When my macaw injured her leg/knee, & then chewed a hole in it, the vet put a acrylic bubble collar on. She got past it & was able to chew some more. Then he put a acrylic T color on, she got past that too & ripped 2 long pieces of skin off her leg. She actually managed to get them apart even tho they had screws holding them together. Both acrylic collars wore sores along the bottom of her neck. Vet didn't take any x-rays & refused to put her on pain meds, even at my request. Long story short we found that a towel/sock collar worked perfect. She could not get her foot high enough or her beak to the injury. I had to help her eat tho, as she couldn't hold food in her foot. My husband cracked nuts for her. I got her to another vet, who took x-rays & put her on pain meds. The vet said that towel/sock collar was the most human she had ever seen.
How to make a towel/sock collar:
You need a white hand towel & a crew sock sized for your bird.
1. Measure your birds neck from bottom to top, stretched out. Also measure around the neck at the widest area.
2. Cut strips of a white hand towel, crosswise, 1 inch wider than the neck measurement. Cut the length 3 inches longer than than measurement.
3. Cut the foot off the sock a little below the elastic cuff. Depending on the species of your bird determines the size of the crew sock you will need. For my macaw one of my husbands (men's size 9-11) was perfect size. Smaller birds would need women's or kids size. It needs to fit over the wrapped towel, be snug, but not be so tight it cuts off the ability to swallow.
Now comes the fun part. Wrap 1 or 2 strips of the towel around the birds neck, overlapping the ends. For my Macaw we had to use 2 strips of towel to keep her from bending her neck far enough for her to reach the injury or for her to raise her foot/leg high enough to get her beak to the injury. One thickness may be enough for a smaller bird. The thickness of the towel keeps them from bending to the injury site. Next turn the sock cuff inside out. Slip it over your hand, then over the birds head. Turn the cuff right side out & down over the towel. Tuck the top & bottom of the cuff over & up under the towel strip.Use your finger or a pencil, eraser end, to push all feathers in the proper position. Test to see if it's too tight by slipping your thumb directly under the center of the top of the crop. If your thumb slides in easy then it should be OK. Offer some food & see if the bird has trouble swallowing. They can not eat normal with this on, as it prevents them from bending to reach their feet, so you may have to help by hand feeding, cracking nuts, etc. until your bird is healed. My macaw wore her collar for 10 weeks.
Will try to post photos....Leg injury. Bubble collar with tape. T-Collar. Towel/Sock Collar.