# Cockatiel with a broken leg



## jforsha

I discovered my favorite tiel in the aviary with a completely broken femur and a floppy leg to prove it. It had obviously happened very recently, as only just earlier she was fine. The poor thing came hobbling over to me using her wing on the broken side as a crutch and her poor foot flopping along. It was like she was looking for help. I took her in to my wife, a nurse, and we took care of it this way: 

I measured the length of the good femure from the hip to the knee using a small hand-held ruler and made a splint by cutting (4) pieces out of a popsickle stick slightly shorter than her femur (appx 1/8"W x 3/4" L or so), just long enough to immobilize the broken femur. I smoothed all edges with a dremel and hot-glued one edge of one piece and stuck a second piece to it, leaving a slight 'V' shaped profile and reinforced the outside corner with hot glue, completing one half of the splint. I repeated this with the remaining two pieces to make the other half of the splint. With a little help from my wife, I placed each side of the fabricated splint on either side of the broken femur, and loosely wrapped it with a 1/4" wide strip of coban only a wrap or two. I adjusted the leg to proper alignment/length, wrapped the splint with the remaining few inches of coban, making the final couple of wraps around her knee to make her foot bend normally. 

I have placed her in a hospital tank with a towel on the bottom and am keeping a close eye on her, giving her miloxicam for swelling and pain and enrofloxacin as an antibiotic as well as liquid calcium to help the bone heal. I had these left over from another more minor foot injury where the bird lost the tip of it's toe and I made the mistake of taking her to the vet who wanted $600 to amputate to the nearest knuckle. Like a fool, I paid it, as part of the bone was sticking out and I didn't want it to get infected and go gangrenous or something, but I will not be scammed again by a vet who charged me $1800/hr (it was a 20 min procedure at $600). I love my birds, but am not a rich guy. I checked again today, to make sure that she has circulation in her foot by checking the foot's temp with my lips and found it to be warm, so I know she is getting blood to it. She seems happy and is eating, drinking and exploring the tank. She does not seem to be moving her toes though. This may be due to nerve damage or just swelling, I am guessing. Maybe it will go away. Maybe not. Not much a vet could do about that. Her leg is completely immobilized and she seems fine. 

I am just wondering how long it will take the bone to heal, so I know when to take the 'cast' off. If anyone has any idea, please let me know. Thanks.


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## xxxSpikexxx

Iam not sure I would trust hot glue as your tiel might chew it. It is good that you tried to help your tiel but when our birds are hurt a vet is the best way to go.


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## srtiels

I've had the same thing happen to me (meaning a vet and same situation)

I had a tiel baby break her leg when she got her leg band caught. I slipped the band up her leg, and did as you did and made a brace and wrapped it with Coflex. I actually had some Fimo, which is a modeling clay that hardens at low temp in the oven. I pressed some against the area of the opposite leg to get an impression, baked it and when it hardened used this as the splint. it matched the shape of her leg. (My break was above the ankle)

it only takes 2 weeks for the bones to set and heal for a tiel.

One thing that will help with pain is to use a baby aspirin. 1 tablet dissolved in 1 pint of water. Use this as the drinking water for the first 2 days. The reason why is that it helps to alleviate pain. But most importantly when a long bone is broken it can release some fat and also contribute to clots in the bloodstream that can be fatal.


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## srtiels

How is the tiel with the broken leg doing? Any movement with the toes yet? At about 2 days after you set the leg you can unwrap ot and feel the bone to make sure it is aligned. If a slight off just adjust and re-set. 

If the skin was not broken there is no need for antibiotics. Unfortunitely once you start an antibiotic you must go the full term...which average is 7-10 days. Using short term for a couple days then stopping many times contributes to the body building up a resistance to that particular antibiotic and it can be ineffective the next time it is needed. Also, when giving anitiotics it is good to give probiotics, and follow up for an additional week after antibiotic treatment with probiotics or an antifungal.

If your diet is a vitamin fortified diet and/or pellets there is no need for additional calcium.

The aspirin is very important as a preventaive against clots to the heart or brain. it also help with swelling.

Please keep us posted on how your bird is doing. A pix of the cast would be great.


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