Lovebird’s Lame Foot

[pumpkinpie]

Hi everyone, hope you’re all safe and well. This is a bit of a long read but I’d really appreciate if anyone can help us out.
I have a lovebird who is around 2 years old

On June 30th we noticed jellybeans right foot was weak, and his right wing slightly droopy.

He was still able to walk and fly.

By 5th of July, we have had already taken him to the vet, and at this point his right foot was clamped up completely. He was resting on his elbow instead.

Also, at this time, he was still able to walk and stand, even with his foot closed up.

He eats and drinks as normal.

We’ve been to the vet several times, they don’t know what it is.

- they did an X-ray, they said everything seemed ok
- We were given pain relief and anti inflammatory medication
- they prescribed some Gabapentin, for his nerves, we used it twice a day and didn’t notice any change so the vet told us 25th of July to stop giving the Gabapentin.
- They wrapped up his leg to keep his feet open but he just kept ripping the bandage off his foot and re closing his feet
- They applied a collar but he was still able to lift his leg and bite off the bandage and close his foot.
- So far he is able to lift up his right leg. He seemed to have function in his leg.
- We removed the collar and then one morning, right before taking him to the vet we saw blood under his right wing. He seemed to have self harmed and tore right down to his muscle. We are unsure how long he was doing this to himself.
- Took him straight to the vet but they said he clotted and so they didn’t do the stitches.
- That same day they did a blood test, and found a small infection, we aren’t sure where it came from.
- We gave him antibiotics for 7 days
- They had another collar on him and bandaged his leg again
- They removed the collar a week later because it wasn’t working, and the bandage wasn’t helping because jellybean was still able to close his feet so the vet told us to let him rip off the bandage himself (this can also get his mind off picking his clot under his wing)


Today, jellybean can’t walk. He uses his beak and drags himself. The vet told us to come back in a month, that’s 3 weeks away.

I feel like we aren’t getting anywhere and haven’t made any progress jellybean is getting worse.


This week, right after his last vet visit, he is eating less, not as much as before. We’re really worried.
He’s also holding his poop in. When he poops its big and long, not small and curled.
He is still a little bit active
Will he self harm again?
What should I do?
What’s happening to him?
Any ideas?
Is he a she and is this symptoms of being egg bound even though this wasn’t part of the conversation with the vet?

Lots of love ~jellybean and his family

 

[pumpkinpie]

Also, he breathes hard sometimes and ‘pushes’ and wags his tail and is always trying to ‘hide’ in dark spaces. I got him a hut and that’s where he is 90
Percent of the time and only comes out to eat a little bit.
He still drinks a lot of water too.

 

[Noahs_Birds]

'He' sounds like a 'She' at the moment

Take her to the vet immediately no matter what, sounds like a severe case of egg binding

 

[LaManuka]

Agree with Noah, it does sound like egg-binding and it can be very dangerous.

Once this problem is resolved please remove the hut from the cage and ensure s/he does not have any further access to anything that remotely resembles a nesting site. Even if the issue is not egg-binding, these huts can contribute to major hormonal aggression and can cause fatal blockage to the gastro-intestinal tract if the synthetic fabric is chewed and swallowed, and they can be doing this whether the owner is aware of it or not.

Best of luck!

 

[pumpkinpie]

'He' sounds like a 'She' at the moment

Take her to the vet immediately no matter what, sounds like a severe case of egg binding

I’m making an appointment to take him today.

How obvious is it to see egg binding? Swelling? Lump? I turned jellybean on his back and felt around but I didn’t notice anything

Why didn’t the avian vet suggest this the several times I went there

Thankyou

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Egg binding can happen suddenly, theres no chance the vet had any idea it was egg bound

Is your Lovebird a DNA sexed male or female, or has it not been sexed

Anyway no matter what the issue it needs to be taken to the vet ASAP

 

[LaManuka]

Eggs can form in as little as 48 hours, so depending on the date of your visit to the vet it may not have been immediately apparent. They can also be improperly formed, i.e. the yolk may form but the shell may be too soft to pass successfully. I wish you all the best at the vet's!

 

[pumpkinpie]

Eggs can form in as little as 48 hours, so depending on the date of your visit to the vet it may not have been immediately apparent. They can also be improperly formed, i.e. the yolk may form but the shell may be too soft to pass successfully. I wish you all the best at the vet's!

Hey, so he’s not doing so well. Took him to the vets and he’s going to be staying there for a couple days. Even though jellybean has been eating and drinking, he still lost a fair bit of weight so they said they’ll be doing some assisted crop feeding and start him on medication for metal toxicity. They don’t know if it is m.t but they suggested we treat him for it anyway. It’s the last thing we can try. The other thing he might have is a mass growing rapidly somewhere in his body. If it’s that, we can’t do anything. Please pray for my baby even if he doesn’t make it

 

[LaManuka]

Thanks for the update, I'm just so sorry it's not better news, poor baby Jellybean. Sending every prayer and good wish for recovery for your little sweetheart!