Something may be wrong with Chipper's wing

[ct92404]

I'm not sure exactly how, but I think Chipper might have hurt one of her wings.

A few days ago, when I had her out and I was petting her and playing with her, she was hopping around and exploring like she always does. Then suddenly for some reason, she had her wing out at a little bit of a weird angle and she started squawking and screeching like it was hurting her. At first, I thought maybe one of her feathers was bent or caught somehow and pulling on her and bothering her. But this has happened a few times now over the past couple of days. Also, when she has her wings down, it seems like she's holding that wing a tiny bit differently. Like it's not quite as flat down as the other one. And once in a while she kind of twitches it a little bit, like it's bothering her. It seems like she can raise it and preens okay. And she is active...she's eating, drinking, and playing with her toys. But there definitely seems to be something going on with her wing.

I did have Chipper's wings clipped maybe a couple of weeks ago or so. But she is overweight, and I think she might be landing a little bit too hard. Her feet are fine, and nothing else seems to be bothering her. It's just her wing. My friend thinks she could have put too much weight on her wing when she landed and might have sprained it. Can a bird sprain their wing? I hope she didn't break anything. She doesn't seem to be in too much pain when her wings are down. She chirps and is active. My friend thinks that if she had actually broken her wing, she would be in a lot more pain and it would be obvious. Of course, he isn't a vet and neither am I.

I'm going to take Chipper to a vet, hopefully tomorrow or Monday at the latest. But in the mean time, does anyone have any idea of what could be going on? Is it possible for a bird to sprain their wing? Could it be dislocated or something? I don't know anything about how the joints on a bird's body work. I just feel so bad for Chipper if she's hurt
Thank God at least she doesn't seem to be in pain unless she lifts her wing too much.

 

[cassiepengo]

Hey!
Well my budgie once had the same problem-one wing kind of sticking at an odd angle. But after some days, its was okay again. He dint show any sign of pain though. But you say your budgie has been twitching her wing and all, so it might be something else. I dont know much but i dont think a budgie can sprain his wing. You also say you clipped him, so i think he might be a little uncomfortable. That would explain the twitching- like- whats up with my wing, why dosent it smooth down. If thats the case, i would wait a little longer. Maybe should hang on for some more time? Idk just wait for somwone more helpful to come along. But whatever it is, dont worry im sure chipper will be okay

 

[ct92404]

Well, something is definitely wrong. I'm pretty sure now that she hurt her wing somehow, it's more than just a bent or twisted feather bothering her, which is what I thought it might have been at first. That's why I think she might have sprained her wing. She can lift it to preen, and she doesn't seem to be in pain as long as she doesn't raise it too much. She's still active today, and is chirping, eating, and playing with her toys. But if she tries to fly and flaps her wings, she starts crying and picks at that wing like it's hurting her. There doesn't seem to be any obvious deformities like it's broken or dislocated or anything. I looked up on Google about broken and dislocated wings on birds, and it seems like it's really obvious if that happens (wing drooping, etc). Her wing looks pretty much normal, but there is definitely something going on. Poor little birdie

I called the vet and made an appointment for Monday morning. I hope the doctor will have good news and say it's just a sprain or something else minor.

 

[DannyA93]

First off if you feel there is something wrong with your bird the LAST thing you wanna do is just wait and see what happens. Birds instinctually hide their sickness and injuries for survival. It could be that when she was clipped that there was a feather that was just finishing up growing so it still had nerves in it and it's sore? Not sure but especially that she looks irritated when she uses it at all there's a problem. Whether it's something minor or not so right now the vet is your best option.

 

[ct92404]

Yeah, Danny, I was planning to take her to the vet no matter what. The first time she acted like that, I thought maybe it was just a feather in her wing that got bent or twisted somehow and it was pulling on her and irritating her. But then it happened again, and by the 3rd time I knew something was wrong and I would have to take her to the vet. The appointment is for Monday at 9:00 AM.

In the mean time, should I just let her be in her cage? She doesn't seem to be in pain unless she tries to flap that wing. I don't want her to feel lonely and bored being in her cage the whole time until Monday. But then again, if I take her out to pet her, she likes to roam and gets really stubborn, and I'm afraid if she gets too hyper she might make her wing worse.

It's so heart wrenching when a pet is sick or hurt and you don't know exactly what to do. I don't know how I'd handle it if I had kids someday and they get sick! But at least a kid can tell you how they feel and where they're hurting. I wish Chipper could tell me!