# Unweaned baby with badly broken leg!!



## Live life (Mar 9, 2014)

So I visited my neighbor today and he showed me his aviaries and there's one baby tiel who's newly fledged that was sitting funny on the ground and only hanging onto the wire with his beak.

he grabbed him out and it out and turned it on his back and when he moved the bird it's leg just flopped around like it had no control over it or it wasn't attatched at the hip or something. 

Is there a way to help this bird? Maybe splint it? Or does it sound dislocated because it just flops around? Or would it be best to just put the bird out of its misery?

Unfortunately a visit to the vet isn't an option as the owner won't take it. 
:tiel6: :tiel6: :tiel6: :tiel6: :tiel6: :tiel6:':tiel6:


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

I think his leg probably got stuck in the wire and he dislocated or broke it trying to get it free. He probably is in a lot of pain and should see a vet if he can. Try looking up some avian mobile vets in the area, they usually have a decent pricing if the owner won't go in to see a vet and could splint it for the price of a vet visit most likely. He might have been in shock or stunned from the pain.

Parrots can live very well with dislocated legs, my 'tiel had one and she is just fine now. Even though the leg had fused because it was misdiagnosed as broken. When Kiwi's was dislocated, the leg was twisted around at an 80 degree angle. She was limping with it, the bone had completely gone through the skin and she was limping. A lot of the symptoms are similar to breaking a bone. I'd think that the owner's parrot could have either one, but if you can move the leg around more angles than usual dislocated is probably a good bet. The important thing with dislocations is you can't wait more than two-three days at the most or it will set like that and it is stuck there forever without surgery. So they should try and turn it the right way and wrap it quickly! It is important to set it right. The thing with dislocations is that depending on where it fuses if it is not treated it can cut off blood circulation to the leg and then the leg may have to be removed if it starts undergoing necrosis if it doesn't fall off on its own. If it is dry necrosis it is probably fine, but usually they get put on baytril in case of infections.

If it is broken the same thing can happen, but they can have a bone infection which is worse because that can kill them fairly quickly. So they usually have to be on antibiotics like baytril for both dislocations and broken bones until they are done healing. There can also be fractures on top of the breaks or dislocation need to be looked out for. If any pieces of bone broke completely off the body will absorb them or they may work their way out of the leg through the skin, watch out for that it is frightening.

I can say dislocations are worse to deal with and I hope that their parrot only has a break, because setting a dislocation doesn't guarantee it works. If the parrot moves around too much, tries to walk and falls, or chews on the wrapping and rips it off then the set joint can pop back out again. I would have a vet look at it if he is not already better because then it isn't just a sprain and is more serious.

There are some links on how to splint, but if it is at the hip I would have them at least ask a vet how to splint that. My 'tiels leg was only dislocated at the knee joint and it was completely wrapped up. I do have some pictures of it I can link to for reference. My vet used some thin cotton wrap to gently wrap around the leg first and then wrapped vet wrap around that, vet wrap is very hard and birds can't chew it off to unset the leg. They need to check the leg every once in a while to see it's condition and if any tissue is dying off.
http://www.lbah.com/word/fractured-bird-leg/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj7EBNWRNCQ
Cotton wrap:http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=104625&page=7
I don't have the best pictures of her cast, but the vet wrap you have to leave a bit of space by loosely wrapping it or else it will also cut off circulation. I had to help wrap Kiwi's leg a few times. They can leave the foot uncovered, cover it with the wrap if the parrot starts chewing on their foot though and mutilating it. If they don't chew on their feet, then looking at the color of their toes is the best indicator if it is wrapped too tightly/circulation is getting cut off. If you catch it soon then you can get the circulation back to the joints and save them, I think a day is the limit from when you start noticing an area starting to turn blue/light gray. If it is more black than gray you can still try but you won't recover as much of the dead area.


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