# broken toe help



## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i know theres not much you can do about broken toes...

dally and tsuka were having their out of cage time and dally landed on munch's cage and munch chomped her toe from in the cage. its clearly broken at the tip near the toe as it is slightly crooked. we stopped the bleeding, cleaned it as best we could and put bird antiseptic cream on it and gave her lots of cuddles. shes not fully standing on it now shes back in her cage but she CAN stand on it...

just wondering if theres anything else we should be doing than what we've done. and what about a cayenne pepper paste? it would relieve pain... but i dunno if it would be good on an open cut... wouldnt it burn?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

it reopened again and is bleeding so we put her in the travel cage to prevent her from climbing much, which is what opened it again


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## DairyMay (Jun 18, 2011)

aaaaahhhhh

i wish i could give you some advice on what to do!!  Poor little thing!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

shes bleeding a lot...  corn starch made her bleed more, we are going to put a bandaid on the toe. i know it sounds stupid but she keeps reopening it even though she is in the carrier! she climbs that!


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## DairyMay (Jun 18, 2011)

shes just determined to make this as hard as possible!!!


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## JaspersMomma (Dec 11, 2008)

Omgoodness that poor little thing. I hope you get the problem sorted out as soon as possible!


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## Lulu The Tiel (Apr 11, 2011)

Oy vey.  How long was she on her cage that she had to bite her toe? 

How is she doing now?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

2 seconds. munch was right there.

stopped the bleeding again, put a bandaid on it and shes not picking at it at all so far... i put honey in her water to keep her energy up but if she doesnt drink anything within an hour, im going to syringe her the honey water


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## Marlie (Jan 27, 2011)

omg!! i wish i had some advice to give you  Maybe call a 24 hr bird clinic and ask what they think you should do??


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

we got it bandaged  luckily i know someone who's had a tiel get bit by their lovie and it was the same exact thing... so we got some advice on that end too! not much you can do about broken toes, especially at the tip. its not overly crooked and she is utsing it ok when she does use it. its done bleeding now too so shes back in the big cage with the bandage and shes been handfed some honey water. tomorrow morning it will get cleaned again and more antiseptic cream will go on and maybe another bandage depending on the bleeding











i just wish these things would stop happening right now...


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

One of my chicks broke a toe a couple of years ago. I took him to the vet, and they basically taped the broken toe to the adjacent toe to keep it aligned properly while it healed. I can't remember if they did any splinting but I'm inclined to think that they didn't. They did put some unnecessary bandaging on the ankle as a distraction so he would be inclined to pick at that instead of the real bandage. When the bandages came off a week later it was healed perfectly.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

ok so should i tape it to the toe next to it? she doesnt pick at the bandage on there now, i only have it on to stop the bleeding over night. shes yet to even bother with it. shes sleeping now with that foot tucked up really good and she was beak grinding before sleep...


do the back toes splint together ok? its the very tip of the toe. i wanted to take the bandage off tomorrow so the wound can air out and heal properly. so i am kinda stumped on whether i should keep it bandaged to protect the toe from being banged in her cage or if i should let it be and let the wound air out. the wound itself is deep

we also have some baytril leftover from toby when he was ill. do you reccomend using it as precaution against infection? its 5 months old. would you reccomend it?


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Poor Dally.  I think the main things are to stop the blood (which you have done), and watch for infection. The minute you aren’t watching, Dally could rip it off and it will start bleeding again, but hopefully that won’t happen and Dally will let it dry up and scab over. Keep cleaning it and putting a new band-aid on it, we use band-aids too (cut into a strip) when toes get bitten.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

so you think i should keep it covered then until it scabs over?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If the toe is looking straight then you're probably OK not taping it to the other toe. If it looks crooked then it probably needs to be straightened out and taped to its neighbor.

I'm not an expert on meds, so you might want to call your vet and ask about the Baytril. You could ask about taping the toe too, since professional advice is better than listening to me.

My chick broke a long toe in the front, in the middle of the toe. Since Dally's toe is broken near the tip, the broken part would not line up with any part of the short toe. So she might need a splint to keep it straight.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

problem with where the toe is crooked, its at the joint with the claw, which is past the tip of the toe next to it


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## DairyMay (Jun 18, 2011)

oh my gosh every time i see a picture my tummy gets butterflies...poor baby Dally!!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

She would probably need a splint to keep that straight.


