Sun Conure troubles (Long)

[Skittlesmom]

I had to make the decision to have the band removed off of Skittles last week and I've experience the snowball effect since then.
Skittles is about 4 months old.

During the procedure, the doctor nicked his foot and had to put a couple of sutures. I had to bandage the area at home because he kept picking on the sutures. Well, during the night, he started chewing on one of his toes and bled all over the place.

Next morning I took him to that same vet (God only knows why I did). They watched him while I was at work and when I went to pick him up, they had put a "homemade" collar on him, which was heavier than he was. What a Joke!!!

I found another avian vet that had collars specially made for birds. When I took him in for a fitting, she examined him and found that he had almost chewed his nail off. Something the first vet hadn't noticed....Since infections can be serious, the new vet started him on antibiotics and a little something for pain. The new vet said that birds with usually pick at the injuries on their "feet." don't know why, but they're very particular about their feet. That is why he started chewing on his toe. He couldn't get to the sutures because of the bandage I put. (Something the other vet couldn't figure out. She kept saying, "maybe it feels weird to him without the band..." blah, blah, blah)

Well to make a long story short, his whole leg has been bandaged to keep him from continuing to mutilate himself and to keep an antibiotic ointment on his nail.

My poor baby is having a hard time dealing with it and I've had to reinforce the bandage when he chews part of it off. He'll be like this for weeks and I'm at a loss as to his happiness. He cannot perch and I've had to remove the grid on the bottom of the cage. So when he poops, chances are, he gets it all over himself. During the weekend, I've been able to clean after him and make sure he constantly has clean paper. But now I'm at work and can't do that for him and am afraid of what I'll find when I get home...

Any suggestions? Has anyone gone thru something like this or similar?

I hate putting him thru this, but the vet says that most birds adjust to their new situation. I've lowered all his toys to his level. He's had to use his beak as his other foot and seeing him get around breaks my heart. He insists on sleeping up high on the cage, hanging on with his other leg and beak. We have a little hammock which he gets into occasionally, but I'm soooooo heartbroken for him. It's hard to see him hanging out on the bottom of the cage. I've only had him for 1 month and he's already my baby..... Please suggest something if any of you can!!!

thank you for reading!!!
Veronica

[I_luv_Odie93]

I'm so sorry about what happened to ur bird! I've never had anything like that happen to my bird but I can't understand y ur heartbroken. The only advise I can give u is giv him plenty of love and show him that he gonna be ok. I hope ur bird gets well soon! May God be with you.

[dlaura]

How awful for poor Skittles! Lots of times though animals are very resilient. I am wondering if maybe out of your concern and good intentions if maybe you have over bandaged Skittle's little foot. Is it possible for you to just keep a bit of gauze - maybe wrapped in a tiny piece of first aid bandage around the leg Skittles has the stitches in? If the nail isn't hanging or anything I think I might just allow that to be exposed so Skittles can get around in spite of the stitches in the leg. Skittles may be picking up on your anxiety and concern --- therefore becoming nervous about the leg himself. I have a plucking goffin and it took me a while to realize the more concerned I became about her bad habit and actions the more nervous she became and that just added to the plucking. Since you have a collar on Skittles to keep her/him from getting at the stitches then you may not need such a heavily bandaged leg.

At one time I had our goffin in an Elizabethian collar and that alone is very upsetting to a bird. So wearing a collar and having the use of the foot taken away at same time would be very very depressing to Skittles.

[Skittlesmom]

Thank you so much dlaura, I'm so sorry I didn't clarify that he is not wearing the collar. The new vet said it wasn't necessary with his leg bandaged. She said the bandage is better for him than the collar and I must agree. He was falling all over the place with the collar. I must admit, as brutal as the bandage may be, he looks cute. To make things lighter for me, I tell friends he was in a skiing accident....

But I can truly verify that he does pick up on my anxiety and worry so therefore I've resorted to letting my older daughter (13 yr old) spend lots of time with him. She doesn't worry about him as much as I do and skittles is able to relax with her, laugh with her and actually lay on his back. I'm just so sad that those times are only in the evening because of her school schedule and my work schedule.

THANK YOU!!

[dlaura]

You are very welcome. Glad to hear that Skittles isn't wearing the collar. They look so sad when they wear the collars! If we can help in any other way please don;t hesitate to ask.

[prcstar17]

Aww I am so sorry to hear this! Hearing about the skiing accident did lighten the mood a little though, that's cute. Many vets these days are running their practices into the ground. I would love to smack them all with malpractice suits.

