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Urgent Cockatiel injured foot

Shezbug

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You really need to stop messing with his foot as you may make it worse or you may be causing unnecessary extra pain.
 

SD1030

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His foot his warm to the touch. Could this mean there is a blood clot?

Also, I just noticed there was a drop of bright red blood in his stool. It was present in 3 stool samples and then went away gradually.

I’m so worried :(
 

Shezbug

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Warm doesn’t necessarily mean blood clot, warm usually indicates some damage or inflammation which can’t be determined until the vet has assessed it- if it’s warm then it likely means there is also pain to some degree. The more you touch and mess with it the worse it will get and more uncomfortable it will be for your bird. Your bird needs rest. The foot needs to be left alone and seem by the vet.
Be sure to tell the vet about the blood in the stool- a good clear photo may be helpful for the vet too.
 
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SD1030

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⁣[UPDATE] We went to see the vet today. Good news! It’s only a sprain; no break. The vet said he should make a full recovery. He’s also been having some blood in his stool occasionally, and the vet said it’s likely due to something hard he ate. He noticed some bleeding in his cloaca. But we’re doing some preliminary testing and waiting for the results. He’ll be on antibiotics for a week or so, and a pain med to deal with the sprain. ⠀
 

April

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So glad you went to the vets and have a course of action now! So glad he’s expected to make a full recovery.
 

SD1030

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Thank you! Me too.
I’m just worried about the tinge of blood in his cloaca. This is the second time (last time was a few months ago) where he had a tiny spot of bright red blood in the urate portion of his droppings. It would appear in 3-4 droppings, each time gradually disappearing.

The vet thinks it’s likely something he ate and passed through his GI and scratched his cloaca. Doing some testing to find out.
 

Shezbug

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So glad to hear that it’s a temporary issue with the foot. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery and also some answers regarding the blood.
 

camelotshadow

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Red does not always mean blood in the stool. Could be red dye from a pellet or food.
If it was blood & the vet is looking into it then hopefully its nothing serious.

Glad his foot is going to be OK.
 

Shezbug

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The wild starlings in my yard are all pooping red today… there’s not one delicious ripe strawberry in my garden today without a beak mark in it
 

SD1030

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The vet agrees that it is blood. There was a tinge of it when he sampled his cloaca. He things it’s something he possibly ate and it just scratched it.

He prescribed Cipro as a precaution since he’s bleeding but I’ve been hesitant to give it to him honestly. He’s been on 4 courses of Cipro already this year alone for sinus issues. He’s already taking metacam. Gonna hold off on the Cipro at least until the Metacam is done and the stool cultures come back. He had another episode of bleeding a few months ago (resolved after a few droppings), but didn’t take Cipro. He was fine. The the bleeding is a tiny speck of blood in the urate portion.

I just worry about giving him antibiotics so often, in this case as a precautionary measure.

what do you guys think?
 

camelotshadow

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We really have to trust our vets. Never stop antibiotics sooner than prescribed but if you want to wait for the culture results then its your call.

Its true the overuse of antibiotics can cause issues but thats with long term overuse. You have to weigh the positives from the negatives
& get the bird thru the current issue. Antibiotic resistance is of no consequence if the bird succumbs to whatever it could have cured.
 

camelotshadow

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If the blood is a reoccurring issue then it should be looked into more closely to see what is causing it. Have you voiced your concerns to the vet? Let them have a chance to explain. If you are not satisfied perhaps a 2nd opinion is wise
 

SD1030

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Yes the vet basically said that he thinks it’s something hard that he ate and basically passed through his GI and scratched his cloaca. He said the cloaca is very vascular with a lot of blood vessels. And that he’s seen this before.
 

SD1030

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I just wanted to give a quick update. He’s still not able to put too much pressure on the foot. And he cannot really move his toes to grasp anything. He keeps his toes mostly straight. I do see though that he’s able to ever so slightly use them more than before. I’d say there’s about 5-10 percent improvement. And the foot is no longer warm.

I guess this is going to take a few weeks to a month or more to heal fully…
 

SD1030

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UPDATE FROM AVIAN VET:

So the Vet called me today and informed me that his culture results look normal. No gram negative bacteria. He did have Strep and Staph bacteria grow, which is normal in birds. However the vet said that they could cause infection in stressed out birds, and that I should start him on the Cipro now since I already waited for the results to come back.

I don’t get it. Strep and Staph is normal, but COULD cause infection? Shouldn’t starting antibiotics be a strong yes or no? Not a “could” cause infection?

Im very hesitant to be honest to start him on the Cipro. He’s already been on 4 courses of it on and off this year alone. He seems to be doing fine. I feel like sometimes Vets prescribe these antibiotics like candy. In this case, it’s a preventative measure, but I’m wondering if I should just monitor him and see how he’s doing?

I don’t mean to second guess the Vet, but maybe I should get another avian Vet’s opinion?

What do you guys think?
 

SD1030

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Just wanted to give an update about my cockatiel. He’s still limping and not able to put a lot of weight on that foot. He seems to be raising it up on the air when he’s roosting.

I guess this is going to take a few weeks to heal :(((
 

April

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Oh no I'm so sorry to hear this. Do you have him in a smaller cage to make it easier for him to get around and rest? That's the only thing that helped Tobias after he hurt his leg/foot. I had him still in his big cage for 2 days after and nothing was improving not getting worse but not better at all so I finally moved him to the smaller cage(I had been worried since the travel cage had larger bar spacing and he will always run across the bottom of the cage when he wants out(which is all the time) so I was worried he was going to put his leg through the bars and hurt himself worse but thankfully my fears were unfounded and once he was separated in that cage he stayed on the perches and stayed much calmer than I thought he would and after a week of cage rest with only coming out for a small amount of time every day which was very carefully monitored he was fully healed.
Maybe it would be best to go back to the vet and get a second opinion or xrays done or at least some pain meds.
I hope your little one will be ok,please keep us updated.
 
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