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

The vet may want to take the tip off instead of splinting it if it keeps reopening. A stitch or two right on the joint may be needed also.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

ok, i have no money for the vets... we just had a problem recently with another bird too... ugh! munch picks the worst times for everything.

if i make one from a tooth pick taped to the flat side of her foot, do you think it will work? i will draw a diagram of what i think might do... just want your opinion


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

As long as it doesn't get infected it should be alright. Keep the antibiotic on it and make sure her perches are clean. You don't want her walking in poop or anything.


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## DairyMay (Jun 18, 2011)

You poor thing you just cant seem to catch a break!!!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

ok drew up a diagram and i will explain what i think


i want to keep the wound open to clean it so i dont have to remove the splint to do so. and because the break is at the tip, i will tape it at the nail to avoid the wound but secure the broken part of the toe in place.
this leaves the other toes free to move, and the broken toe supported. two splints on both sides to protect the toe, and projecting the splints a bit longer than the toe to protect the toe as well... what do you think?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

That looks good to me but please don't forget that *I don't actually know anything about this.* I found a medical text on broken bird toes at http://www.avianmedicine.net/ampa/16.pdf and if you do some googling you might find more info. But if you can get hold of srtiels, she will probably be your best source of information.

Birds are squirmy and it does look like that splint might be difficult to put on.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i got the bandaid on ok... dally is pretty mellow with stuff like that so i might luck out. though i will let it be if i cant do it and try to get my neighbour to help if hes home as my fiance is at work tomorrow... so unless i can do it myself, it might either have to be the neighbour who helps or she waits til my fiance gets home from work tomorrow night.

still, your advice is what i got, and i trust your advice. its better than doing nothing and its all i got as we dont quite have the money for the vets right now


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

ok i put the splint on now, only needed on side, not the one in the middle. did it by myself, shes pretty good. took 10 minutes tops, watched how she was with it. nibbling but no biting or ripping at it. more like shes grooming it.


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

Be very careful removing the tape on the nail, you may cause more harm removing it than letting be. It looks good. Keep an eye on swelling and discoloration that might indicate it's too tight. Remove it ASAP if her toe begins to swell or change color or feel warm to the touch.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

thanks mentha. the splint is loose. i dont tape tight as i cant feel it myself if its too tight and i wanted it to be comfortable. she can bend the toe for the most part at the foot but nowhere else. and if i remove it from the toe, im cutting the bandage off rather than peel that one off. its a sensitive spot.

the splint is more to keep the toe from getting banged up than anything. theres no swelling at all, small bit of bruising and her feet are the same temp as eachother. keeping her other foot as a guide for that. i just want the wound especially to stop bleeding but she knocks it on the cage or the floor and it bleeds. splinting it so far is reducing it but keeping the wound open to air dry and heal like that. that splint is there to stay unless theres a problem (infection, swelling, excessive trying to rip it off)

shes sleeping right now no problem. shes not bothering the splint, shes just sleeping now, which is good, its been a long night for her. gonna let her sleep in today


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## Melgann (Jun 5, 2011)

It must be a day for it we just got home from the vet Bailey has broken a toe I was going to post a thread myself when I bumped into yours. They used a splint and tape over his toe with Elastoplast over the top as it's harder for him to chew through they said to keep it on at least a week at a minimum but wanted to keep it on for two weeks he has three days of antibiotics and a cone around his neck to stop him from chewing his bandage  he is very sookie I feel so bad for him the cone is throwing off his balance. Vet told me he will most likely get arthritis in his foot and also to make sure the toe stays pink not black. Hope this helps you.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Wow poor dally, hopefully it will heal up pretty fast 

Wow melgann hope bailey gets better too


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## Lulu The Tiel (Apr 11, 2011)

How's Dally doing this morning?

