Galah foot

[CuppaTea]

Hi I’m not sure if anyone remembers me but I took in a galah with an injured foot a few weeks back. Echo has been going amazing, I haven’t quite worked out what to do with his foot and figured he has been fine, I noticed his foot is more swollen and his leg feels warm? Would this maybe an infection? I’ll try and get a photo.

the vets are not open til Monday (it’s Friday night here) and I’m just hella worried
I’ll add a few recent pictures tho Also he had kinda been off food wise, I give him bird formula at night but he doesn’t seem interested in eating and just wants to sleep

 

[Birds lover from Hawaii]

Hi I’m not sure if anyone remembers me but I took in a galah with an injured foot a few weeks back. Echo has been going amazing, I haven’t quite worked out what to do with his foot and figured he has been fine, I noticed his foot is more swollen and his leg feels warm? Would this maybe an infection? I’ll try and get a photo.

the vets are not open til Monday (it’s Friday night here) and I’m just hella worried
I’ll add a few recent pictures tho Also he had kinda been off food wise, I give him bird formula at night but he doesn’t seem interested in eating and just wants to sleep

Looks like Echo has overgrown/ingrown nails on both legs and not able to grip on the perch naturally. One leg looks more serious than the other may possibly be toe curling which is a sign of weakness or nerve damage caused by trauma or maybe an infection. He may be in pain due to that causing him losing appetite. In the meantime try to hand feed him with his favorite food to see if he takes it. Lower the perch to avoid falling or remove the perch and keep him stay on the cage floor.

By the way, you have mentioned he has had an injured foot a few weeks back. Has he be seen by a vet and received treatment? Just wondering if his current issue is due to that injury which has not been completely recovered.

No matter what, please take him to the vet preferably an Avian vet on Monday asap.

 

[wrench13]

Try to get food, any kind, into him. Baby parrot formula would be an excellent choice, at least until he sees a Certified Avian Vet on Monday. He needs someone who really knows and understands parrot physiology. Definitely NOT a dog/cat vet. In the mean time, keep him warm and the suggestion about removing the perches is good info. Warm, fed, reduced need for use of his feets - all good stuff. Also make sure water is close by and easy for him to drink. This poor guy, that condition looks PAINFULL! Good luck and let us know how he makes out.

 

[CuppaTea]

Looks like Echo has overgrown/ingrown nails on both legs and not able to grip on the perch naturally. One leg looks more serious than the other may possibly be toe curling which is a sign of weakness or nerve damage caused by trauma or maybe an infection. He may be in pain due to that causing him losing appetite. In the meantime try to hand feed him with his favorite food to see if he takes it. Lower the perch to avoid falling or remove the perch and keep him stay on the cage floor.

By the way, you have mentioned he has had an injured foot a few weeks back. Has he be seen by a vet and received treatment? Just wondering if his current issue is due to that injury which has not been completely recovered.

No matter what, please take him to the vet preferably an Avian vet on Monday asap.

Echo was found with a dislocated leg that they couldn’t fix, they gave me three options to leave it, to remove the leg or have the surgery, this was what the vet said a week and a half ago, he literally spends his day on a soft bed with me haha only goes on the perch to have exercise time whilst I clean the kitchen or cook dinner lol, never in an actual cage

 

[CuppaTea]

 

[CuppaTea]

 

[CuppaTea]

 

[CuppaTea]

 

[CuppaTea]

A few pictures of his foot from last night

 

[CuppaTea]

Try to get food, any kind, into him. Baby parrot formula would be an excellent choice, at least until he sees a Certified Avian Vet on Monday. He needs someone who really knows and understands parrot physiology. Definitely NOT a dog/cat vet. In the mean time, keep him warm and the suggestion about removing the perches is good info. Warm, fed, reduced need for use of his feets - all good stuff. Also make sure water is close by and easy for him to drink. This poor guy, that condition looks PAINFULL! Good luck and let us know how he makes out.

I feed him baby parrot feed every afternoon, doesn’t seem to like morning feeds lol

 

[Birds lover from Hawaii]

Echo was found with a dislocated leg that they couldn’t fix, they gave me three options to leave it, to remove the leg or have the surgery, this was what the vet said a week and a half ago, he literally spends his day on a soft bed with me haha only goes on the perch to have exercise time whilst I clean the kitchen or cook dinner lol, never in an actual cage

I found your original post on Nov 4 and have read all the responses. You are such a kind person and Echo is so lucky to have you. This is a really tough situation and hard to know what will be best for Echo. I am leaning more on the non invasive method for now as Emeral suggested to restrict movement for a few weeks to let the leg heals by itself. He can still walk a bit does not mean he is not in pain. Keeping him with you 99% of the time is simply not practical in the long run. By the way, does he also sleep in bed with you too? Hope not, as it is deadly for your bird and one turn will kill him instantly.

