[rubberstampman]

Hello and hope everyone is well. It's been a long time since I've posted and so much has gone on in the last couple of years. My sweet little juanita who is now 12 years old fell off her perch and injured her wing about 3 weeks ago. She has been unable to fly but is still eating and drinking. I took her to an avian vet where they took x-rays and determined there are no broken bones, thankfully. They said it was a soft tissue injury. They put a pressure bandage type of thing on the wing to immobilize it and told me to come back in 2 weeks. Needless to say she chewed the bandage off within a few days so I took her back to the vet and they put another bandage and added a cone around her neck that was almost as big as she is. She was able to remove the cone during the car ride home and to my dismay I realized they had put the bandage on the wrong wing. I went back to the vet where they insisted they bandaged the same wing as before but I am 100% certain they put the bandage on the wrong wing. I was so distraught over the entire incident and questioning my own sanity and judgement, but I proceeded to bring juanita back home and she kept fussing with the bandage and because it was on the wrong wing she was having a terrible time balancing and moving around her cage. She could barely sit on her food dish to eat. and she kept losing her footing and falling to the bottom of the cage. Her bandaged wing kept getting caught on the bars of the cage. So I took it upon myself to remove the bandage. She calmed down a lot but her injured wing was still drooping. That was late saturday afternoon and the vet was not going to be back til tuesday. I agonized all weekend and decided she needed to see the vet again so on tuesday I took her back to the vet. They put another bandage on the wing and another cone around her neck. By the end of the day she managed to remove the cone completely. She was also acting very stressed out and not eating or drinking but her droppings appear to be normal. She finally was able to chew the entire bandage off again. This time I decided to take a wait and see approach and let her rest and calm down. The trips to the vet were very stressful for her and for me. She doesn't seem to be in any physical pain (I know they can mask illness and pain) and she is eating and drinking normally. She used to fly to me to for head and beak rubs but I think she finally realized flying isn't an option right now so she sits on top of her cage and begs me to hand feed her one seed at a time. Her droppings look normal and other than the wing drooping down she seems ok. I'm just wondering if anyone on the forum has had a similar experience and wondering what I should do next. I'm very distressed and worried sick. I keep checking on her every few minutes and even check on her throughout the nights. I have gotten very little sleep in the last couple of weeks. She doesn't seem to be any worse, but only showing limited improvement. any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. the vet also gave me a medication called meloxicam for pain and inflammation to administer twice a day for 10 days which I did. It seemed to make her sleepy but other than that I didn't notice any visible improvement.

 

[ginziputzi]

Oh my goodness! What an ordeal! I think at this stage, given that you have had the wing checked and there are no broken bones, I would go with a wait and see approach. This is particularly as Juanita is eating and drinking and her droppings look normal. Like you, I worry about the stress of all of this.

When I was a little girl, we had a budgie (Mickey) who would do these really cool flips around and around his perch. We had him out in his cage on the 2nd floor balcony and I climbed up on a chair to see him and promptly knocked his cage off the balcony (and almost went over with him but for my parents’ quick action to grab me). Mickey survived the fall but had clearly injured his leg (and possibly wlng). I am positive there was no vet involved back in those days and I remember my mother nursing him back to health, but I was too young to remember how. Long story short, he lived for a number more years and the only consequence was that he could not do those flips anymore.

I am not entirely clear if the correct wing was ultimately treated - that was an astonishing story - but I cannot imagine a bird tolerating a cone or bandaging very well, especially a small bird like a p’let. Was it an avian vet? I don’t know if you have the option of seeing another vet for a second opinion. It is concerning that she is holding her wing askew but it is probably sore from being handled, bandaged and then the contortions to chew the bandage off.

