Kiwi’s leg band caused an ulcer!!!

[Ijistcantsayno]

I will try to keep this as short and sweet as I can. Yesterday Kiwi refused treats in the morning and wasn’t very active. I noticed a teeny bit of swelling on his right toes. Huge red flags, so I called our vet and they are having renovation work done through Monday, so no birds can be in the building until Tuesday or Wednesday next week. He was actually at the vet on Wednesday this week for his first checkup, which was normal, bloodwork still pending. The emergency vet clinic didn’t think it was an emergency and said don’t come, wait until our vet can see him next week. I refused to wait that long. I called about 30 places and managed to stumble upon the most helpful woman ever. She offered to see if anyone in her office knew where I could bring him. This is where my luck turns around, and my persistence paid off. This practice just hired a new vet, he started this past week. AND HE’S AVIAN CERTIFIED!!!! He told the receptionist this and to fit Kiwi in when we could get there, birds cannot wait. So I get there, answer what feels like 1000 dumb questions and very few good questions, and within 15 minutes of them getting Kiwi in the door the vet is calling me to say the leg band has to come off ASAP, and that my hunch was right. I asked that he try without sedation first, He agreed he would try, but didn’t want to stress Kiwi to much. The vet was able to get the band off without any sedation. Every time Kiwi would jump or move the leg band was chafing and irritating him. He’s on an anti inflammatory for 3 days for pain and swelling and a week of antibiotics for the ulcer that was hiding under his leg band. They measured out each dose for us which I found very thoughtful. The vet said it was good I caught it early because it could have gotten much worse very quickly.

So this brings on another issue...now that Kiwi is bandless...I have no ID proving he’s legit. I have the paperwork from the vets office that Kiwi’s band was removed, the date, and why...but I’m not sure that’s going to work as a long term solution.


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[SailBoat]

Yes, a leg band can and do cause irritation of their leg and is a common reason for removing them.

Your medical paperwork is your proof that this is your bird. Keep your bird's Bandas part of your information packet.

As of this moment, there are no indications that CITES will require document sets for the species of Parrot /Birds you have. Plus the black market is not active with your bird species.

The medical documents will act as your body of proof, should you wish to travel within the lower 48 States of the USA.

 

[Scott]

Kudos for observation and persistence, congratulations for finding an avian vet!

 

[Ijistcantsayno]

Yes, a leg band can and do cause irritation of their leg and is a common reason for removing them.

Your medical paperwork is your proof that this is your bird. Keep your bird's Bandas part of your information packet.

As of this moment, there are no indications that CITES will require document sets for the species of Parrot /Birds you have. Plus the black market is not active with your bird species.

The medical documents will act as your body of proof, should you wish to travel within the lower 48 States of the USA.

My concern is if that status changes at some point during Kiwi’s lifetime. Classic case of me overthinking just about everything. Lol.


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[Laurasea]

My vet takes a picture of the bird and includes in their files.

I've had to remove 2 leg bands from birds. One was going up over the hock or getting stuck on the joint. And one caused a callus on the leg.

Great job !! Great persistence! Hope it heals quickly!

Their are open plastic leg bands for adults if it becomes required. I and my vet dobt like microchip in small species, but it is an Option

 

[SailBoat]

Yes, a leg band can and do cause irritation of their leg and is a common reason for removing them.

Your medical paperwork is your proof that this is your bird. Keep your bird's Bandas part of your information packet.

As of this moment, there are no indications that CITES will require document sets for the species of Parrot /Birds you have. Plus the black market is not active with your bird species.

The medical documents will act as your body of proof, should you wish to travel within the lower 48 States of the USA.

My concern is if that status changes at some point during Kiwi’s lifetime. Classic case of me overthinking just about everything. Lol.


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If CITES changes the status of your species', your medical documentation will provide the information you will need. No Reason to worry about this, you're covered.

 

[fiddlejen]

Did they give you the band? When I took in my budgies for checkup the vet convinced me they were safer without the bands, removed them - and gave them to me. I put them in an envelope stapled to the record for that visit, and filed them. You might want to do something like that.

 

[Ijistcantsayno]

Yes, they put the band in a small plastic bag and staples that to the paperwork, which is basically a print out of his dosage, summary of the visit, and the receipt.


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[SailBoat]

Yes, they put the band in a small plastic bag and staples that to the paperwork, which is basically a print out of his dosage, summary of the visit, and the receipt.

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The date of those documents define a time line of your ownership! An increasing number of Clinics are including pet photos on said documents. Primary use is to identify the Parrot and use the Parrots name when they first pick the Parrot up carside (This is likely to confuse a reader sometime in the future! ) or with hope face to face inside at some point in the future.

Keep those documents, they are your proof of ownership... And, medical history that you can carry with you when traveling and need Avian service along the way.

 

[Ijistcantsayno]

Thank you! Currently he is listed as a canine with the vet that was able to help me...with the species being brotogeris V. They really were not prepared for their first avian client as far as the internet goes. That’s all good though, but long term wise...I’m hoping there is no status change for this species. This new clinic will be taking over the majority of our avian care needs, I was really impressed with the “fit them in” attitude. To me the “new” vet knows what they are dealing with. While I can sympathize with the need to remodel an office, I cannot tolerate “wait until...”. I appreciate the gesture, BUT...it’s not a great scenario. There was no real plan B...meanwhile I have backup plans for back up plans in my household (safety related of coarse). One would think that would be the case at the veterinary practice well. Especially when the main vet has the only avian wildlife clinic in the state at their disposal.


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