Since you have found a good vet and will be seeing him on Monday. I suggest to have a honest discussion with him about your fear of using the anesthesia. I have seen a You tube video showing a vet using two wooden sticks and fabric bandages to hold the dislocated/broken leg in place on a baby bird and put the bird in a cardboard box to continue feeding the baby formula. This vet did not use any anethesia. Not sure why your vet needs to cut the ligament for your case. Also ask your vet to check for infection since his leg looks swollen and also ask if Emeral's method to restrict his movement is worth a try. If he does not think so, I would think having the surgery is worth considering as I've said keeping him with you 99% of the time is simply impractical in the long run.

Please keep us posted. Best of luck to you and Echo!!

 

[CuppaTea]

I found your original post on Nov 4 and have read all the responses. You are such a kind person and Echo is so lucky to have you. This is a really tough situation and hard to know what will be best for Echo. I am leaning more on the non invasive method for now as Emeral suggested to restrict movement for a few weeks to let the leg heals by itself. He can still walk a bit does not mean he is not in pain. Keeping him with you 99% of the time is simply not practical in the long run. By the way, does he also sleep in bed with you too? Hope not, as it is deadly for your bird and one turn will kill him instantly.

Since you have found a good vet and will be seeing him on Monday. I suggest to have a honest discussion with him about your fear of using the anesthesia. I have seen a You tube video showing a vet using two wooden sticks and fabric bandages to hold the dislocated/broken leg in place on a baby bird and put the bird in a cardboard box to continue feeding the baby formula. This vet did not use any anethesia. Not sure why your vet needs to cut the ligament for your case. Also ask your vet to check for infection since his leg looks swollen and also ask if Emeral's method to restrict his movement is worth a try. If he does not think so, I would think having the surgery is worth considering as I've said keeping him with you 99% of the time is simply impractical in the long run.

Please keep us posted. Best of luck to you and Echo!!

Honestly I’m a stay at home mum of five so if he stays with 24/7 that’s okay, I rarely go anywhere and when I do, echo comes aswell. I have this pet carrier basket thing that I put him in every night for bed time and have a cage filled of hay that I put him in sometimes during the day when I need to do stuff by myself lol

but Monday I’m going to definitely make an appointment and talk about surgery, I’m just really worried about the swelling

Ive tried kinda making a splint but the leg is almost frozen in the position

 

[CuppaTea]

this is our travelling and bed time carrier

 

[Birds lover from Hawaii]

Honestly I’m a stay at home mum of five so if he stays with 24/7 that’s okay, I rarely go anywhere and when I do, echo comes aswell. I have this pet carrier basket thing that I put him in every night for bed time and have a cage filled of hay that I put him in sometimes during the day when I need to do stuff by myself lol

but Monday I’m going to definitely make an appointment and talk about surgery, I’m just really worried about the swelling

Ive tried kinda making a splint but the leg is almost frozen in the position

Good stuff, what a wonderful loving kind person you are Don't do it yourself as it may make it worse, has to be done by a professional. Hopefully the surgery will not cost you an arm and leg and Echo could become a normal healthy birdie for rest of his life which will be a very long one as he is a Cockatoo!

Don't forget to keep us posted. Wish both of you the best of luck

 

[CuppaTea]

Update: the vets took a look at his leg, he had decided it’s not an infection and in fact it’s fluid.

next Wednesday he will be having surgery on the leg, they are gonna open the leg up, place it back into position and put a cast on it because there’s still movement, except now because of the extra fluid he can’t move it too well.. I’m still worried about an infection which is the reason we arnt going to leave the leg how it is! The vet did say echo will probably loose the leg in the long run

I know y’all probably disagree, but would it be wrong to clip his wings? He has been trying to fly but because he can’t land, he has just been flying into the wall and I’m worried he will get hurt

either way, if anyone has tiktok? Feel free to follow me there’s a video of echos leg Echos tiktok

 

[Birds lover from Hawaii]

Update: the vets took a look at his leg, he had decided it’s not an infection and in fact it’s fluid.

next Wednesday he will be having surgery on the leg, they are gonna open the leg up, place it back into position and put a cast on it because there’s still movement, except now because of the extra fluid he can’t move it too well.. I’m still worried about an infection which is the reason we arnt going to leave the leg how it is! The vet did say echo will probably loose the leg in the long run

I know y’all probably disagree, but would it be wrong to clip his wings? He has been trying to fly but because he can’t land, he has just been flying into the wall and I’m worried he will get hurt

either way, if anyone has tiktok? Feel free to follow me there’s a video of echos leg Echos tiktok

My 27 year old Senegal had his flight feathers clipped his whole life and had no problems both emotionally and physically. He was used to walking and climbing instead of flying. Since only the flight feathers were clipped, he could still fly a certain distance and landed on the ground safely in case of an accidental fall.

Since he is going to have a surgery soon, it's best not to give him any more stress as he will not be able to fly for a while after the surgery. In the meantime, just keep watch and not offer him the opportunity to stand on the perch as he may have the urge to take off. After all, it's best to restrict his movements to prevent further injury.

Don't understand why your vet said Echo will probably loose the leg in the long run. In that case, what is the need to perform the surgery? Did he explain?