Last Updated on by Mitch Rezman
Above – flock mates visit Smoke while still in hospital birdcage.
Dateline 09/21/2023 Plan “F”
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What you’re looking at:
I cut 2-inch vet wrap lengthwise into 6 strips making it manageable.
Catherine restrained him which was no easy feat considering he’s been eating well and regaining his strength.
I took each 12-inch long strip and looked for an anchor point on the bone.
I then formed a loop on an opposite anchor point, tied a double knot, trimmed the ends, rinse ~ repeat.
5 strips, 5 double knots.
So far I think he’s more intimidated than anything but he has not bothered to try breaching the bandage.
I’ll watch him for a couple of days and decide when it is right to return him to Gen Pop ~ stay tuned.
I’m now emboldened to use the same material to make a “collar,” another prophylactic layer.
In the meantime, after the bandage application, the knotted vet wrap is not looking very eloquent but NO BLEEDING for 24 hours!
Rather than traumatize him daily we’ll wait untill tomorrow to “shore things up.”
In a couple of days after that we’ll remove all the wrap, clean and disenfect the exposed areas and look for him to be on the mend.
I couldn’t find the instruction book on this one.
How we got here
Smoke has had a broken wing for months and seemed to be getting by just fine.
Occasionally we’d hear a “clunk” as he fell or jumped to the bottom of the cage.
One day we saw a perch covered in blood, Smoke had begun to pluck, probably from the pain.
Here’s the back story
I made the decision yesterday to move Smoke back into the big aviary.
The choice was based on seeing he had recovered most of his strength.
I tried 2 weeks ago but he had trouble negotiating lower perches.
While Smoke was back in the hospital cage we added some “handicapped routes.”
We ensured he could “hop into” or “pass by” any number of food and water stations.
He’s still picking at his shoulder.
We spray him alternately with Natra No Pick and an OTC spray on wound care solution.
What’s my next move?
What We’re Doing to Help Smoke Our Budgie With a Broken Wing
I severely clipped all the feathers off the broken wing but we couldn’t stop the plucking.
Collars haven’t worked.
The problem was that he would keep losing his balance wearing any style of anti-pick collar.
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So I fabricated a leather “shield” secured with a tiny cable tie.
Fingers crossed.
For the record, we cleaned the wound with alcohol and placed a bandage pad internally to reduce abrasion.
Written by Mitch Rezman
Approved by Catherine Tobsing
It took 2 days for him to bite through the tiny cable ties.
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