Broken Wing

[Willow]

Hi, I just posted an intro thread in that area but one of the reasons I joined is to see if anyone had any experience/advice.

Due to a stupid accident, Cypress broke his wing, and I just picked him up following surgery to repair it at Angell Memorial in Boston.

He fractured his left humerous. When I brought him to my avian vet, we were immediately referred to Tufts, but when she called, their exotics vet was leaving for the day so we ended up making the trek to Boston instead. However, Dr. Orcutt, the avian/exotics vet there has a great reputation and so I was glad to have her on the case. Here is an excerpt from Dr. Orcutt's report:

"Dr. Trout, one of our surgeons , did an amazing job repairing the fracture while the Avian/Exotics service monitored anesthesia. He placed a pin through the 2 ends pieces of the humerus to align them and further stabilized the bone to prevent rotation on the long axis by placing small pins horizontally through the bone and connecting them with an acrylic bar on the outside of the wing (a KE apparatus). I covered the KE apparatus with a soft padded bandage so that Cypress wouldn't bother it. Post-op radiographs show very good apposition of the boen ends, so now we just have to see how well the bone responds and heals at the fracture site along with assessing the healing of the injured soft tissues as well."

As I said, I picked him up yesterday. He's on 2 antibiotics and also a pain med. He isn't eating like I think he needs to be. I did get him to eat a few bits of Tails Up! Power Mash this morning, but not much at all, and then he just back to perching on his little perch. Right now he's in a plastic storage container with just some very low perches on the ground, and I have Mulberry in a small cage beside him for company.

I weighed him this morning and he weighed in at 275 grams and I will continue to monitor his weight twice a day when I medicate him.

I'm just looking for thoughts/experiences/advice if anyone has dealt with a recovery like this before. Any one have any ideas for tempting him to eat, etc. I think I will try some scrambled eggs later today.

Here are a couple of pics of him in his little recovery area, and looking at the bandaged wing:

 

[waterfaller1]

No experience but sending healing energy your way!

 

[Billie Faye]

Did they say anything to you about the air temp and what it needs to be to help him for the next couple of days? 85º or above because birds temps run about 110º and when sick/injured it drops and they spend more energy trying to keep warm...
Have you ever hand fed before?
You could try warm mashed veggies/greens mixture on the end of a spoon and see if you get the food bobbing recation...Is he drinking? You don't want him to dehydrate either...do you have a syring that you can offer him water?
These are just a few thoughts....I have dealt with injured/sick birds before and just going over what my vets have told me to do...OH just also remembered, one of the foods my CAV told me to try if a bird is not wanting to eat is baby food Organic Applesauce and if you can find it with pears in the applesauce, even better...the temp to feed this needs to be about 105º....if he takes this you then can add other veggies to this to get him to eat...Sweet potatoes is also good..(you can buy all of these in the baby food section of your food store)

 

[Willow]

Oh! I just glanced in and he was at the dish of Tails Up! Now he is back on his little perch but he was rubbing his beak on it like they do after eating so I hope that means he ate a bite more.

Thanks Carole! We will definitely take all the healing energy we can get.

 

[Willow]

Thanks Billie Faye, I was wondering about some type of heat lamp. They didn't indicate anything about keeping him warm. He is in the plastic container so I wouldn't want it to get too hot . . . but definitely don't want him to get a chill either.

I did hand feed Willow and Aspen but it was 7 years ago . . . I was wondering if I should try and pick up some hand feeding formula just in case. Can definitely pick up some baby food. Great idea! Thank you.

 

[itzmered]

the poor guy sending good thoughts and prayers his way

 

[Billie Faye]

I would go with a heating pad instead of lamp (most have teflon on the bulbs and the ones that don't can be expensive...By layering the heating pad with bath towels...keeps the plastic from getting hot...and the heat goes to the towels/air...you can also put a towel across the top of the container to maintain the air temp and keep his semi-dark quiet to help the healing...
I would get handfeed formula, (keep it in freezer ) and use that/baby food to make sure he is eating enough...Make sure you are weighing him each morning with a gram scale...this is so important when they are sick/injured to see if they are loosing weight...If you don't have one, VERY IMPORTANT to have on hand...

Thanks Billie Faye, I was wondering about some type of heat lamp. They didn't indicate anything about keeping him warm. He is in the plastic container so I wouldn't want it to get too hot . . . but definitely don't want him to get a chill either.