I think I would keep a close eye on her for the time being. You should make sure she is warm and quiet - perhaps put a heating pad under her cage on a low setting with her cage partly covered to make sure she is warn. That may help her anxiety and pain as well as increasing the energy she can use to heal. You may also want to consider keeping her perches lower in her cage so if she falls, she wont have far to go and reduced opportunity to flutter and injure her wing more as she falls. Even better would be to keep her in a smaller cage if you have one. Millet seed is a good option too if you notice anyreduced appetite.

i am sure this has been very hard on you so you need to take care of yourself now too. Get some sleep and remind yourself that the better shape you are in, the more you will be helping her. You will be more clear to make decisions and assess situations, not to mention you will have less anxiety which will honestly help Juanita remain calmer. She will pick those vibes off of you.

i am sure others will have wise advice but that is what I would do at this stage.

Keep us posted! Kiwi and I will be sending her (and you!)prayers and good healing vibes.

 

[Anya]

Jackie has given some great advice!

I am so sorry to hear about your little girl falling and getting injured. That is such a shame! Poor little Juanita! It sounds like you both have been through the wringer! Our little guys get so stressed about going to the vets – what a shame you had to keep on going back like that. What an ordeal! It is good news that the wing is not broken because you would have to keep her wing bandaged to make sure it sets right. We are not experts on this forum, so I do not know how important it is that her injured wing remains bandaged or not. I can understand your dilemma; what is the point if she is just going to rip the bandage off again? By the way, how does her wing look? Is it drooping at all? If you haven’t already, you may want to call your vet and tell them that she keeps ripping the bandaged off and ask if it will heal okay without a bandage.

I would just suggest that you keep Juanita as calm and still as possible, and during this time it may be best if she stays in her cage. Rest is what she needs right now to give her wing time to heal. And, as mentioned earlier by Jackie, keep her warm. Sick or injured birds have difficulty maintaining their body heat so turn up the thermostat if you must. Also, if they are not already, you may want to place her food and water bowls where she can easily reach them without having to climb or move around too much. It is good if the meds are making her sleepy - sleep is probably the best thing for her right now. Jackie mentioned lowering the cage perches. Good advice. Because Juanita is getting to be an older bird, if I were you, I would consider keeping Juanita’s perches permanently lower in her cage and keeping a thick towel at the bottom of her cage from now on. I would be too scared she might have another fall. That is just me, I tend to be on the cautious side.

Keep us informed on how she is doing! I really hope she makes a full recovery. I can just imagine how stressful this all is for you. Jackie is right. Try and get some rest. You both could use that right now.

 

[rubberstampman]

Oh my goodness! What an ordeal! I think at this stage, given that you have had the wing checked and there are no broken bones, I would go with a wait and see approach. This is particularly as Juanita is eating and drinking and her droppings look normal. Like you, I worry about the stress of all of this.

When I was a little girl, we had a budgie (Mickey) who would do these really cool flips around and around his perch. We had him out in his cage on the 2nd floor balcony and I climbed up on a chair to see him and promptly knocked his cage off the balcony (and almost went over with him but for my parents’ quick action to grab me). Mickey survived the fall but had clearly injured his leg (and possibly wlng). I am positive there was no vet involved back in those days and I remember my mother nursing him back to health, but I was too young to remember how. Long story short, he lived for a number more years and the only consequence was that he could not do those flips anymore.

I am not entirely clear if the correct wing was ultimately treated - that was an astonishing story - but I cannot imagine a bird tolerating a cone or bandaging very well, especially a small bird like a p’let. Was it an avian vet? I don’t know if you have the option of seeing another vet for a second opinion. It is concerning that she is holding her wing askew but it is probably sore from being handled, bandaged and then the contortions to chew the bandage off.

