My bird has an injured wing.

[Ilsa]

I got her a couple of months ago, but although she preferred to climb instead of fly, her wings seemed normal. I removed her from the enclosure recently and saw that she couldn't comfortably extend her wing completely. I have some images; can you advise me what's wrong? I'm hoping it's a simple fix; I want her able to fly again. I'm planning on taking my girl to visit the vet, but it would be nice to have an idea of what's going on.

I let her have free rein of the floor, and took a video of her. This site doesn't allow video uploads that I can see, so I screenshotted a frame where she actively attempts to spread both her wings. The full clip, she goes to the wall, extends her wings, then falls back onto her back, rights herself, and walks. I caught the image just about where the wings are extended to give you a good idea of her range of motion.

Any help at all is incredibly useful. I've had parakeets since I was very young, but one has never really had a wing problem.

Thank you for your time!

 

[expressmailtome]

I am sorry to hear that she hurt herself. Here is a link to the thread that explains how to post a video: How To: Post a Picture / Video | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum .

 

[Lady Jane]

An injury to a birds wing should be treated by an avian vet. This type of injury is often painful so your bird may need medication for that too. We can only advise you.

 

[Ilsa]

I'm not a big YouTube uploader, but here's the clip.

 

[WendyN]

Best to have her checked out by an avian vet.
Hoping that it is possible.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Best to take her to vet for an exam.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I hope she's okay, that flipping over seems odd. Please keep posted on how she is doing!

 

[MnGuy]

Definitely take her to a vet ASAP. Do not wait and monitor and hope for the best.

Good luck.

 

[Lady Jane]

@Ilsa are you there? We like to get feedback on the status of your bird and what you are going to do please

 

[Ilsa]

Hey there!
Seems like it's an older injury that's healed by now. She's learned to compensate; she fluttered off the vet's examination table and to the floor. It wasn't a plunging fall; she's learned how to adapt. Unfortunately, this means that she can't fly, but her enclosure's wire is made of chicken-wire, so it's easy for her to get around and climb. I just need to pad the bottom of the pen, because if she falls, I don't want her damaged any further. Trying to find the exact cause, I was told, would cost hundreds of dollars, and nothing could really be done to correct her wing, so I just have to treat her as a disabled bird and make sure her cage is appropriate. Good thing the other birds in her pen are pretty friendly; she hasn't lost feathers or been picked by them for being different.

 

[Lady Jane]

Thanks for taking her to the vet. Chick wire may not be safe metal for a bird unless it comes in stainless steel. You don't want her to get heavy metal poising.

 

[Ilsa]

I didn't know that. My employer used the cage for her finches, so I hope it's safe. I got it not wanting to keep my birds in a painfully small enclosure; it's perfect for my Danyeris, the white budgie. It isn't makeshift; it appears high quality. Here's an image.

Also, meet my crew. Yellow girl is Sansa, Green boy is Joffrey (a joke for my dad), blue boy is Tyrion, and my pretty white girl is Danyeris.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Sorry she can't use her wing properly, but I'm glad she'll be okay!

 

[Distaff]

I didn't know that. My employer used the cage for her finches, so I hope it's safe. I got it not wanting to keep my birds in a painfully small enclosure; it's perfect for my Danyeris, the white budgie. It isn't makeshift; it appears high quality. Here's an image.

Also, meet my crew. Yellow girl is Sansa, Green boy is Joffrey (a joke for my dad), blue boy is Tyrion, and my pretty white girl is Danyeris.

Chicken wire and hardware cloth are galvanized. I'm not sure which metal is the dangerous one, but galvanized wire is toxic if chewed. Finches, poultry, and pigeons don't tend to chew their wire, which is why those less expensive options are used for those birds. Dr. Ross Perry has several videos with birds suffering heavy metal poisoning, mostly from icky rusty little cages. Not sure the risk for a budgie on non rusted indoor galvanized in a bigger cage. Your vet could advise on that. I do see plenty of YouTube videos of little parrots in chicken/hardware wire aviaries.

 

[Ilsa]

Hmm, searching seems to say that if I wash the cage with vinager then warm water, any toxic zinc will be removed from galvanized metal. That's my next action.

 

[saroj12]

Hmm, searching seems to say that if I wash the cage with vinager then warm water, any toxic zinc will be removed from galvanized metal. That's my next action.

Galvanized wire is coated with zinc. It will keep flaking off.

 

[Ilsa]

From what I read, vinegar has widely been used to completely remove the galvanized coat from metal. The cage is rather old; I can't tell that the metal is galvanized or not, but I just finished rubbing it down with vinegar.

 

[Ilsa]

I'm looking into it more. Apparently, if I assume that my cage is galvanized (which I shall to be on the safe side) and indoors, then I will need to give it a vinegar wash at least twice a year.

 

[Ilsa]

Here's an image of the metal up close, if anyone knows anything about it from looking.

 

[saroj12]

What's That Cage Made Of? — For The Birds DVM — Avian Vet