Urgent Senior bird, weak foot wont grip, limping

[Ephy]

Hey

My 24-26 year (I always lose track) dove named Baby has been having problems with one of his feet.

It started last year and I took him to our closest local vet, desperate. I asked for all the tests. They took xrays and bloodwork.
They manhandled him so badly he was missing feathers where their fingers were obviously forcing him down and it literally took him 2 months to mentally recover afterwards.

It was so traumatic for him, i wish I was exaggerating, but he simply would not perch, he would not eat..he became a "baby bird" all over again. We never raised him since we was a baby, so the fact that he suddenly totally depended on us as if he was a chick, was quite frightening and totally not normal.
Exrays showed nothing, no gout, and n0 fractures.

He sat in a cage beside me 24/7 because he just would not eat or drink water without me hand feeding it to him every 2 hrs for the next 2 months!!!

I lost all trust in my local vets after that.

I have reached out to the other avian vets, begging for an appointment(they are more than 2hrs away) but they continue try to pass me off to a "local vet in my area."
I dont know if it is because he is a Dove or the fact that he is considered "a senior aged dove" but I am beyond angry at the lack of support.

I am so fed up with the vets. I have NOTHING, NO VETS NEARBY to help me.

Btw googling bird vets does not help, they arent qualified. I specifically requested the "so called bird vet" as advertised in my area and 1) she is never available and 2) she doesnt even have a specific avian degree upon further checking.
Not to mention, every time I specifically request her, she is never available.


So at this point, I feel like I am left to figure it out myself.
I have a non toxic child soft mat at the bottom of his cage. I have 1 perch in his cage (the largest one) after removing all the others, again. It is on the bottom of his cage with folded face cloths under and bird wrap to make it thicker.

I spray his feet 2x a day with vetericyn plus. He hates it!!

I also try to treat vitamin E, or aloe gel, when I can. (He hates everything) he wont bathe, or allow spraying of water.

I just bought manuka honey, i dont know of it will even work.

Never in million years will he let me wrap his toes so I dont know if the honey will help at all without wrapping.

I change his cage paper like 2-3 times a day
I try to give him veggies, salad, pellets with vitamins daily 2x/day but he is beyond picky now that he has moved beyond his "baby" ways. He wont accept food from my hand anymore.

He is out of his cages 3x a day, total of 5-6 hours a day.

Fresh water 2-3 times a day
Ive also been supplementing his water with 4 drops (half dose) of Morning Bird Pain killer

Im just at a loss and would LOVE ANY feedback, Please!!!

 

[Shezbug]

As far as I am aware Manuka honey is only good for assisting healing of open wounds- I may be incorrect about that but I honestly have never heard of it being used for anything other than assisting open wound healing or skin issues and from my knowledge not all Manuka honey is considered equal for healing benefits. The other way I am familiar with its use is ingesting it for certain health benefits (there are some who suggest to not feed honey to birds ever for various health and safety reasons).
I am not really sure what to advise to be honest but I feel the age your bird is could be a significant contributing factor to the issues you’re seeing with the feet. When we age we feel well used at times and birds are the same- muscles aren’t as strong, joints are worn and tired, energy levels aren’t as high as they once were.

At this point if I was you I’d consider seeing any vet who is familiar with birds.
It sounds like there may be some discomfort so if nothing has been found to be wrong then I’d be guessing old age could be the issue and maybe some prescription anti inflammatory may be helpful?
I don’t know anything about the morning bird pain killer you mention giving but if it’s not a prescribed medication I personally would not administer it unless it was an avian vet who told me to use it.

@Birdbabe might have some better ideas and suggestions that may be helpful and she may also know who else to tag for help with information.

 

[Ephy]

Thanks for the response.

He does not have any open wounds, thankfully and is why I am trying my best to keep his feet healthy so it doesnt come to that.

It can be frustrating when we dont know how to help our feather babies, especially when you feel like you cant trust the vets.

 

[Birdbabe]

The only thing I can think of is Metacam, it's for pain and inflammation, ,
@Hankmacaw may have some input.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Your dove is very old and will have disabilities associated with this aging process. You didn't tell very much about his symptoms or diet or overall health - can't say much without some of that information. Swelling, redness, weight, appetite, poop, feather condition - anything you can tell us.

Perhaps you did get a bad vet - I have too, but have kept a close enough eye on them that I have never allowed them to harm my birds. You do need to be assertive without being a PITA. You need a vet to assess your bird's overall condition and give you suggestions.

Find another vet. I am not competent to diagnose and treat your bird and no one else on this forum are vets.

Usually those commercial over the counter products are not sufficient in strength to help your bird. Basically, you are wasting your money with them.

 

[Mizzely]

Not all bird vets are created equal. You can have terrible vets with the fancy specialist degree, and then you can find ones with decades of experience that know more without the degree. I know it is frustrating. Do you have Facebook? If so, look for local groups near you... Could be pet focused or not, but you can often query, "where do people take their bird for vet care around here?" to get an idea of options that exist near you. I drove 90 mins each way for my vet and she is no longer available so I am going to be in a similar situation soon where I need to find the closest and most competent "sees birds" vet. There is one in my town that I took Ripley to for a general exam and he was awful so I already crossed him off my list. Thankfully due to Facebook I have a couple other options that are within the 90 min range. There is only one other avian vet in my entire state and its over a 2 hour drive one way, so I'm trying to avoid that unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Ephy]

Thanks for the replies.

Other than some slow feather growth and some bald spots around his neck where he LOVES to sit forever and get scritcheds...he eats, drinks, baths (very) once in awhile he looks perfectly healthy. He gets lots of activity flying the length of our apartment every day.

I know his feather issues are a combination of too many scritches and lack of vitamins/vitamin A but its a real challenge to get them into him. I try every day. He is so picky with food, and pellets.

Because of covid, i cant go into the vet pffice with him so I have no idea how he is treated until after they bring him out. Makes it super stressful.

I will try FB

Thanks!