Nov 12, 2019 23:07:52 GMT
budgiebabs
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 5
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Post by budgiebabs on Nov 12, 2019 23:27:34 GMT
This is my first budgie and so this as a whole has been a massive learning experience for me. She's almost two and after taking a trip to the vets a few weeks ago, I found out that she has a birth deformity in her back inner left toe meaning that she has very weak bone there, it is significantly smaller than her other toes and it is essentially paralysed and can be moved in any direction without hurting her (all told to me by an avian vet). However, he said that she seemed fine and wouldn't be at a disadvantage or affected really by this as after checking her over she was completely healthy other than that.
Normally I leave her cage door open so she can fly in the dining room and has a lot of space to move. Recently though, she has been struggling to make it to her normal perching spots and I sometimes come in to find her on the floor, which really concerns me as she used to hate being on the floor the most. I can't fully tell whether if it's that she is struggling to fly or struggling to get to/ aim where she is flying. I ALSO noticed that when on a surface that isn't a coarse fabric, she slips inwards (on her deformed toe) and struggles to walk. I am at a complete loss at what to do as before I took her to the vet she wasn't struggling at all and suddenly she is having all of these issues. I don't know whether to take her to the vets as soon as possible or leave it for a week to see if she improves but I can't figure out why she is struggling so much, especially with flying as there is no evidence of a moult and her feathers are all in good condition and well-preened, as well as her being able to move perfectly fine on perches and only struggling on the flat surfaces she lands on when she struggles. It also doesn't help that she used to be hand tamed but after leaving her with what I now know as an untrustworthy boarder for my baby as she came back traumatised and despised hands ever since.
I really don't want to give her up or see her struggle but I have no idea what to do and would really appreciate some guidance or advice, as I have no idea how much of the issues are caused by the deformity.
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Post by helenmat on Nov 13, 2019 6:12:30 GMT
Hello and welcome. Can you post some pictures of your bird and her toe so that we may see the problem and just a general picture of your bird will help us. Plus we love pictures. If your bird is struggling to get around, maybe get some wider perches and lower them in her cage and maybe add a ladder for her to climb up. Im sure with patience you can get her used to your hands again. In the meantime you will have to keep a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't fall too far.
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Post by Hezz on Nov 13, 2019 19:22:47 GMT
Does she have a full complement of flight feathers? Photos will help there. I suggest you observe her in flight and try to determine what the cause of her landing on the floor might be. Move her perching places closer to her cage if she is struggling to make the distance.
Might be an odd question, but did the vet take her out of the room away from you at any time?
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Post by clt80 on Nov 13, 2019 21:03:00 GMT
What did the vet mean it can move in any direction without hurting her? My initial thought was they've pushed or pulled it too much. I have a vision of them twisting her little toe right around, especially as she seems worse post vet visit.
Is she holding her leg up at all? I've had many with deformed toes, legs, alsorts really but none have been able to have the deformed area moved in any direction, and when it's been hurting they've held it up.
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Post by Hezz on Nov 14, 2019 9:32:18 GMT
I was thinking along the same lines, clt80. A toe should not move in all sorts of directions. But even if the toe has been strained during the vet visit, that doesn't explain why this little bird is now having trouble flying.
