian specialist, but it can be upsetting for the bird's owner the first time you see it happen...I've been there, and when they gas them they just go limp and it's upsetting, just know that he'll be totally fine in the hands of an experienced Avian Vet.

As far as a carrier to take him in, if you have a small carrier, such as a dog or cat carrier, that's best, just make sure to put a blanket or towels inside it to pad it, and then put a sheet or blanket over the entire carrier before taking him out to the car, and then keep him covered on the seat beside you. No need to add a perch for this, as he may not be able to perch right after the appointment, depending on what they do, he'll be fine just standing/sitting in the carrier, just make sure it's very well-padded and covered before you take him outside to the car. That way his anxiety will stay low until you actually get him into the exam room at the vet's office.