Lovie infection

[Megan140]

I have a lovebird I adopted a few years ago with bad splayed legs (her legs are out at her sides). Due to her age (she was ten when I got her), the vet recommended against getting her legs into a proper position.
Last year she chewed the toes off on one foot and was treated with painkillers and antibiotics (along with a cone that I had to remove because it was keeping her from eating, sleeping, and drinking). I pulled her out of her cage yesterday morning and noticed the foot with the chewed off toes was dirty so I washed it gently and the whole top layer of akin came off! The underside was dark purple and painful looking. I immediately covered the foot in polysporin and wrapped the foot, changing the bandage twice a day.
She will be seeing the vet when I get paid but is there anything else I can do for her? The bandage has this green discharge on it when I take it off (well, soak it off. It's dried to her foot) and I'm worried for her, the foot looks better today than yesterday but its still swollen.

[ms pato]

Hello Megan,

So sorry to hear this happen to your precious bird. I do hope she gets better soon.

A few questions for you though, what time last year did you see the vet? What did the vet say resulted to your bird chewing her toes? Was it bacterial, fungal, parasites or just simply boredom? Did you disinfect the cage and her perches, toys and everything she was exposed to after the treatment?

If there was a purple colouring and the layers are coming off then it means that the toe is losing a decent access to oxygen supply (most likely due to an obstructed blood supply). I do hope the bandage you applied isn't too tightly bond because it will only make things complicated plus at this stage, you should do away with the thick bandage (it will further block external oxygen/air and allow anerobic bacteria to flourish). Consider using a lighter dressing that allows air into the toe but still prevents the foot from contaminants. The greenish discharge is due to the toe dying off and decomposing. I think you need to see a vet ASAP, your bird is in complete pain and things may only get worse I'm sorry. It may affect other organs of the body if left untreated. Good luck to you and your bird.

Food for thought: if you were in your bird's position, will you wait until you got paid to see a medical doctor?

[Wolf]

I would take the bird in right away for medical treatment. Whatever is causing this infection, which may be a constricted blood vessel or it could be some other fungal or bacterial infection, but in any case the infection could spread into other parts of the birds body and internal organs and that could kill your bird. Also birds feel pain just as much as we do and that also need to be addressed.

Now I am interested in trying to find the cause of this problem and I do not believe that it is genetic, since this is a recurring thing with the feet, what does this bird have for perches? Many times with foot problems it is because of improper perches and if you are using the ones< plastic or wooden dowel perches that came with the cage, that may very well be the problem.

The best perches are made from small branches, from bird safe trees with the bark left on but scrubbed and thoroughly rinsed and then heat treated in you oven at 425 degrees F. for about 30 minutes to destroy any fungal, bacterial or parasitic issues. If you want you can also provide a couple of flat perches since the bird is missing toes making it harder to grip a standard perch.

Pictures of the birds feet as well as the entire bird and pictures of its cage would help us to assist you in determining the cause of this issue. If you can't post them yourself PM me and I will give you my email address and I will post them right here for you.

[Megan140]

Hello Megan,

So sorry to hear this happen to your precious bird. I do hope she gets better soon.

A few questions for you though, what time last year did you see the vet? What did the vet say resulted to your bird chewing her toes? Was it bacterial, fungal, parasites or just simply boredom? Did you disinfect the cage and her perches, toys and everything she was exposed to after the treatment?

If there was a purple colouring and the layers are coming off then it means that the toe is losing a decent access to oxygen supply (most likely due to an obstructed blood supply). I do hope the bandage you applied isn't too tightly bond because it will only make things complicated plus at this stage, you should do away with the thick bandage (it will further block external oxygen/air and allow anerobic bacteria to flourish). Consider using a lighter dressing that allows air into the toe but still prevents the foot from contaminants. The greenish discharge is due to the toe dying off and decomposing. I think you need to see a vet ASAP, your bird is in complete pain and things may only get worse I'm sorry. It may affect other organs of the body if left untreated. Good luck to you and your bird.

Food for thought: if you were in your bird's position, will you wait until you got paid to see a medical doctor?

The vet never said and I cleaned everything in the cage after. The bandage isn't tight but it is a thicker one.
I had go wait for payday because I had no money for the vet, I'm borrowing some from a friend so I'll be taking her to the vet today.

[Megan140]

I would take the bird in right away for medical treatment. Whatever is causing this infection, which may be a constricted blood vessel or it could be some other fungal or bacterial infection, but in any case the infection could spread into other parts of the birds body and internal organs and that could kill your bird. Also birds feel pain just as much as we do and that also need to be addressed.

Now I am interested in trying to find the cause of this problem and I do not believe that it is genetic, since this is a recurring thing with the feet, what does this bird have for perches? Many times with foot problems it is because of improper perches and if you are using the ones< plastic or wooden dowel perches that came with the cage, that may very well be the problem.

The best perches are made from small branches, from bird safe trees with the bark left on but scrubbed and thoroughly rinsed and then heat treated in you oven at 425 degrees F. for about 30 minutes to destroy any fungal, bacterial or parasitic issues. If you want you can also provide a couple of flat perches since the bird is missing toes making it harder to grip a standard perch.

Pictures of the birds feet as well as the entire bird and pictures of its cage would help us to assist you in determining the cause of this issue. If you can't post them yourself PM me and I will give you my email address and I will post them right here for you.

I use rope perches for her since her legs are out at her sides. She can't get onto any perches so all her things are on the bottom of the cage.
I really don't know how to best set up her cage, when I get back from the vet I'll message you

[Wolf]

My bad, in that I did not go back far enough to remember about her splayed legs., I apologise for that mistake. Still flat perches may be a way to get her off of the bottom of the cage. Check your PM.

[Megan140]

My bad, in that I did not go back far enough to remember about her splayed legs., I apologise for that mistake. Still flat perches may be a way to get her off of the bottom of the cage. Check your PM.

I got your message and will send pictures soon. I took Peppi to the vet and she's on oral and topical antibiotics along with pain killers. The bet said the foot isn't dead yet but if the antibiotics can't get the infection under control, the leg may have to be amputated; considering her age, I'm hoping it doesn't come to that

[Wolf]

Well although it would not be a good thing for her to lose a leg, it would be better than her dragging a dead limb around and she might be able to get around better, but lets see what happens.

[liz]

Just in case you cannot get by without amputation, I want you to know. With all the surgeries I have been through there is less pain in removing something than the pain in trying to fix it. Repairing surgery put me down. Removal surgeries I was up the next day.

I have a little guy who came with the name Gimpy. I don't have much on his history since he was a rescue from a rescue. He only has one leg and it is badly twisted. He can fly and lands on flat surfaces. He will also land on top of a cage and let his one leg hang down. He has been a very happy bird since he grew his feathers back. Your bird can have a good quality of life if the leg is removed.

[Pajarita]

Oh, geez, poor little thing! I am hoping she gets better with the oral and topical antibiotics because, at her age, any surgery is extremely iffy.