Budgie hurt foot need advice

[budgiebudgie]

Hmmm.. tricky. I just scrolled back to the start of the thread, and tbh, the photos you posted on Jan 11th are not very different to the photos of Jan 17th - granted, this isn't a full week, but even so you'd hope he'd improved more than he has.

If only they could speak!

Is he finger tame? If so, can you feel any weight coming through his poorly foot? It might be time to visit the vet, as broken legs can be treated, (I think?), but I gather that time is of the essence.

It does seem - and everyone who's posted to this thread seems to be of the opinion - that it isn't a broken leg. Let's hope this is the case. But if it isn't, what's causing him the trouble? And what can be done to help him?!

Is he a young budgie? Presumably, just like with humans, the older they are, the slower the healing process.

Keep us informed.

[somethingigottause]

He should be a little under or little over 1 year now, so he's young. Today is day 10 and he's able to walk around now without hoping. He can curl his foot around the perch and now he only occasionally will hold his foot up a bit. He's never stopped eating and drinking although day 1 and 2 he probably didn't do it too often cause he didn't wanna move much. I've never worried about the eating because I knew the other budgie would feed him if he didn't feel like moving to the food dish. About the pictures I'm not sure. I was wondering before I posted them how it would look to someone who hasn't seen him in person. Even though I'm happy he's been curling his foot, I was also thinking about what pain level he's at. He is moving a lot (probably to make up for when he couldn't use both feet to walk) so I feel like it's more minimal. Just cause he's curling his foot now, I don't wanna forget this incident happened and I'll probably always check on his foot at times. Not sure if I will update tomorrow unless there's something to update about. And yes definitely not a broken leg BUT I too am wondering what it could be. A bruise/sprain maybe? Even when his foot is curled it doesn't seem to be "level" (if that's a good word for this) to his good foot. He's not hand tamed. 

[Hezz]

He might have dislocated a toe, but at this stage I would not be too concerned. Nothing you could do about that anyway, and he has use of the foot and is making use of it. Do you have any long tassels in their cage? Things like rope swings, toy, perches often come with long strands of cotton hanging. If you do, this might have been the cause of his injury as the birds can get their claws caught in the tassels and they can break their toes, pull out claws, break legs or even in the worst cases hang themselves on these long strands. If you have any, cut them off as close as possible to the knot, cable-tie the rope to stop it coming undone if you are concerned about that. It is just an idea of what might have been the cause.

[budgiebudgie]

phew. "able to walk without hopping" ? - Well, he must be on the mend, then! "only occasionally holding his foot up" - progress!

His progress sounds the same as when my bird hurt herself - perhaps a little slower, though not much.

So pleased to hear that he is on the mend. Great news!

[somethingigottause]

There is this hut in their cage that they go on top of instead of inside. The two pieces of black fabric that hold it up are made of a material that can get their nails stuck in. I've seen it happen before the incident but only occasionally and never thought anything of it because they've always got it out as soon as it happened. But when his foot got injured I've thought of how their nails can catch onto things and that was the first thing I thought of. Someone told me at the beginning of this thread that because they can't clip their budgies nails they instead take out anything that their long nails can catch onto. It's a great idea and I'm definitely gonna do it but I can't do it yet since is leg isn't 100% and since it's getting better I don't wanna add to it and I know if I try to remove the hut they'll fly everywhere. (They have only recently been getting used to me changing the food and water every morning. They do avoid my hand while I'm doing it though but they still freak out when I do something big like adding a new toy etc.) And yes I'm sure he's thrilled he can walk better now and today I even saw him use his bad foot to scratch his head which is something he tried to do before (probably out of habit) but he must've forgot his foot was hurt then had to stop. 

[Hezz]

Those so-called snuggle-huts are like using sandpaper - a waste of money and worse than useless, they are dangerous. Not only can the birds get their claws caught, but they can and do often chew on them and ingest some of the fibres; this can kill them. It needs to be removed as soon as possible.

[somethingigottause]

I feel like writing my last post jinxed it. This morning when I was feeding the budgies, he got his nail on his bad foot caught in the fabric that holds up the hut. He was struggling then afterwards he held it up a bit when it was over. After that I took it out to sew on a different fabric to hold it up (they love to sit on the top, so I figured it was better than throwing it out) but then I read your comment and threw it out anyway. It's good to know that. I read how sandpaper perch covers do more harm than good but I didn't know it was the same with the huts. Anyway after the incident I checked on his foot and he can still curl his foot around the perch and he can move using both feet. He must've had some backlash though but I don't know yet. I also might close this thread or delete it soon because I'm just repeating myself I feel. Although I don't know how to do either of those things. I was wondering if there's something I could buy to help out their nails? I don't want them to have accidents just because these things. Something along the lines of a cat-scratching-post but made to help birds. 

