Injured budgie

[Pajarita]

Yes, it looks as if he got his leg caught somewhere and ended up hanging upside down or sideways thereby not really cutting off the circulation but slowing it down too much. Birds don't really have very good circulation going down to their feet, only one artery going and one vein coming back up so anything that restricts it causes a lot of damage.

Keep him warm (around 28 degrees Celsius - use a heating pad on the bottom of the cage and cover it first with a towel and then with paper) and in a cage half covered with a towel (they feel better if they are not completely exposed when they are sick or wounded) and keep the soft bottom on it. If he is not perching at all, just remove the perches. Ask your vet to prescribe metacam (aka meloxicam), it comes in liquid form and is pretty much the only pain killer and anti-inflammatory we use on birds. If he doesn't have any, ask him for a prescription and see if you can get it filled up in a regular pharmacy (I don't know what the system is in Oz but here, human pharmacies also fill veterinary prescriptions). If neither works, see if you can find a local wildlife rehabber, they always have medicines for birds. The dosage for a budgie is 0.01 ml (the very first line on the tiny syringe) twice a day (insert the tip of the syringe on the left side of the bird's beak and pointing it downward -so it doesn't shoot the medicine to the throat and the bird ends up aspirating it into its lungs- toward the center of the bottom beak, press the plunger). It will help with the pain. If you see red and swelling developing, ask your vet to give you some liquid enrofloxacin (Baytril) for him but it doesn't look like it's infected to me.

Aside from that, all you can do is just wait and see what happens. It could be that it's just real bad bruising and, as it gets absorbed back, movement will be restored but, even if he cannot use the leg at all, he can still have a good life.

[Jessil]

Thank you so much for your help guys! I will ask my vet about prescribing that pain relief.

Is it still okay to hold him and cuddle him? or should I just leave him in the cage till he is better?

[Wolf]

I am trying to not confuse issues and let Pajarita make the recommendations as she is so much more experienced than I am, but I think that as long as you are careful of the leg that he would appreciate having the reassurance of you holding him and perhaps massaging his leg lightly as long as it doesn't hurt him that is. But holding him and talking to him, I would say yes.

[Pajarita]

Actually, in this particular case, I don't agree with you, Wolf, and I'll tell you why. A bird that is deeply bonded to a person would, most definitely, benefit from cuddling when not feeling well as long as it's in short dosages but a parent-raised bird that has only been with a human for a few days would be hugely stressed out by it. As a matter of fact, best thing for a hurt budgie is to be left alone in a quiet place with a towel half-covering his cage so he feels protected from view. Parrots always try to hide when hurt or sick. It's an instinctual reaction because they are prey and hurt/sick/old/weakened birds are eaten first so they hide their symptoms and, when they can no longer do this, they hide.

[Jessil]

Hi Pajarita,
The budgie was handraised from a very young age and hasn't been around other birds. He is super friendly and loves to be held but I won't hold him if it will make things worse of course.

[Pajarita]

No, no, if he was handfed and likes been with you, it's fine for you to keep him close company. The only reason why I mentioned this is because, here in the States, it's super, super rare to find a hand-fed budgie but if yours is, go ahead and do it - but don't overdo it because hand-fed or not, he's only been with you for a few days so allow him to get on your hand, put him on your lap when you are watching TV or whatever and watch him carefully, if he looks relaxed ( half closes his eyes, grinds his beak, preens, fluffs up and takes a nap, etc), it's fine but, if he doesn't move but keeps his eyes open and looking around, keeps his feathers flat against his body and looks tense, put him back in his cage.

[Jessil]

Oh wow. I didn't think about the differences from Aus to America. We have a lot of hand-raised budgies.

He likes to snuggle up on my chest and closes his eyes. And he also grinds his beak (but I didn't know what that meant).

[Pajarita]

Budgies here are mass-produced, the poor, poor things! Because of this, they are so cheap that people tend to think of them as disposable (I've gotten a few that were thrown out with the garbage still alive!). America is not a kind place for animals.

Beak grinding means contentment.