I do have a question, why was it you decided to remove the band? I am getting a quaker and am having a hard time deciding whether or not to have little Rin banded or not. My breeder gives the buyers a choice. I have seen a little Green Cheeked Conure with a toe stuck in his band and I was the one who noticed it. It took us a while and a pen to carefully pull his toe from under the band so he could get back to normal but he was like that for a few days without anyone noticing! I also have heard of band getting caught on things. Quite frankly, what ARE the benifits of banding pet birds? I can only think of one, if they fly away, then they can be traced....

[Skittlesmom]

You're absolutely right prcstar17, the band to me was only good for identification.

I made the decision because his foot got caught in the cage....TWICE. The first time, I was home and caught him on time and freed him immediately. My husband then fixed the cage and closed up any open ends. (Something that I didn't even realize was a danger) I thought we were safe, but last week, I came home and he was hanging with his foot was caught on one of the hooks I used to hang his cage on (to keep the cat away from him). The hooks in my opinion were safe because they have a plastic sheath, or shall I say HAD because Skittles chewed the sheaths off and the metal hook was exposed and was much thinner, just enough to entrap himself. I feel so stupid. As a firstime owner, I had no idea how to make his cage safer.

I don't know how long he was trapped. His foot was swollen after we helped him off and limped a little. Thank goodness he didn't break it!! (and of course, of all nights, that night all of the avian vets in our city were NOT on call. Couldn't get anyone to see him) I took him in the next day to the 1st vet (20 minutes from my home) and she suggested that since it had been twice that he had caught his foot, it was safer to remove it.

Now, I feel that the 2nd vet is more experienced in avian care and regret that I didn't go to her first...Her practice is 45 minutes from my home, but now I realize that the trip would have been worth it =(

I agree about slapping them with a malpractice, but maybe I'll need her (1st vet) for an emergency one day...hopefully NOT!!!

Thank you!!

[prcstar17]

Hmm, I'm thinking about not getting Rin banded... it was my first instinct anyway. It'll be safer too. Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention. You did very well for a first time owner and you seem to love your bird very much. You can't alway prepare for everything but you did do the right thing by getting another vet. I'm proud :) Not everyone is a great owner, but on here, everyone is just fantastic! I love it. Oh, and a long overdue congrats on getting a new bird! Hehe... If you have any questions, feel free to ask me! I have had experience with many birds, I was the resident "bird girl" at a pet store in my town and have owned budgies and cockatiels, and soon a quaker, so I've got the experience! Haha... anyone here can help though, everyone is sooooo smart! Hehe.

[crazyzoo]

How does a band work?
What information do they put on the band besides a number?

[jonesy zoo]

they are meant to contain the birds year of birth and there is also a security code put on it...they are usually put on a birds foot from anywhere from 2 weeks - 6 weeks somewhere in there...I personally don't like them...as I think little bits of dirt/gravel that kind of thing can get caught under the ring...and then you get a skin/leg problems...

[jonesy zoo]

the good thing about them I guess. is should your bird get lost.. it is easier to track the bird down...as the code will show what breeder and where it was bred from and hopefully the breeder keeps good records and he can look at the birth year and see who he sold the bird too.. so then the bird is back home before you know it...I guess it is a little like mirco shipping your dog...I just think they need to come up with a better method...

[skittles]

How is your birdy? I have a cockatiel who had a injury on her foot, and kept chewing on her injury. I did take her to an avian vet (2) hours from here. I live in a tiny town. Anyways, he put a collar on her, which she adjusted with just fine. She wore it for a week, and was not able to eat her foot. The vet also gave me some antibiotic cream with litocane (a pain reliever) in it. I applied that to her wound twice a day. I also kept a soft flanel sheet in the bottom of her cage and kept her toys low. She has fully recovered. I think a combination of the two things saved her life. I also took her to work to keep a close eye on her. Depending on where you work, never hurts to ask. She was depressed, but we bonded very well, because of all the extra time I spent helping her. I also put her in the shower to clean off her feet every day. She does like water though. It seemed to calm her down.
Good luck, and I hope all goes well for you and your bird. I also made a collar out of a thin plastic, until I could get her to the vet. I had to wait a day for an appointment. It was pretty light, compaired to the one the vet gave her. They do come in different sizes. I also had a small cage to keep her in during her time of healing.
-Skittles

[Skittlesmom]

Thanks a bunch Skittles!! I’m so glad everything came out good for you & your cocktiel. I guess every avian vet has their methods. My Skittles has adjusted pretty well to his new situation with his leg fully bandaged. It’s been 2 weeks. I just hate to see him get soiled so while I’m at home, I constantly clean after him. But when I’m at work, I worry about him. I usually come home to a mess. I’ve had to resort to putting cloth rags on the bottom of his cage because he started tearing up the newspaper I used to put for him.

