# Emergency!! Chewy broke his leg :(



## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

I need help! Chewy just had another night fright and he got his foot stuck in the spring door on the side of the cage. His left leg is limp and he can't put any weight on it. I called the closest emergency vet that is an hour away and they said all they can do tonight is give him pain medicine until the exotics vet comes in in the morning. We have him in a travel cage right now on a towel and he seems to be settled, but I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to what I can give him as far as easing his pain a little bit?? Pleas help


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## Mezza (Feb 19, 2013)

Oh no!  I would get him to the emergency vet so they can at least give him pain relief.

Thoughts and prayers coming your way. xx


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

We found another one with an avian vet there, we're on our way now!! Hopefully he makes it


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## Bagheera (Feb 27, 2014)

Oh poor Chewy! I am so sorry to hear about your feathery baby! Please keep us updated on his condition! My prayers are with you!


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Oh no! I hope he's alright


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Thank you everyone! We found another emergency vet that had a vet on site that sees birds, we brought him in (an hour away) and they are going to anesthetize him and splint his leg. They are going to keep him overnight to monitor him too. They are going to call me after the procedure is over and then again tomorrow after the day vet comes in. I just hope he makes it through the anesthesia she said if he does then he has a good chance of having the leg be functional because he is so young, it will just take a few weeks to heal and he'll hate the split but whatever. Almost $500 but totally worth it if he pulls through!


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## Mezza (Feb 19, 2013)

Thank you for the update. 

Yes they are worth every expensive penny.

Good luck and stay strong Chewy xx


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## Peaches&Me (Oct 30, 2013)

Oh poor baby  positive energy winging it's way to Chewy, I hope it all goes well today, good luck x


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

I got a call at about 2:30am, he made it through the procedure and anesthesia, they're going to call me a little later and tell me when I can come get him


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

Oh, so sorry this happened.
Will be thinking of you and Chewy and hoping for continued recovery.


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## blueybluesky (Jul 9, 2013)

poor Chewy  I'm glad he made it through and hope he keeps doing well


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

I'm very glad to hear he made it through


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## thewandererw (Aug 22, 2011)

Hope chewy has a quick and speedy recovery

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Chewy is home  Here he was at the vet with his little baby blue splint



And here is his hospital cage that he has to be in for the next month, so he doesn't try to perch or climb while healing 



So here is what happened:

I was out at a friend's, Mike was home. He put the birds to bed like normal. We had taken the ladders out of the bottom of the cage a few days ago because we thought that's what he was hurting his wings on when he was having his frights. Well soon enough as Mike got into bed, Chewy had a fright and must have flopped down straight across to the opposite side of the cage and managed to push the spring door open enough to get his leg through, then his leg band got him stuck and he couldn't pull his leg back out. Mike ran down right away and saw him flapping and hanging, he got his leg out but it was already fractured and bleeding everywhere. He called me in a panic and I zoomed home. After calling a few vets, we found one that could take him so we rushed over. We put styptic powder on his leg before we left and put him in the travel cage with a towel. 

When the vet checked him she didn't even bring up the option of euthanasia so we asked just to make sure, she said because he is so young and we brought him in quickly that there is a very good chance his leg will heal and he will be able to walk on it again. We were just worried about his quality of life and living without a foot (worst case scenario). So we agreed to have him treated. She knocked him out, x-rayed him and splinted him. He made it through fine. I picked him up this afternoon and he will have to be in the hospital cage on his own for 3-4 weeks while he heals. He is on pain meds 3 times a day and amoxicillin twice a day for 10-14 days. He has to go back weekly for a check up for the next month and then they are going to re-xray in a month but they don't have to put him under again.

Poor little guy, he seems so miserable  I hope he eats and drinks like he is supposed to. I'm trying to keep him quiet but we can't help but keep checking on him. He's just a fluffed up little thing. So stressful!

Moral of the story: If you have a cage, ANY cage, with spring-loaded doors, PLEASE please please zip tie them or secure them so that this doesn't happen to your bird  Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words of encouragement!


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## SoCalTiels (Oct 8, 2013)

I'm so sorry this happened to you, must have been so scary. Super happy to hear that the procedure went well, and that he seems to be doing better now, even if he's not happy about it. Hopefully he makes a full recovery. Sending good juju your and Chewy's way.


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## littletiel (May 15, 2011)

Sending Chewy lots of love for a speedy recovery...


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## TamaMoo (Jan 12, 2014)

Big hugs from Joey and me, to Chewy and his worried parents! So glad he is on the mend, poor little guy.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

this little guy melts my heart  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cccx1U6jJuk&list=UULFq56ABM0HYvxCAZ6SOJrA


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

Really, really sweet video.


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## TamaMoo (Jan 12, 2014)

Aww... such a sweet, loving baby.


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

How old is Chewy?


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

dianne said:


> How old is Chewy?


He is about 6 months, still a baby  Hopefully that will benefit his healing rate. He's eating and drinking alright today, good signs!