I think I would keep a close eye on her for the time being. You should make sure she is warm and quiet - perhaps put a heating pad under her cage on a low setting with her cage partly covered to make sure she is warn. That may help her anxiety and pain as well as increasing the energy she can use to heal. You may also want to consider keeping her perches lower in her cage so if she falls, she wont have far to go and reduced opportunity to flutter and injure her wing more as she falls. Even better would be to keep her in a smaller cage if you have one. Millet seed is a good option too if you notice anyreduced appetite.

i am sure this has been very hard on you so you need to take care of yourself now too. Get some sleep and remind yourself that the better shape you are in, the more you will be helping her. You will be more clear to make decisions and assess situations, not to mention you will have less anxiety which will honestly help Juanita remain calmer. She will pick those vibes off of you.

i am sure others will have wise advice but that is what I would do at this stage.

Keep us posted! Kiwi and I will be sending her (and you!)prayers and good healing vibes.

Thanks for responding and thanks for the advice. I've tried to put the perches in the bottom of the cage but she keeps climbing up the bars and hanging where her perch used to be so I finally put the perch back where it was. and yes, the correct wing was bandaged when I left the vet the last time. Now I'm wondering a bit about how competent the vet is. Don't they document which wing was bandaged? seems a little odd to me. She is now resting comfortably for the night. My concern is that after almost 3 weeks there is not much improvement. I'm watching her like a hawk.

 

[rubberstampman]

Jackie has given some great advice!

I am so sorry to hear about your little girl falling and getting injured. That is such a shame! Poor little Juanita! It sounds like you both have been through the wringer! Our little guys get so stressed about going to the vets – what a shame you had to keep on going back like that. What an ordeal! It is good news that the wing is not broken because you would have to keep her wing bandaged to make sure it sets right. We are not experts on this forum, so I do not know how important it is that her injured wing remains bandaged or not. I can understand your dilemma; what is the point if she is just going to rip the bandage off again? By the way, how does her wing look? Is it drooping at all? If you haven’t already, you may want to call your vet and tell them that she keeps ripping the bandaged off and ask if it will heal okay without a bandage.

I would just suggest that you keep Juanita as calm and still as possible, and during this time it may be best if she stays in her cage. Rest is what she needs right now to give her wing time to heal. And, as mentioned earlier by Jackie, keep her warm. Sick or injured birds have difficulty maintaining their body heat so turn up the thermostat if you must. Also, if they are not already, you may want to place her food and water bowls where she can easily reach them without having to climb or move around too much. It is good if the meds are making her sleepy - sleep is probably the best thing for her right now. Jackie mentioned lowering the cage perches. Good advice. Because Juanita is getting to be an older bird, if I were you, I would consider keeping Juanita’s perches permanently lower in her cage and keeping a thick towel at the bottom of her cage from now on. I would be too scared she might have another fall. That is just me, I tend to be on the cautious side.

Keep us informed on how she is doing! I really hope she makes a full recovery. I can just imagine how stressful this all is for you. Jackie is right. Try and get some rest. You both could use that right now.

thanks for the reply. I'm doing everything I can to keep her comfortable. Her wing is still drooping but she is able to move around her cage ok and she continues to eat and drink and her droppings appear to be normal. The medication was only for the first 10 days and the vet told me to stop administering so that's what I did. I am concerned that the wing drooping may be caused by something else like a brain malfunction or something, but everything else seems normal. I know she's aging and am concerned about this as well....living on pins and needles.

 

[ginziputzi]

So they did bandage the wrong wing the second time. Yes, I would have some serious concerns there. Was the vet aware that this happened? Sometimes it is the vet assistant that does these things, although they should always be reviewed by the vet, I would think. Also, is the vet you saw the owner of the vet service? If not, it may be a good idea to relay your experiences to the owner to ensure this doesn’t happen again for others.

Is your vet an avian vet? If not, you may need one for this situation. They can be difficult to find but there are some resources on this forum that could help. I am not a vet but I would be surprised if she had any brain damage from what you are describing. I think it would be more than a drooping wing that you would see. Lethargy, bizarre behaviours, lack of balance - that would be what I would expect. I had a cat with a brain tumour and that type of behaviour change was what prompted me to take him to the vet where we discovered his brain tumour.

