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Eleven days ago I got a new cockatiel named Yadira. She's young and not real tame yet, but I was making good progress with her until Friday.

Friday I ran errands all the way home from work and didn't get in until 10pm. When I entered my bedroom I found that she was caught by her leg band on the metal hook in the top of one of her toys. I couldn't get her off the toy. There was blood everywhere. Several phone call later, I found an emergency avian vet and drove her in. It took half an hour and she gasped the whole way. The vet used metal cutters to get the toy off her. He cleaned her up and sent me home with Betadine to treat the wounds with. The combination of the leg band and the metal hook had cut off the circulation in her foot. I don't know how long she was like that before I found her.

I'm following the advice of the vet very carefully. She's getting stronger, although her entire foot is stiff as a board. Earlier today only one toe was stiff, but now it's the whole foot. She started perching again a couple of hours ago. But she can't perch for more than a few minutes and she shakes terribly as she tries.

One of the things that concerns me is the the treatment I am giving her is painful. I'm as careful and gentle as I can possibly be, but I'm still taking her out of the carrier and causing her pain every few hours. She hates me. Every time I open the carrier she lunges at my hand and bites it as hard as she can. I'm worried that she will never be tame after this, that she will always see me as someone who causes her pain.

I have another appointment with the vet tomorrow and I'm going to ask him about pain medication.

Does anyone have any advice for me on this matter? I'm really at a loss as to what to do.

Thank you for your help!

-Maija

Right now she is biting out of fear and pain. Try giving her cuddles and treats as well. I would remove all the perches, lower the food and water so she can get to it from the bottom of the cage, and pad the bottom with paper towels so she doesn't have to grasp anything.

What kind of metal hook was it? We should all check our cages for these.

Birds are remarkably forgiving, give her time after she heals and start again from step one. I hope all goes well and good for you on getting her right into the vet to take care of her.

If you have willow trees near your house, you could cut a few branches and let her chew the twigs. The bark has a natural painkiller in it that is safe for birds to ingest by chewing.

You could also call and see if there is anything they can tell you that is safe, I have heard rumors about baby asprin.

Maija,

Baby aspirin can help. Altho the formulae escapes me, the essentials are basically crush 1/4 a baby aspirin in a teaspoon with another teaspoon, and then suck the contents or pour the powder into an insulin syringe, suck just a few units of water into the syringe, then dose the bird. I'd venture to guess this is probably not enough pain killer for a bird, and you need to check with your vet for something stronger. There are several NSAIDS that my vet prescribes, but in this case, I think perhaps a mild sedative would be more in order, but I can't recommend anything. Birds DO experience pain, just as humans do, but the mental processes that affect us apparently don't play the same in birds, but it still hurts.

HTH

Sam

poor baby
hope she gets well soon

yes, I would like to know what this metal hook thing was too. I always make sure anything in their cage isn't something that is open and can hook onto a band. Woody is banded, but fortunately he isn't the most active bird in the world and is pretty laid back and I can't see him getting himself in this situation----still I am careful.
Also, don't worry too much that she's mad at you right now. My female tiel also has had injuries and I know all the attention and time spent taking care of her has helped form a bond between me and my boss girl! I really think she realizes, even it's a tiny bit, that I am helping her-----she was so good the last time for me----she got bit on the foot by my lovie.
I sure hope her foot gets better soon!

Maija, Christie is so right - cockatiels are VERY forgiving!! Here is a link of what happened - more correctly - what I did to my poor little birdhttp://chats.upatsix.com/chats/viewtopic.php?t=23250&highlight=

I did have her longer then you have had yours and she was tame. IF someone did this to me, I don't think I would be as forgiving as Luna.

I am so sorry to here of this mishap - I assume you have to towel her while treating her. If this is the case, I would take the time to hold her close to me and tell how good she is and give her some kisses. I have done this with Luna when something happens to her - held her close and kissed her or close to her softly so she could her the sound. I think she responds to it because she comes up to me to cuddle that way when everything is OK.

Treats are also good for bonding and forgiveness. Luna loves almonds, so we give her small pieces - the sliced style work well for tiels -they are easier for them to eat.

Please keep us posted. Good luck and I hope she bounces back.