[Hezz]

Please don't delete the thread; if you want, I can lock it but I don't see the need for that either. If you have no more news to post, that is fine; the thread will simply be left there for anyone else to browse if they might have the same problems. You don't need to do anything regarding the thread, just leave it be.

I am so happy you threw out the hut, I was concerned there when I first started reading that it was still in their cage. Now you have seen what problems these damn things can cause, first hand.

All your birds need is natural branches for perches, of differing sizes and textures. Dowel or plastic don't give their feet enough exercise as they are too uniform. The claws don't need special attention if the birds have these. Occasionally a bird will have one or more claw that grows abnormally long, often from an injury to the foot and that foot not being used in the way as the other.

Don't feel you need to give day-by-day posts on how he is doing, but an update in a few days would be good so we know he is continuing to improve. We do care, and take pleasure in a budgie getting better.

[somethingigottause]

Oh that's fine I'll leave it up because that is true. A thread liked this would've helped me if I didn't make an account, so I'll leave it up. I wanted to ask if there's any consequences with not going to vet. Like consequences for an untreated sprain or bruise or dislocated bone or whatever it could be. 

And for perches I have: one half size branch perch which I recently bought for them, and the other three are all wood. Would that work well?

[budgiebudgie]

Hello there somethingigottause - please don't delete the thread! My visit to the budgerigar's forum was partly to browse but particularly to see how your budgie's foot is.

FWIW, I bought one of those huts for my budgie when I first got her. It was called a 'cosy hut' or 'cozzy hut' or something - as Hezz says, it was fluffy material in a kind of neon-cum-pastel green. My bird would only go in it if there was a piece of millet inside, which tells you straightaway that she had to be lured in there. On the advice of people on this board, I also threw the cosy hut away.

I don't know if there'll be longer term consequences of a sprain or injury. My little bird has no lasting effects - to be honest, I'm not even 100% sure which foot was injured. She uses them equally. They look exactly the same.

Now you've ditched the hut, hopefully there'll be nothing to come between your bird and full healing.

[somethingigottause]

I'm not gonna delete the thread because it might help other people and I will still update just not daily since the healing progress is going slow now that it reached a certain day. Also to mention the affect of his foot getting caught yesterday, ive seen him lifting it up again but it's occasional. He still chooses to walk with both feet so I don't think much more was injured yesterday. My concern is that even though he can use his injured foot to walk, it is leveled/positioned weird compared to his normal foot. Could this be a thing of comfort (the way he chooses to rest/walk with it)? Also it's hard to find a good word but I feel that saying "positioned" will make it sound like his foot is twisted. It almost looks as if his injured foot is stuck out/stretched out a bit more than his non-hurt foot, even if both feet will be doing the same thing.


Good to know what's harmful for budgies. I'm shocked at how many things that are considered dangerous they still sell at stores. I remember finding out that sand perches are bad and now just seeing them in the stores is upsetting.

[somethingigottause]

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Okay I just got two photos to go along with my last post. This is what I meant when I said they don't look similar even though they're doing the same action. They're both resting/curled on the perch but the injured one is more stuck out/stretched out. 

[Hezz]

As it isn't his leg that is broken/dislocated, there is very little a vet could do for him anyway. The worst is a possible dislocated toe, I think. It may or may not be stuck in the position you are describing for ever more, or it is possible that he will get some mobility back in the toes once the soreness goes. Either way, firstly there really isn't anything you can do, and secondly, besides the hiccup with the bleedin' hut, his foot is regaining its function and left alone it will improve, but by how much is like asking how long is a piece of string.

[somethingigottause]

An update: he's doing well I think he has stopped improving since there's not much to improve. Except for the slight difference in his foot posture, he can manage every task that his normal foot can do (although I'm not sure how he is with sleeping, don't know if he curl his injured foot up or not yet.) I was also thinking of buying them a new toy since I've gotten rid of the hut and wanted to ask what would be best. Any great toy suggestions although every budgie probably has a personal favorite. Or is this something that creating a new thread would be on 

[Hezz]

Most budgies like swings, bells and mirrors ..... but they all have their favourites, as you say. Have a look through the toys and enrichment section, you might find inspiration there.