Melgann I hope Bailey gets better as well!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

toe looks really good this morning, gave it another clean and put the antiseptic cream on. shes eating, climbing the cage and everything and shes still not bothering the splint.

shes standing on it this morning!

































there must be some odd coincidence lol


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## Marlie (Jan 27, 2011)

Aw shes such a good girl. Poor Dally


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## Lulu The Tiel (Apr 11, 2011)

GOOD! 

Look at that sweet innocent face.


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## Melgann (Jun 5, 2011)

I wish Bailey was doing as well he didn't sleep had a bit of a fright actully it was massive and he isn't eating or drinking. I think I'll have to take the cone off if he chews the splint bandage he chews it. It seems to be stressing him more than the toe was. breaks my heart to see him so upset 
However it is good to hear your little one is doing well gives me hope


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## Buggy (Jan 27, 2011)

I hope there will be no more accidents.But if something happen in future you can use blood stop glue.It stops the bleeding and its very effective.


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## JaspersMomma (Dec 11, 2008)

Glad to Dally i healing up so far.

Melgann, I hope your will follow suit soon.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

yeah i took the splint off as the scab that was forming was sticking to it. the toe is only sightly crooked so if it heals like that its not a huge deal i worry more about infection.

shes trying to steal my dinner at the moment while she is sitting on my laptop


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## DairyMay (Jun 18, 2011)

wow! i think you got luck to have such a Tiel that wont pick at her splint! lol im glad she is doing better. These birds of yours have gotta let you rest at some point.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

its not bad, but the scab was sticking to the splint so i dont need infection.

she wanted cuddles though


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

So is it starting to scab over? That is good if it is, she will have a quick recovery.









Charlie’s nail had to be surgically removed, it was nearly completely off (don’t know what happened still to this day), but when I took him back to have the bandage removed to see if it was healed, the freaking idiot of a vet literally ripped off the bandage which ripped off the scab (it DID scab over) and it poured out with blood so had to re-bandage and then take him back in a few days. Ugh, I will never see that vet again, the second time I seen my avian vet, but he wasn’t there the first time sadly, luckily he was so much more careful and it had scabbed over again.







I put a complaint about the first vet too, haha.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

yeah its starting to scab over, which is good. we are going away for the weekend and cannot change plans and cannot bring dally with us, but we have a friend who is going to take her for the weekend to make sure her toe keeps getting proper treatment as she has also gone through this with her lovebird and cockatiel.

yeah you shouldnt rip a bandage off anyone for that reason... sometimes i wonder about vets...


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

Good to see Dally is on the road to recovery  She's such a good patient.


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## Boshia (Jul 3, 2011)

What about putting some clear Plexiglass on top of Munch's cage? I know I read about something like this in a similar thread. It'll stop future bites to the toes, hopefully. But hey, him biting her means that he's feeling much better ! Glad to hear that Dally's doing well also.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

well for now we have a pillow case over munchs cage, we cant afford the plexiglass for her cage at the moment.

just want to share that dally's toe is doing great! was away for the weekend but our friend did an excellent job taking care of dally and tsuka!


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## geenz (Apr 4, 2011)

Wow poor Dally! Glad to hear she's doing better now though  The first day I got Spike I had a fright where he somehow scraped his toe in the cage and was bleeding everywhere but luckily the cornflour stopped it and he sat still long enough for it to not get knocked off


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## Lulu The Tiel (Apr 11, 2011)

Yay, Dally!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

got photo update on toe... crooked slightly, but doesnt seem to bother anyone so we're leaving it, scab is healing up, mostly bruising left


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## Melgann (Jun 5, 2011)

Wow she healed up fast so happy for your baby!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

how's bailey's toe?


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## Melgann (Jun 5, 2011)

Getting there I hope, he still has the splint on. I think he enjoys trying to chew off  I think he has stopped plucking can't see anymore blood or anything. On the mend I would say


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

thats good


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## This'll Do (Jun 24, 2011)

That toe is looking _much_ better! Sounds like she tolerated the splint well and is not picking at the toe either. That sure helps them heal faster.

Miss Munch is back to being a naughty bird! I remember that video of her chasing Dally around the room. Poor Dally. Glad to see that both of your birdie girls are gonna be fine. What a month, eh?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

yeah not a fun month for us lol


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