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Urgent Complications due to band- advice needed

Lady Jane

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Guess I missed something. Why the aloe in his water?
 

Garet

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Never leaving my bird with my mom and bro again. Dad wouldn't watch him while I took the dogs out, bro wouldn't walk them, so I convinced mom to watch him. I came home only to find out that she went to bed because she 'couldn't handle seeing the bird like that' and my brother took Geralt out of his cage to try and give him a walk on the kitchen floor.
While I'm trying to keep his foot and leg from getting infected.
:tmsmakesme:

Guess I missed something. Why the aloe in his water?
To try and give his immune system a little boost. I mentioned it to the vet while speaking with her the other day, and she said it might help.
 

Lady Jane

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Here is the proper dosing to give aloe to a bird for immune boosting. Given once every two weeks is recommended. Is that what you are doing?

Aloe Vera
 

Garet

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@Lady Jane Yes, that's what I'm doing. I mix a small portion into their water every couple of weeks, since they don't enjoy misting. Was planning on letting my plant rest until the end of the month, but if it helps, it helps. This is my first time mixing it in with his water.
 

Lady Jane

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I learned something from you. I had no idea aloe vera was an immune system booster. Thank you for that. I hope things are getting a little better for your sweet little bird. You're doing a very good job with him. You ought to be proud of yourself.
 

fluffypoptarts

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I agree with @Lady Jane - thank you for taking such good care of him through all of this. Poor little birdy! :(

Please take care of yourself as well. Caring for mutilating/mutilated birds is definitely stressful.
 

Garet

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Geralt's leg went stiff and black overnight, he's stopped using it altogether. On hold with the vet to see if they'll take him as an emergency. I don't understand, he was using it up until I covered his cage last night.
 

Hjarta5

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Keeping Geralt in my thoughts -- hope hes ok! :sadhug2:
 

Garet

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Thank you. He looks like he's alright, still hopping around, eating, drinking and pooping, still trying to fly, but his leg looks completely dead.

I just don't get how this happened. I was cleaning off the dirt and seeds, keeping an eye on him, applying the polysporin and everything. It just went black overnight and I don't get it. The vet said she's seen birds fully recover from worse...
 

Garet

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My mom called the vet and I don't know what to do. The vet told her that the surgery to remove his leg is very risky and most birds his size wouldn't survive the surgery to remove the leg.

The other option is medicating him until it falls off naturally. I just don't know what to do.
 

sunnysmom

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I'm so sorry. I don't know what to suggest. I'm sure others will answer. Maybe start a new post so more people can see the new update. Sending prayers to you both.
 

Mer93188

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Hi Garet I’m new to the forum. How is your birdy doing? I am going through a similar situation my birds foot is also necroting but not fully yet. How long did it take for your baby to heal fully? My bird foot got damaged over a month ago and it’s only getting worst. The vet hasn’t mentioned surgery to remove it all. I guess he was trying to see if it would heal and or mention we had to wait for my birdy foot to mark where it needed to be cut off from. You can see my post for pictures and let me know if you have any advice. Thanks and hope your birdy is doing well.
 

Garet

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Hi Garet I’m new to the forum. How is your birdy doing? I am going through a similar situation my birds foot is also necroting but not fully yet. How long did it take for your baby to heal fully? My bird foot got damaged over a month ago and it’s only getting worst. The vet hasn’t mentioned surgery to remove it all. I guess he was trying to see if it would heal and or mention we had to wait for my birdy foot to mark where it needed to be cut off from. You can see my post for pictures and let me know if you have any advice. Thanks and hope your birdy is doing well.
He's doing much better now that the leg is off. The vet had him in a cone and gave me baytril to keep any infection from spreading from his leg to the rest of his body. All in all, it took a month for the cone to come off and a little over a week for the foot to fall off. The rest of the leg went soon after, and life just continued on as normal, really.

Mind you, your bird is much bigger than mine and my vet was VERY anti-surgery. From how she explained it, they'd have to cut well above the knee into my boy's thigh bone, and he'd have a very high risk of either bleeding out or just never waking up due to how poorly some birds take anesthesia. She brought it up because she felt obligated to, but really did not want to perform it on him.

If your bird's case is anything like mine, the leg will basically mummify and pop off on its own. It was really gross and nerve-wracking, but I think it was the better alternative for him. If your boy does start picking before it's basically just bone and skin, you're going to have to put a cone on him. And you're gonna have to watch him carefully so his nail doesn't get caught on anything, or he might break it off prematurely. So no fabrics, no soft toys, ect.
 

Mer93188

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He's doing much better now that the leg is off. The vet had him in a cone and gave me baytril to keep any infection from spreading from his leg to the rest of his body. All in all, it took a month for the cone to come off and a little over a week for the foot to fall off. The rest of the leg went soon after, and life just continued on as normal, really.

Mind you, your bird is much bigger than mine and my vet was VERY anti-surgery. From how she explained it, they'd have to cut well above the knee into my boy's thigh bone, and he'd have a very high risk of either bleeding out or just never waking up due to how poorly some birds take anesthesia. She brought it up because she felt obligated to, but really did not want to perform it on him.