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## Tisena (Sep 28, 2013)

Hoping he has a speedy recovery, poor baby

:tiel6:Tis:tiel3:
Sam & Blizzard


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## Vince (Feb 18, 2014)

Oh wow...what a stressful ride that must have been.
I am so happy to hear that its going well...
I worried about this sort of thing as soon as we got our Tiel, & cable tied all of the doors shut except the main ones on both cages.
Very good advice as you have said....zip tie any unnecessary doors shut.
Imagine the potential if they get their head through during a night fright 
I hope all heals super fast....maybe this will just increase the bond between you both


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Wow! I have heard those spring-loaded doors can be dangerous, but now I really see why. I would go ahead and post warnings about this anywhere you can, as I know this is a very popular cage. People need to be aware of the dangers.

So glad Chewy (and his leg) are going to be okay. I know the splint will be a bit of a drag for him, but I really wouldn't worry too much now that you've got him taken care of. Birds heal super quickly. I once rescued a budgie with a broken leg, and it healed in three weeks once splinted by the vet. Someone in another community accidentally broke their tiel's leg by rolling over it with an office chair, and it also healed in a few weeks. Only a terrible vet would suggest euthanasia for something like this! For heaven's sake, birds can live just fine with amputated legs, or broken ones that healed wrong. They aren't like horses.

For my injured budgie, I kept him in a Petco finch flight cage with low rope perches. It worked out totally fine. That might be more comfortable for Chewy than a tub. I would at least place a perch/branch on the bottom of the hospital cage so he can somewhat perch without overexerting himself. Just my two cents. 

You are a good mama!


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Just tracked down a picture of the "recovery" cage I had for the little budgie and his buddy:


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Sending virtual scritches to Chewy. He's a tough little guy, I'm sure he will recover just fine. Thank the heavens for avian vets!!


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

moonchild said:


> Wow! I have heard those spring-loaded doors can be dangerous, but now I really see why. I would go ahead and post warnings about this anywhere you can, as I know this is a very popular cage. People need to be aware of the dangers.
> 
> So glad Chewy (and his leg) are going to be okay. I know the splint will be a bit of a drag for him, but I really wouldn't worry too much now that you've got him taken care of. Birds heal super quickly. I once rescued a budgie with a broken leg, and it healed in three weeks once splinted by the vet. Someone in another community accidentally broke their tiel's leg by rolling over it with an office chair, and it also healed in a few weeks. Only a terrible vet would suggest euthanasia for something like this! For heaven's sake, birds can live just fine with amputated legs, or broken ones that healed wrong. They aren't like horses.
> 
> ...


The vet said she doesn't want him perching or climbing for at least 2 weeks, and she doesn't want him tripping over anything so that's why we're using the tub, so that he has a flat surface to get his injured foot used to being in the proper flat position again instead of being dragged backwards.


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

Wishing he best for you and Chewy.

In the video he looked so much like my Silver (you had commented on the resemblance before), it made my heart ache for the little thing. He's so sweet and affectionate! Silver doesn't allow head scritches yet.


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## crafti142 (Dec 27, 2013)

Sending my prayers your way for a full recovery


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## wandalee (Feb 17, 2013)

Sending lots of get well soon vibes to Chewy!


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Update: Chewy had his first vet recheck yesterday and it went very well! She said he is looking great considering what happened to him. His bum foot is not discolored or swollen or anything abnormal. He's not picking at his bandage at all (yet  ) but he's still not putting any weight on that leg at all. She is letting me skip next week's check up and wait 2 weeks to reassess. I'm hoping they don't have to put him back under anesthesia to recheck his leg, but we'll see. 1 more week of medication, thank goodness, that is the least favorite part for him and I!  So far, so good!


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

Awww. Hang in, there! It sounds like he is getting the best of care. Still, it must be hard for you going through this with him :-(. We're here for you.


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## Vince (Feb 18, 2014)

Thats awesome news


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## rpo (Mar 8, 2011)

BirdCrazyJill said:


> Update: Chewy had his first vet recheck yesterday and it went very well! She said he is looking great considering what happened to him. His bum foot is not discolored or swollen or anything abnormal. He's not picking at his bandage at all (yet  ) but he's still not putting any weight on that leg at all. She is letting me skip next week's check up and wait 2 weeks to reassess. I'm hoping they don't have to put him back under anesthesia to recheck his leg, but we'll see. 1 more week of medication, thank goodness, that is the least favorite part for him and I!  So far, so good!


Fantastic! I am amazed that Chewy is not trying to destroy the bandage. When Corona lost her toe and broke it as well, she spent 90% of her day slowly unraveling the bandage. It sounds like Chewy is doing great considering the injury!


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

aww poor Corona  is her toe better now? she is so adorable


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

We brought Chewy down into the living room where we spend most of our time and where the other birds are  He is still in his hospital cage for a couple weeks, but at least now he has company again!



Muffin came to visit him



Snuggling with his soft friend. This guy also helps him because when he tries to sleep, he falls over a lot because he is off-balance without being able to use his other foot yet 



aaaaand nap time


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## SoCalTiels (Oct 8, 2013)

Aww he's curled up next to the stuffed puppy. Way too cute, but poor Chewy. Glad he's on the road to recovery


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## Newtonian (Feb 19, 2014)

The stuffed animal snuggling is too cute! Glad to read that he's doing well.


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