He has an appointment tomorrow for a bandage & wound check and I’m hoping that the vet is able to remove the bandage completely. I miss seeing my baby pirch. He’s happy, nonetheless, and gets lots of time out of the cage. He loves to cuddle with me in bed before his bedtime and grinds his beak constantly, so I know he’s pretty content. PLEASE keep him in your thoughts and hope that he’s healed.

I usually clean him up, BUT he really needs a bath =)

[dlaura]

skittlesmom,
how is that cute little skittles doing today? Any hope of getting the bandage off soon?

[dlaura]

Hi,
Any new news on Skittles?

[SweetPea]

My PP's band irritated her, and she would constantly bit at it. The more she bit, the tighter it got, and the tighter it got, the more she bit.

She became obssessed with her band, and one day I saw a bit of blood on her little footsie as the band started to crimp right onto her leg...

So I took her to her Vet, and off it came.

However, my other birdies leave their bands alone.

So, for me, I would rather not have any of my birds banded.

[Squawksx3]

You know... I understand why they put bands on the birds... but I wish they wouldnt and do something else for identification. We have 2 out of 5 birds that are banded.... my Umbrella is always chewing on the band and our B&G has rubbed spots where the band is. We did talk to our vet about removing them awhile back and the vet said he doesnt like the bands either... but doesnt like removing them unless he has to because its very difficult to cut them off without hurting the birds leg.

I hope your baby is doing better.

[Skittlesmom]

Hi!!
I was out of town for a week and am bearly getting back into the swing of things....

Everything looks better for Skittles. He has his bandage changed "again" on Wednesday and his toe (the one he tried to chew off) looks good, but we're going to give it 2 more weeks and see if the scab will come off on his next visit so that there will only be new skin and he shouldn't have anything to pick at....He's adjusted so well to his bandage though and I'm so proud of him, he doesn't chew on it anymore.

While we were out of town, my mom watched him and he did VERY well. Only thing is, he is still biting us more and more and we give him timeouts, but he's so honory that he probably doesn't care. The new thing he's been doing is hanging on to the side of the cage and fluttering his wings...not flapping....His wings just quiver...The vet says that that was normal. His way of getting attention and it HAS WORKED. To his benefit, but now that we know, we don't panic as much.

Also he's been scratching aroung his nostrils and eyes alot so we've had to keep a humidifier going to help him with his allergies and moisture in the air....It hasn't progressed into any infections. We've been adding apple cider vinegar to his water and we hope that that will keep any problems at bay....

I think he misses his baths though because he's been using his water bottle as a replacement. He loves to be misted and OFTEN!!!

You all have a GREAT weekend!!!

[Delphineous]

Experience shows that fluttering the wings is a trademark for these characters. The first time I saw it, I wondered if something was wrong with the bird.

For those who are not familiar with this trait, the bird will raise its wings just a little above its body and shake them slightly. kind of how your hands might shake when you are really scared or had too much coffee.

[Kalisandra]

You know... I understand why they put bands on the birds... but I wish they wouldn't and do something else for identification.

I've had banded, and unbanded birds. My cockatiel never got her foot caught in anything, nor was she ever bothered by her leg band, but then again she was close-banded with the correct size. The cockatiels I have now are unbanded, but I wouldn't mind if they were.

My parrotlet is not banded, and I happy about that because she is a very active little critter. I am almost certain she would have had herself a 'band' accident by now if she had been banded, and I am very happy that she was not banded as a baby.

I think it all depends, on the type of bird, as well as the personallity. Some species are so darn active that banding is just not a safe idea. Others develop feather picking problems. Both of these types should NOT be banded, in my opinion.

All other birds should be close-banded for idenification. This makes it easy to keep good thorough records to a breeder (or pet owner).

Many times birds are close-banded improperly. The band is either too large or too small, and this almost always creates a chance for mishaps.

Open banding is usually not a good idea because they have those little seems that can easily get caught on a toy, or the cage.

[dlaura]

How is Skittles coming along? I hope the bandage was able to come off by now. Maybe a new picture along with an update if you have time.