Trying to get an appointment with the Bird vet so hopefully will hear back from them soon - however in the meantime i thought i might ask here in case anyone has any ideas...
My Boo (young green IRN) appears to have hurt himself on Sunday arvo – I initially thought his foot had fallen asleep. Unfortunately he is still holding his foot up and has no strength in his toes...he is able to move his leg and toes but he’s not putting weight on it or able to use the hurt foot. I’m beginning to think he’s either taken a fall and injured himself or one of the customers/staff at the job I take him to have grabbed him or have been rough with him or something. Spoke to a few people who suggested we give him a day or two to see if he would come good - but i don't see that he's gotten any better so now trying to get in with the Vet.
Thanks,
IRN's foot has no grip strength?
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Re: IRN's foot has no grip strength?
Let us know how the vet visit goes. It doesn't sound like something that should wait.
I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
Re: IRN's foot has no grip strength?
Get Boo to an avian vet ASAP. There's a possibility he has broken his leg. You can't be 100% 'till you've seen an x-ray and you'll want to be sure as soon as possible. Bird bones heal faster than human and if, by chance, his bones heal the wrong way, he'll have to go through a procedure where they are broken again and straightened right.
Bear in mind that I'm not a vet, I'm merely writing information based on personal experience (or rather, Dodo's experience). Dodo held his leg up, as if there was no strength in it, in a way like they do when they rest on one foot, only slightly lower and not completely hidden among the feathers. He wasn't keen on moving at all, neither did he drop it. We waited a night, because of course you can't find an avian specialist on a Sunday evening, and then went for a checkup in the morning. He had to be asleep while they x-rayed him. With anesthesia there's always a certain risk involved, with them being so small, so make sure that you trust your vet if it has to be done. Things shouldn't be rushed.
Make sure to keep Boo at rest as much as possible, minimize the excitement. Have food and water ready next to him, so he doesn't have to crawl on his beak, or worse, climb to it. Another thing our vet advised us is to keep the bird low, on a flat surface, to keep his body posture as correct as possible and, more importantly, prevent him from falling. I actually kept him in an open aquarium for a week. I understand the way they hold their leg up is actually a good sign, indicating there is little to no nerve damage in the leg. In our case, the leg was broken at the joint and it was impossible to put it in a cast. All we could do was hope that he'll keep it in that resting position and it'll heal on its own (thank nature it did so).
I do hope Boo didn't break anything and all turns out well for the little guy. As Melika said, let us know how it goes.
Bear in mind that I'm not a vet, I'm merely writing information based on personal experience (or rather, Dodo's experience). Dodo held his leg up, as if there was no strength in it, in a way like they do when they rest on one foot, only slightly lower and not completely hidden among the feathers. He wasn't keen on moving at all, neither did he drop it. We waited a night, because of course you can't find an avian specialist on a Sunday evening, and then went for a checkup in the morning. He had to be asleep while they x-rayed him. With anesthesia there's always a certain risk involved, with them being so small, so make sure that you trust your vet if it has to be done. Things shouldn't be rushed.
Make sure to keep Boo at rest as much as possible, minimize the excitement. Have food and water ready next to him, so he doesn't have to crawl on his beak, or worse, climb to it. Another thing our vet advised us is to keep the bird low, on a flat surface, to keep his body posture as correct as possible and, more importantly, prevent him from falling. I actually kept him in an open aquarium for a week. I understand the way they hold their leg up is actually a good sign, indicating there is little to no nerve damage in the leg. In our case, the leg was broken at the joint and it was impossible to put it in a cast. All we could do was hope that he'll keep it in that resting position and it'll heal on its own (thank nature it did so).
I do hope Boo didn't break anything and all turns out well for the little guy. As Melika said, let us know how it goes.
Re: IRN's foot has no grip strength?
Well at this stage Boo is to be kept confined and twice a day gets a dose of pain relief/anti anflamatories (sp) - and we will reassess his condition to see if there has been any improvement or not. Most likely possibility is either a strained tendon or a dislocated hock 
But there are no major breaks etc which is something.
It does tend to suggest that someone has tried to pull him off the cage at work against his will - be it a customer trying to snatch him off the cage or a particular staff member forcing Boo off of the cage. The more i look into it the more i'm hearing that the staff member is the likely culprit
But there are no major breaks etc which is something.It does tend to suggest that someone has tried to pull him off the cage at work against his will - be it a customer trying to snatch him off the cage or a particular staff member forcing Boo off of the cage. The more i look into it the more i'm hearing that the staff member is the likely culprit
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ellieelectrons
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Re: IRN's foot has no grip strength?
That's awful.... can you talk to the staff member or might it be best to leave Boo at home?KitKat wrote:It does tend to suggest that someone has tried to pull him off the cage at work against his will - be it a customer trying to snatch him off the cage or a particular staff member forcing Boo off of the cage. The more i look into it the more i'm hearing that the staff member is the likely culprit
Ellie.
Re: IRN's foot has no grip strength?
I will be talking to the particular staff member - and he'll quickly learn not to touch any of the IRNS, unless specifically allowed to, who visit the workplace if he wants to keep his job.
Re: IRN's foot has no grip strength?
On a good note - Boo is getting better - his grip strength isn't perfect yet - but it's a hel of a lot better then it was ...so hopefully he'll make a full recovery...or close enough anyway 
He's still in purgatory (seperate flight cage with one big but low perch) which is sending his girlfriend (Cami) a bit silly but hopefully late this week or early next week or so he'll be able to go back into the big cage again
He's still in purgatory (seperate flight cage with one big but low perch) which is sending his girlfriend (Cami) a bit silly but hopefully late this week or early next week or so he'll be able to go back into the big cage again
Re: IRN's foot has no grip strength?
It' still amazes me how fast they can recover. I'm glad Boo has someone caring by his side. 