Jo

ONLY GIVE HER MEDS THE VET PRESCRIBES!
She needs rest. Just sit with her and talk to her gently. I know when I've hurt myself the last thing I need is someone asking me "are you OK?" let her rest and keep her comfortable and warm.....

christie wrote:... If you have willow trees near your house, you could cut a few branches and let her chew the twigs. The bark has a natural painkiller in it that is safe for birds to ingest by chewing...

This substance is described as being very similar to aspirin in its soothing effects. If you'd like, I'll send you some branches quickly. Just PM me.

Hoping she recovers fast.

Paca

Thank you, everyone, for the advice and encouragement!!!

There are willow trees around where I live, so I will see about getting Yadira some branches. I'm also going to ask the vet to prescribe something for her.

I will look online and see if I can find the toy that she got caught on so that I can post it for you.

Right now I have Yadira in a bird carrier with a low perch, some food and water, and a hand-towel. In the last 24 hours she has become very steady in her ability to perch on one foot with the injured one stuck straight out behind her. She sleeps a lot, and I think she has lost some weight, although I don't have a scale to say for sure. She is eating, though, and drinking. I have her next to my computer in the office where I work so that I can keep an eye on her. Fortunately, I have a very understanding boss and co-workers.

I got a bag of carrots today, thinking that maybe when she lunges at me I could give her a carrot. The almonds sound like a good idea. Unfortunately, in the week I had her before the injury I hadn't yet succeeded in getting her to try anything other than the seed mix she was accustomed to at the pet store. (It took weeks with my first cockatiel Lady Gwen.)

I am still very new to bird keeping in general, so your advice is greatly appreciated!

Jo, I read about your experience with the harness. That must have been terrifying! I'm glad it turned out okay. I've looked at those harnesses in the pet store and wondered about them, but I haven't been quite brave enough to try one.

Thanks again! I will keep you posted.
-Maija

Here is a link for the bird toy that Yadira became caught on: http://www.birdguys.com/slide-spin-bird-toy.html

If you look at the bottom of the change you can see a hook part that looks kind of like a figure eight. Yadira's leg band slipped over the end of the wire of the hook and became stuck.

-Maija

Maija, that looks like a one in a million chance! I would never have thought a band could get caught in there. Luckily, Luna is not banded so I only have to worry about what I do to her

And she still loves us

Jo

Well, we had the follow-up vet appointment yesterday evening. Yadira's leg is dying. There is already a patch of dead skin on the side.

After much discussion, we decided to try to save the leg. Yadira is strong and seems to be coping well with just one leg. The vet thinks she has an excellent chance of living. He added an anti-inflammatory, an antibiotic, and a painkiller to her repetoir of medication.

I will be taking her in weekly for check-ups. The vet figures we have a 50/50 chance of not needing to amputate. At some point the leg will either be healed, or he will amputate the portion that was lost.

It's going to be a long process. I am going to bring her to work with me everyday so that I can get the meds into her on time and watch her progress.

If you all would like, I will continue to update you on her progress.

I am very grateful for the encouraging words and suggestions that you have given me! She wasn't impressed with the carrot, so I'm going to try the almonds next. There must be something I can give her as a treat for all that she's going through.

-Maija

Maija, I am sorry to hear you going through this with her being so young and only having her for a short time. On the flip side it's better her being young - she will have a great chance of healing, and if her leg needs to be amputated she will have a remarkable ability to adapt with one leg.

I also be since you have to handle her to give her the meds, she will tame and bond to you pretty quick. I would also handle her - cuddle and kiss without the meds so she doesn't associate being handled with only getting meds.

Please keep us updated, join in on the conversations and share other things with her as well.

Other foods to give her are corn, peas, kale (Luna's favorite!), broccoli, cauliflower, pears, apples, greens such as mustard and collard, parsley, cabbage, carrots, beans, etc.

If she doesn't try it at first - don't worry keep offering and eat it in front of her making yummy sounds - mmmmmmmm good!


Hoping for the best.

Jo

poor baby. I am glad you are keeping up with what needs to be done
I slice a piece of carrot and put it on a clip. My birds go nuts for it. I hand feed my birds a an almond slice. Freshly washed greens on aclip they like too. If I put veggies in a dish they ignore it.

what on earth is a band?