What I am seeing from your responses is that you do not feel trust and confidence in your vet (understandably) and are not feeling like Juanita is improving (but you don’t think she’s getting worse, right?). I say trust your instinct on this and find an avian vet preferably who can give you a second opinion. 3 weeks is a long time to see no improvement and Anya makes a good point about the potential for it to be important to keep the bandage on somehow. I realize seeing another vet will stress Juanita but your level of stress has to be considered as well. I have learned to always trust my instincts and it has always paid off. I think you should too.

 

[rubberstampman]

So this morning juanita seemed a little worse. she seemed very lethargic and her wing was shaking a little bit. She did eat and drink water but not as much as usual. I called the original vet but they are completely booked through next week. I called a couple of other vets with no luck. So I called the first vet back and they will see her in the urgent care tomorrow. Now I'm very nervous but as the morning progressed into afternoon, juanita has gotten more energetic and almost back to her usual self. she is eating and drinking and droppings look normal. I'm concerned that the drooping wing could be a symptom of something else since it's been 3 weeks today that she injured the wing and it doesn't seem to be any better. I will try to wait patiently and take her to the clinic tomorrow.

 

[ginziputzi]

Excellent plan. I will be sending prayers and good healing vibes and wait to hear further news from you. I am so sorry you are both going through all of this. I know how difficult this is. We are with you.

 

[Anya]

I'm concerned that the drooping wing could be a symptom of something else since it's been 3 weeks today that she injured the wing and it doesn't seem to be any better. I will try to wait patiently and take her to the clinic tomorrow.

I read that two droopy wings means that your bird is likely ill, one droopy wing likely means that your bird has been injured. But regardless, I would double check that with the vet. Good luck at the vets. You are a good birdie mom!.

 

[ginziputzi]

That quivering in the injured wing makes me think she’s in pain. Poor sweet Juanita. Thinking of you today and will be watching for your update.

 

[ginziputzi]

Hi there. I have been checking all day - just wondering how you and Juanita are doing.

 

[rubberstampman]

So we went to see the vet today and things turned out pretty well. I feel much better after talking with her. The previous times I went I was unable to actually go in to the office because of covid. Pet owners had to drop off their pet at the front door and then the vet calls on the phone when the animal is ready to be picked up. But today they were actually allowing owners to go in. The vet did a complete exam and thinks juanita is actually a little better than last time. She said it can sometimes take several weeks for the wing to heal depending on the severity of the bruise or soft tissue injury. There is no visible bruising (hard to tell with feathers) and no swelling and no wound so that was all good news. They even showed me the x-rays from the original visit. That was very interesting to me. No broken bones or anything abnormal. I was impressed by the vet. A very young woman who seemed knowledgeable and professional. She told me she has her own larger parrot at home so that made me feel good. After discussing whats been going on for the last 3 weeks and the fact that juanita can't leave the bandage or cone alone for an extended period of time she recommended that we let juanita try to heal on her own and I agreed, with the understanding that if anything changes I can bring her back in right away. I think the bandage was very stressful for her and the vet said its possible it was actually slowing down the healing process because juanita was moving the wing around a lot and pulling on it when she was trying to chew it off. and it was impeding her movements when she was moving around the cage and trying to perch on her food and water dishes. Her bandaged wing got caught between the bars of the cage a couple of times. (then there was the incident where the bandage was on the wrong wing which I think made things worse but that's a different topic for a different day.) The vet handled juanita like a champ and I was surprised by how cooperative juanita was. She did say that given juanitas age she may be starting to get arthritis, but it's not showing up on the x-ray at this point. during the exam the vet was moving juanitas wing around pretty good and it didn't seem to cause her any pain. she didn't squawk or screech or anything so that was all good.
Once we got home juanita seemed as relieved as I was. She was making her happy noises and eating a ton and moving around the cage like an acrobat. She seemed very happy to be back home. She has been such a trooper through all this. Unfortunately she will not allow scritches unless she initiates it and since she can't fly to me and stays in or on the cage for now, she is demanding that I feed her by hand one little seed or piece of rice at a time. I don't mind at all.
oh and the vet said juanita has maintained her weight of 30 grams. The very first visit she weighed 29 grams. She is eating and drinking and her droppings are good so for now I can breathe a little easier, but looks like its going to take longer than I originally expected. we're in it for the long haul. Maybe I'll be able to sleep tonight.