If your bird's case is anything like mine, the leg will basically mummify and pop off on its own. It was really gross and nerve-wracking, but I think it was the better alternative for him. If your boy does start picking before it's basically just bone and skin, you're going to have to put a cone on him. And you're gonna have to watch him carefully so his nail doesn't get caught on anything, or he might break it off prematurely. So no fabrics, no soft toys, ect.
Glad your baby is doing better and it seems like it was fairly quick recovery. You are right my bird is a bit bigger so it may take him longer to loose or drop the remaining dead tissue naturally. I am scared of putting him through surgery but, idk I guess I thought it be easier and faster because it’s seems like he’s in pain. Did your vet say anything about the risks of long term use of baytril? Mine has been on it over a month. Last time I spoke to him 2 weeks ago he said it’s fine. Last week he got seen in between customers since they had no appointments so I didn’t talk to him. The tech just told me more tissue was dying and next time the vet will talk to me about putting a cone and exposing the foot. He got his foot wet today which is why I removed the wet bandage and saw it was worst. (Second time he got it wet shame on me) first time was last Saturday and it was early enough to go to the vet and today it was later. He’s tried to pick on it since day one but, he can’t get to it due to the bandage.
Everyone tells me he will adapt. Sorry I am also curious to know how yours is adapting and moving around? Mine seems to be fine for now since the bandage is tick he basically uses his foot almost normally. After it all falls or removed he’s probably going to be left with a stump. Wondering if he’d be able to balance and put weight on that stump. Is your doing it?
 

Erikalynnha

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@Mer93188

I would ask the vet about fitting him for a cone so the bandage can stay off. I feel like keeping it wrap so long won't allow the wound to dry out properly. Also keeping a dressing on dieing tissue seems like a breeding ground for bacteria. If you can find a vet that is willing to amputate it that could be for the best to and might speed up the recovery a little.

Also would like to add that there are a lot of birds missing limbs. I have seen birds missing both legs that get around just fine. Might need a little cage adjustment but they adapt very well.
 

Garet

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Glad your baby is doing better and it seems like it was fairly quick recovery. You are right my bird is a bit bigger so it may take him longer to loose or drop the remaining dead tissue naturally. I am scared of putting him through surgery but, idk I guess I thought it be easier and faster because it’s seems like he’s in pain. Did your vet say anything about the risks of long term use of baytril? Mine has been on it over a month. Last time I spoke to him 2 weeks ago he said it’s fine. Last week he got seen in between customers since they had no appointments so I didn’t talk to him. The tech just told me more tissue was dying and next time the vet will talk to me about putting a cone and exposing the foot. He got his foot wet today which is why I removed the wet bandage and saw it was worst. (Second time he got it wet shame on me) first time was last Saturday and it was early enough to go to the vet and today it was later. He’s tried to pick on it since day one but, he can’t get to it due to the bandage.
Everyone tells me he will adapt. Sorry I am also curious to know how yours is adapting and moving around? Mine seems to be fine for now since the bandage is tick he basically uses his foot almost normally. After it all falls or removed he’s probably going to be left with a stump. Wondering if he’d be able to balance and put weight on that stump. Is your doing it?
From what I can remember, the vet didn't want him on baytril for too long so his immune system could kick in and fight whatever infections he would be on. If his leg is bad, you might not want to put anything on it. I was applying polysporin twice daily under her advice to begin with, but once it started to decay, she told me to keep the injury as dry as possible. You're also going to want to make sure he doesn't get seeds or poop stuck to it, and you might have to help him preen and clean himself. You could ask for pain killers and see what the vet says. My boy wasn't in any pain because the nerve endings in his foot were basically dead, but he was pretty miserable being in his cone and dropped a lot of weight as the cone put pressure on his crop and made him feel full.
He adapted like a champ, tbh. As soon as the cone was off and it was gone, he started using it. He prefers to perch without weight on it, but he uses his stump to climb, scratch, hop, land, ect. The only thing he can't do is use it to grip. He's as quick as my other birds when it comes to climbing and will even use it when he hangs from the top of his cage. What he'll do is stick his stump through the bars and use it as a foot.
 

Garet

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@Mer93188

I would ask the vet about fitting him for a cone so the bandage can stay off. I feel like keeping it wrap so long won't allow the wound to dry out properly. Also keeping a dressing on dieing tissue seems like a breeding ground for bacteria. If you can find a vet that is willing to amputate it that could be for the best to and might speed up the recovery a little.

Also would like to add that there are a lot of birds missing limbs. I have seen birds missing both legs that get around just fine. Might need a little cage adjustment but they adapt very well.
Yes, this! I'm not sure if the risks to smaller birds are the same risks the larger birds would face. The bit about the bacteria and drying out the wound is super important, though. I get why yhe vet wanted to bandage it to try and keep it clean while there was still hope, but now it's probably more of a hindrance than a help.
 
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