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Nov 12, 2019 23:07:52 GMT
budgiebabs
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 5
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Post by budgiebabs on Nov 16, 2019 2:37:07 GMT
So I went to the vet again yesterday and here is a brief run down of what is thought to be going on: So the toe is completely irrelevant to the current issue she is completely healthy in terms of bones and feathers, no breaks or fractures or injury of any kind. She is also not going through a molt or anything of the sort. What he thinks has happened (cannot tell for sure because she is so small and delicate that the only way to tell these kinds of things is in whatever they call the animal version of an autopsy) and do the issue is either some kind of disease, infection or something of the sort that she has caught that is severely affecting her correlation and balance skills. He gave her a vitamin B injection and has given me antibiotics and an anti inflammatory to force feed her. If I see rapid improvement in the next few days, I carry on the antibiotics for three weeks and the anti inflammatory for one week, if she improves slightly I give her both for the three weeks and take her back and have a discussion on what to do from there and whether she can live how ever she ends up and if there is no improvement after giving her both for the three weeks then I am going to have to put her down as it really isn’t fair. This is really hard for me as a first time bird owner and I highly doubt that if she doesn’t make it I will ever get another one. He suspects that she caught whatever she has when she was being boarded at this new boarder we have and if she does make it am I just going to have to try and persuade a family friend really hard into taking care of her (I don’t know anyone who is confident or wants to look after her while I’m gone as they are essentially all afraid of birds). I gave her her first dose of medicine by myself today which was very hard to do emotionally but I have to do if I want her to potentially get better. She has perked up a little bit but that may just be because I’m trying to spend as much time with her as physically possible just in case. She isn’t allowed out of her cage anymore in case she hurts herself and she sometimes falls when she misjudges how high or far she can jump from perch to perch and is choosing mainly to climb the bars now. I am going to try and get a ladder for her as soon as possible to make it all easier but for now I am just hoping for the best but trying not to get my hopes up. In short, although I am not a very experienced owner I have had my budgie for over a year now and would just like to say that if you notice something off, especially regarding ability to fly and land, PLEASE take your bird to the vet.
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Nov 12, 2019 23:07:52 GMT
budgiebabs
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 5
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Post by budgiebabs on Nov 16, 2019 2:39:15 GMT
And when I said it can move in any direction without hurting her, it is almost like there are no tendons or muscle holding the toe together as I saw myself that it could literally move freely as if it were made of cartilage and she has no feeling in it whatsoever and didn’t react to it being touched as she would normally.
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Nov 12, 2019 23:07:52 GMT
budgiebabs
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 5
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Post by budgiebabs on Nov 16, 2019 2:40:32 GMT
It wasn’t twisted or pulled I was watching the entire time he just gently and lightly pushed it forwards, backwards then very gently side to side to then discover she couldn’t feel it
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Post by Hezz on Nov 16, 2019 8:43:12 GMT
I am so sorry that you and your little girl are having to go through this. Unfortunately genetic defects do happen with any species, and dodgy breeders don't help things at all. I really feel for you, going through this on your own. If it were at all possible I would take on your bird to give her the best care possible for the time left that she has. Perhaps you could try to find a sanctuary or rehoming site close by to see if anyone would be willing to do this? Fingers crossed that the medications you were given will help her.
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Nov 12, 2019 23:07:52 GMT
budgiebabs
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 5
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Post by budgiebabs on Nov 16, 2019 11:22:07 GMT
I am willing to keep up any treatment for her as it will be hopefully worth it in the end I just worry that if she doesn’t improve significantly her quality of life won’t be fair on her. However, it is still early days and we should see by Monday is she is going to recover completely and so far so good!! She has perked up a little bit even when I was at work this morning but I haven’t yet watched her carefully to see how her balance is doing. Hopefully she will improve!!!
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Post by helenmat on Nov 16, 2019 18:56:24 GMT
I hope so too, you are doing all you can.
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Aug 12, 2019 15:44:50 GMT
Biggles
Normal Violet
Posts: 165
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Post by Biggles on Nov 16, 2019 19:37:34 GMT
My daughter was born without the lower half of her arm, and that elbow is more flexible than normal. It may be that she doesn't have all the normal muscles that would restrict movement.
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Nov 22, 2019 0:28:46 GMT
SweetyTweety22
Brand New Budgie
Tweet Never off Duty
Posts: 8
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Post by SweetyTweety22 on Nov 22, 2019 0:47:09 GMT
It depends on the budgie if it wants to be with you or not. I have four budgies and they are great. Don't give up on her if she doesn't want to be with you. Just wait it out and I am sure that you and your new friend will be best friends for life. I am sure she will be happy and know that you love her. Good Luck
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