 

[ginziputzi]

Oh I am sooo happy to read all of this!! That was definitely the visit you and Juanita needed!! It is always so helpful when there is a plan and a path forward. It helps you to feel like you have at least a little control over all of this. The vet definitively sounded sensible and made good points and I, too, feel she has more credibility having a parrot of her own. I hope you will keep us posted of Juanita’s progress and you will both have a relaxing weekend. I think you both need it!!

 

[aqueilo]

Love to hear your recent visit was so much better!

 

[ginziputzi]

Hi there. Just checking in on you and Juanita. How are you both doing?

 

[rubberstampman]

Hi there. Just checking in on you and Juanita. How are you both doing?

I've been meaning to update juanita's condition, but life has been very hectic lately and I'm a bit overwhelmed.
I'm happy to report that Juanita is making some improvement but it is very slow. She has been able to fly a little bit, but after a short trip she seems to lose strength in her wing and then has to rest again. The vet told me this would happen. She can fly across the room to the couch, but when she tries to fly back to the cage, she can't quite make it and has some very undignified landings. I'm worried she may re injure the wing again if she crashes. I've tried confining her to the cage, but she objects loudly and wants out, so I give in and she mostly sits on her favorite spot on top of the cage and watches the hummingbirds outside the window. When she first injured her wing she couldn't fly at all and if she tried she would drop to the floor like a rock. At least now she can fly across the room so it is quite an improvement. I have put blankets and towels all over the floor in case she crashes at least there will be a little padding to make the landings a bit softer. Yesterday she flew to me and demanded scritches which is the first time she has done that since the injury so she obviously feels better. She did NOT want to go back to cage and wanted me to keep rubbing her head and beak. I indulged her for a good 40 minutes before I had to attend to some other business. She now insists on me feeding her one seed at a time by hand. I think she is loving the attention. Clearly our bond has intensified from all this. She wants my attention all the time now. Her droppings are normal and she is eating a ton and drinking water so aside from the wing she is doing well. It's been about 6 weeks since the first vet visit, I was hoping she would be completely recovered by now, but progress is slow. I'm still nervous, but not as bad as when it first happened. I'm still hoping for a full recovery.

 

[ginziputzi]

Well that is super encouraging news! You take such good care of her, she is a spoiled little bird. It is heartwarming to read how well you are nursing her back to good health. The blankets on the floor is an excellent idea, even if it makes your space a little unruly for awhile. I can’t imagine her making anything other than a full recovery with all the love you’re lavishing in her abs she sure sounds a ton better than your first few posts. We will take it!!

Please don’t apologize for delays in responding. It is just great to hear from you when you can. I am sorry to hear things are so hectic and that you’re feeling overwhelmed. I know it is waaaay easier said than done, but you really do need to take some time to look after yourself. Just the worry about Juanita alone was very stressful and I feel certain that’s not the only thing on your plate. You will help both of you more if you make sure to take care of yourself. I know it sounds trite and I know what it is like to be overwhelmed, but you have to find a way. You sound like such a kind heart and you owe this to yourself. I will be keeping an eye out for updates on little Juanita and you!!! In the meantime, I will keep you both in my prayers for you to both get back on track!

 

[Anya]

Does my heart good to hear that Juanita is making improvements! And I would see it as a good sign if she is demanding lot of scritches! She probably thinks you need to make up for all that lost time! lol Give her some for me, okay?