Urgent Swollen & Very Irritated Love Bird Feet Please Help!!

[Kiwi0724]

Hello everyone,

I have a little peach faced lovebird (Kiwi) and I got him when he was only 8 weeks old. He is now 5 months and at first, it started as some sort of trauma to his leg. He always flies around the house or jumps off the cage sometimes and the leg in which the silver band is on is the one he hurt. When I came home, he had his leg up like it was hurting up so I immediately took him too the vet.

The first vet I went to told me it was inflamed and swollen and gave me Neomycin to put on his foot. There was no sign of fractures or anything so he told me it would get better. Well, a few days go by and the ointment is not helping. His leg is so swollen at this point that the band is cutting off circulation to his toe nails and one of the broke off. I then took him to the lady where I purchased him and she removed the silver band with pliers, very carefully because the band was on super tight at this point.

After the band came off, I thought he would get better. However, the swelling continued to worsen and another nail broke off the same foot that got hurt. Now something strange began to happen, his other foot started to turn reddish on the toes. His back toe now is completely red, almost looks like its bleeding, but is very irritated. I was so puzzled by this because his other leg was perfectly fine, and now it began to show signs of discoloration which also kept worsening.

Now with the other leg being effected, I went to another avian vet who had great reviews. She said she had never really seen anything like this before and started him on a anti-inflammatory and antibiotic treatment. Its been 2 days now and I know its too soon to see improvement, but i'm worried the back toe on his other foot (the one that wasnt hurt) might turn black.

If anyone has any insight as to what is happening to him, it would be so helpful. Im just at lost as how he his legs got so messed up so quick

ALso his legs look yellow in the pictures because my mom thought putting turmeric on his foot would help with inflammation. It did not help however.

 

[nu2birds]

Is he free to fly around the house a lot? The reason I ask is, I'm wondering if he is landing on something that is injuring his feet when he lands or perches on it. Or landing on something caustic. I really have no idea, but it looks painful, poor guy.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Oh my, poor little guy! I’m sorry he’s injured. What types of perches does he have? Does he chew/peck on his feet?

 

[LunaLovebird]

Is that a band on his leg? Can you see if it's too tight? That poor baby. I would go and see another vet ASAP.

 

[TikiMyn]

Poor guy I would check in with an Avian vet as soon as possible, I hope he gets better quickly.

 

[zoo mom]

She already had the band removed and has taken him to an Avian vet. Does he have cement perches or pedicure perches. If so get rid of them. They could be causing or increasing irritation to his feet.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Poor baby bird! That’s so terrible, I hope something works soon! I wonder if topically treating it as well would help. I would ask the vet about Vetericyn or Silvadene.

 

[metalstitcher]

I agree with @fluffypoptarts trying the Vetericyn for the swelling. I had to use that when Gracie had a cut on her foot I didn't know how she got it and it helped a lot and also with her ear infection as well. I hope the poor thing gets better soon.

 

[Lady Jane]

I think you should have some flat perches for this bird as a comfort measure. Did the vet draw blood to check if levels are within normal limits? Also what are you feeding this bird as this could make a difference.

 

[Birdbabe]

I'm stumped...it's possible he's having an allergic reaction to something his feet touch?

 

[rockybird]

His nails looks really short. Why is that? Were they cut that short or did he catch them in something? Is that blood on his feet? Is the leg swollen or sore above the foot?

 

[Kiwi0724]

Thank you everyone for the replies. The perches in his cage are pedicure perches, and we also have one of those hammock bed things that he crawls into every night and sleeps on.
As for the chewing, no he is not pecking on his feet that much which is good, I did not need to put a collar around him. His diet comprises of pellets, seeds, and some dehydrated fruit that he sometimes eats. Hes a very picky bird however when it comes to eating.

I thought it would have been a allergic reaction as well, Im going to clean the entire cage off today and see if that helps. However nothing has changed in his cage.

@fluffypoptarts When i went to the specialist she said that a topical ointment would not do much help because it looked more like an infection? Which is why he is on the oral medication instead. His swelling however is not going down so I might call and ask for that today.

@rockybird His nails started to become super brittle and break off after the constriction with the silver band. Were hoping they make grow back. No it is not blood, that is the turmeric mixed with some coconut oil with tried on his feet a few days ago. And yes it is swollen still.

 

[alshgs]

Could it maybe be an infection in the nail itself? Like how humans get ingrown nails and they hurt, swell, ect?

 

[Kiwi0724]

@alshgs This injury has now affected 2 of his nails and his back toe on the other foot so I don't think it would be that but it's a good suggestion.

 

[enigma731]

Get rid of the pedicure perches, they can cause irritation. My guess would be that he had an injury to his foot with the band, and now he's getting a compensation injury to the other foot because he isn't moving normally.

 

[Kiwi0724]

@enigma731 I agree with you. I can see it is difficult for him to walk anywhere and its often a limp with more pressure on the other foot, maybe thats why his back toe is suddenly red and discolored?

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I would get rid of the pedicure perches and make everything soft in his cage. Put a towel on the bottom and wrap other perches in vet wrap. A platform perch is a good idea. I hope he shows improvement soon!

 

[nu2birds]

I also would get rid of the pedicure perches for now, at least, and see if his feet will heal.