I did hand feed Willow and Aspen but it was 7 years ago . . . I was wondering if I should try and pick up some hand feeding formula just in case. Can definitely pick up some baby food. Great idea! Thank you.

 

[Danita]

Poor baby, he looks like he will gets lots of good care from you.

 

[Bokkapooh]

With sick or injured birds, I have found they will not eat much or drink much. So its important to monitor their food/water intake as well has their weight.

For amazons, nuts, seed and egg pieces are the typical food to get their stomach growling with hunger Ofcourse if your zon is on pellets, offer pellets and healthy foods as well. Will he eat cooked squash or sweet potato? These two items have a lot of health fat and proteins and are a high source of Vit. A.

 

[zoomama]

I am a complete novice, so this might be totally irrelevant, but one thing I wondered was: Should you modify his food and/or water bowls? I could only imagine that pins in a newly broken wing, with some bandaging might throw his balance off some. If it's harder to balance when he's trying to eat or drink, is it possible he just wouldn't try very often, or at least until he is very hungry? Just a thought.

 

[carkam]

Poor baby! Prayers that he will heal quickly!

 

[marian]

Sending you lots of prayers he heals fast..

 

[Willow]

Thanks for the suggestions. These guys are *not* picky so I have no idea what their favorites might be - they always dive into everything. I scrambled up an egg and he had a tiny nibble.

I am monitoring his weight (275 grams this morning) and looks like I have to head into the city to get some handfeeding formula. I will also try to tempt him with sweet potatoes. Before I got him he was on a seed diet. At this point, I think eating anything would be better than nothing so maybe I will pick up some of those Eco-trition seed mixes and see if he will eat that? Thoughts? Also putting some sprout seeds in to soak so will have those to offer in a day or so.

Nancy, yeah, I've been trying to put things where he can reach more easily. It's kind of hard with the plastic bin . . . but I'll keep playing around with things.

Thanks again for all the help - greatly appreciated!

 

[Willow]

Cypress was 275 this morning and 272 this evening. I went abd bought a bunch of various treat type things, and he was eating them for a bit (dried fruit and nut mix.) I also got hand feeding formula but am holding off on that until I see how his weight is in the morning, since he's really resistant to being held for the 3 oral meds, I don't want to make things worse by stressing him out.

I did get a heating pad but the stupid thing has an automatic shut off and shots off after an hour, so that's no help - I'll have to return it.

After he munched on the treats he was preening a bit and checking out his bandage a bit, he's also whistling and chirping a bit, over all I think he is settling into his routine and feeling a bit better.

I'll see how his weight is in the morning and see if he digs into the Tails Up! Power Mash like he normally would. Then I'll make a decision about hand feeding him. They were gavage feeding him at the hospital so I know up until I brought him home he was definitely getting what he needed. I'm feeling hopeful that now that he's settling into his new routine he will get back to eating like an Amazon. So, we shall see . . .

Thanks again for all the good thoughts and info, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[birdlady]

Awe poor baby, but sounds like you are doing great...did they have other heating pads there? I know the one I have has three settings and does not shut off, so hopefully you can find one tomorrow. Hope he starts eating better soon. He is beautiful btw.

 

[Marlene]

I have no experience with broken wings. Just wanted to send you and your baby some hugs.

 

[Willow]

Here is a little video I took of him eating.

Here is an overview of how I set up the cage with the heating pad (the cord went up that pvc pipe. However, I've since removed it since it won't do the trick. I set up a heater next to his area, I think that will help - it's bird safe and I've used it in their room before in the winter.

And a cute pic of Cypress wondering why I won't leave him in peace. <grin>

Oh, and here is a little video of Mulberry and Cypress having their reunion at Angell Memorial when we picked Cypress up:

 

[Marlene]

Awwwwwww, how sweet. Great videos. I just subscribed. Loved their reunion.

 

[Willow]

Thanks, Marlene! Are those Golden Conures you have? I fell in love with a pair at Feathers Bird Store in MA (I think it closed now). They were stunning and soooo inquisitive and interested in everything going on.

 

[Marlene]

Thanks, Marlene! Are those Golden Conures you have? I fell in love with a pair at Feathers Bird Store in MA (I think it closed now). They were stunning and soooo inquisitive and interested in everything going on.

Yes, my goldies. They are a handful but, sweet, cuddly, playful, and I love them