Broken Wing

[Willow]

Sorry I haven't had a chance to get the radiograph pics off my phone yet. I am been SOOOO busy.

So far, I am worried about Cypress in that he doesn't seem to be able to use his wing at all. It seems he can barely move it away from his body, let alone open or stretch it. My friend who is a vet with an interest in birds told me this is likely due to the muscles contracting. I feel like there must be a way to help him with this - some type of physical therapy?? But I'm not sure who to go to to ask more questions/get more info. I tried to do a little exercise where he was on a perch and I moved the perch down so he would open his wings, and that is the only time I have seen him move it at all, and it was only a small amount.

Also yesterday I was transporting him on a perch, *very* close to the floor, and he got scared and lost his balance and fell off. It wasn't a far fall and I didn't worry that he had hurt himself but what really worried me was that he landed on his back and was unable to turn him self over - he was stuck there like a turtle. I felt so bad and did immediately give him the perch to grab onto and get himself up. Poor guy. So, he may have been able to do it if I'd let him struggle but I wasn't about to do that.

So anyway, that is my update on poor Cypress. In better news, I've moved him and Mulberry into the large double macaw cage I have and filled itwith fresh branches from the lilac tree, so they are finally back together, WHEW!!!!! They were very happy!

 

[Danita]

Maybe someone on here knows more about physio

 

[Birdlover]

I hope in time he will regain at least some of his movement in that wing back.It does make sense that it would be stiff from being imobilized for so long, but how to rehab it slowly and not injure anything is a tough one. When he bathes does he like to flap?Maybe misting him might encourage that a little(and he would be doing it on his own)?

Glad they are able to be back together, I'll bet that made them both so happy!!

 

[Willow]

Thanks guys! I will continue to monitor and try and encourage movement - baths are a great idea. If anyone has other thoughts, please pipe up, even if they seem crazy.

 

[Prince Toasty Buns]

Thanks guys! I will continue to monitor and try and encourage movement - baths are a great idea. If anyone has other thoughts, please pipe up, even if they seem crazy.

No experience here with broken bones but sounds like you have been using a well experienced surgeon to do what needs to be done, as far as the mending process goes. Looking forward to seeing the x-rays/radiographs to hopefully see how the break has healed?

Only a few suggestions for you, what I would do if he was one of my Cubans:

I would buy or build him a long cage (not high, maybe a max of about 18" - 24" interior height for now) with numerous perches at different heights and fairly close together, so he can hop from one to the other if possible and while doing so maybe he might flutter his wings some (when he is ready, if capable) to help build some muscle strength (of course check with the surgeon for his opinion before doing this). If possible, you could buy a roll of 1/2" x 1" G.A.W. or S.S. aviary wire to build him a cage out of and for the bottom piece you could have the concave side facing upwards, this would give him something to bounce off of (to a degree) should he fall.

Note: When wire is unrolled from a roll, it is bowed upwards on one side. Some birds like to hop on the bottom wire, as it can be somewhat springy if laid out right.

I would also try to get him into natural direct daily sunshine (not thru window glass) and feed him a great diet to include good calcium sources like broccoli and oranges, etc. and maybe even some liquid calcium - if vet recommends doing so. While indoors, I would have good quality linear fluorescent F.S. Lighting (during daylight hrs. of course) above half of his long cage so he can go under it or away from it at will.

I would keep a ceramic heat emitter on all the time outside the cage (attached safely) at one end of a favorite perch.

I would feed him an excellent healthy diet with an emphasis on fresh and natural vs. extruded or man made/processed stuff.

I would do my best to make sure he doesn't snag his wing in between wires or bars or get it caught in or on any toys or etc. that are in his cage. I would not over-crowd his cage with toys.

I would keep water bowls shallow and food & water always in easy reach.

I too hope the surgeon and/or vet is wrong and hopefully he will fly again. Keeping fingers crossed.

That's it for now, will add on if i think of anything else.

Best of luck to your lil guy, he seems to be in caring hands. And as others have said, thanks for sharing the x-rays & radiographs.

 

[The Cozy Nestbox]

Amy, my heart really goes out to you and Cypress, and I am hoping that there is some sort of physical therapy that can be done that will assist in restoring full flight to him.

I was wondering if a wildlife rehab center may be helpful for you to consult with, as I know that they frequently work with wild birds with wing injuries and work to rehabilitate them for release in the wild. I would assume that they are, therefore, pretty schooled in how to assist a bird regain use of its wings after a surgery like Cypress has had. It's a thought anyway!

I follow a wildlife rehab center based in Ohio on Facebook and I've noticed they seem to deal a lot with injured birds. I bet if you called there, someone in charge could help answer some of your questions. The Ohio rehab center is known as Nature's Nursery and here is the link to their Facebook page: Nature's Nursery | Facebook

Hope this helps!

 

[Sharpie]

Physical Therapy. NOW.

I am not trying to be alarmist, but one problem that we often have in rehab birds is that even if the bones HAVE healed properly, contracture can make sure they never fly again if it is not addressed properly and as soon as humanly possible. Pet bird vets often overlook this because, hey, how important is it for pet birds to fly, right? People just clip them anyway, right? Saves you the trouble if he can't fly, right?

You need to learn how to do stretching exercises on his wing, daily to every other day. You need to be taught how to do it properly so you don't re-break the newly healed bone, but it needs to be done. It WILL be painful for him, so when we're rehabbing birds, we also give them pain killers (metacam) on physical therapy days. He needs to be using that wing as much as is reasonable for it's level of healing. Once the contracture has reached a certain point, it cannot always be reversed. (Which is a death sentence for wildlife, but still less than ideal for a pet)

I'm not saying that he won't regain some function on his own or that your vet said anything wrong at all, just that IF the goal is to have a bird with full flight abilities, it is going to take more work than just letting him be. Most people DON'T want fully flighted birds, so it's pretty uncommon for most avian vets to need to treat parrots with PT as aggressively as they would (potentially) releasable wildlife

 

[Willow]

Hi Sharpie,
Thanks so much for your post, sorry I did not see it earlier. It's been almost 3 months since the wing was broken and immobilized. At this point, is there still hope for physical therapy to help him? I have no idea who could teach me or where I could go to learn to do stretches? Do you have any ideas on who to contact? I feel like i would need someone to physically show me as I am terrified or rebreaking him in any way!

 

[Sharpie]

There is still hope to help him regain some use/function. Will he be able to fly? No idea. Depends on him, the details of the injury and the repair, etc.

I don't know anything about NY, but I'd bet if you spoke with your avian vet candidly- that you're concerned about his wing and you want to do PT, they might be able to help you out. Did you ever tell them your goals with this bird (ie, you want him to be able to fly again or just to be able to use the wing for balance, etc)? If you didn't come out an say it, there's no reason for them to re-evaluate whatever their expectation/plan is. At the very least, you'll need them to get you pain meds! Call them, tell them what you want. Ask for the names of wildlife (bird) rehabbers who have experience and might be willing to help and teach you if they don't have the expertise in-hospital to do it.

Until you hook up with someone, encourage wing use. Bathing, running him around the house so he has to flap as much as he is able. If he'll let you, you can gently stretch out the wing until you feel resistance, but don't force it any further until you have gotten a hands-on with an expert.

 

[Willow]

Thanks Sharpie. They knew from the beginning that he lived and flew in an aviary during the warm weather. They told me right from the start there was little to no hope that he would be able to fly again. They weren't sure they would be able to save his wing at all, actually. I will see who I can find to help. I really appreciate your help and advice!