# Sore leg



## DamonsMaster (Jan 7, 2012)

Good afternoon. it's Janna here. My Damon has suddenly developed a sore leg in the last two days. I'm pretty sure that he hasn't hurt it in his cage, as I am with him all the time. He is definitely favouring his good leg and putting his weight on it when he is perching, so as not to put too much weight on his bad leg.He is finding it hard to turn around on his perches when in his cage and when out of his cage ,he is limping.I'm really concerned for him and I am taking him to the vet today at 3.45pm. I am praying that it is nothing serious .He is otherwise happy, eating well and talking away.I'm so worried that I feel sick.Please can you pray for my wee bird, that it is nothing serious. Ii will let you know how he gets on. Thanks for your time.............Janna.


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## Goldenwing (Oct 4, 2017)

Praying for little Damon that all is well and for the vet that they are able to give good advice.

:hug:


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## RavensGryf (May 8, 2015)

Janna, I’m sorry to see that Damon has hurt his leg . Sometimes unavoidable freak things just happen in the moments we aren’t watching. 

Praying your little guy is well again soon. Please let us know what the vet says!


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## DamonsMaster (Jan 7, 2012)

Thank you Goldenwing and Julie for your prayers. We have just returned from the vet now and poor Damon was terrified. The news is better than I thought. Damon has a fatty tumour on his chest and needs to lose a bit of weight but at this stage, it's not causing him any problems. The trouble with his leg is arthritis or possibly gout. The vet gave his legs a good check and believes it is more likely to be arthritis as there is not a lot of movement in the joint of his bad leg -it is stiff. Both his legs appear to have small sores underneath them -bumblefoot. I could not see anything but the vet said they were sore .He told me to pad up Damon's perches to make them softer for him and has put him on antibiotics for 10 days. Once that issue is settled, then he may consider putting Damon on metacam, depending on how his leg is.He found no sign of any tumour pressing on the nerves in his legs, which was what I was worried about. I'm not sure what I'll pad the perches with- paper towels may work.

Damon was furious at the vet and even now, he is still angry. I just gave him a carrot stick and he ripped it to pieces with loud, angry shrieks. I have kept him in his cage to calm down and am now going to talk to him quietly.
To get Damon to lose weight, I now have to give him only one and a half teaspoons of seed per day., keep up the pellets and veges as well. Damon has those daily anyway, but I was giving him 4 teaspoons of seed a day. I hope the lower amount of seed will be sufficient.
I'm just so pleased to have him home again with me.He's my best friend and has been since the day I got him, over 6 years ago.I do so hope that I can help him now.

Thank you for your kind thoughts I do appreciate them..................Janna.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Janna,

I'm sorry to hear about all of Damon's troubles.  The poor little fellow seems to have a lot going on right now.

I would recommend you use vet wrap to pad the perches, it doesn't really have adhesive on it but sticks to itself. The same type wrap for humans is sold in pharmacies. Ask your vet or the pharmacist about where to locate it.

Sending prayers and healing energy that Damon will be feeling much better soon!*


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## RavensGryf (May 8, 2015)

Janna, that’s good news to know that Damon’s issues aren’t too serious. I hope his diet is successful. It sounds like you have a caring avian vet . 

If you’re near a “big box” pet store, they should carry the vet wrap. After Damon’s feet are better, you can add some new perches and platforms.. ones in various shapes that would provide comfort and stability for his orthopedic issues. Also to exercise feet and prevent bumblefoot in the future. 

Best wishes with your little Damon . Please keep us posted.:hug:


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## DamonsMaster (Jan 7, 2012)

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes. FaeryBee, I did know about the vet wrap and I will ring the vet nurse to see if they can sell me some, or failing that, I will try a pharmacy. Damon does have different sized perches in his cage but I've now removed them and replaced them with dowel ones which I can pad easily. This will only be temporary of course. Unfortunately, Damon has sat on his bottom perch all day, preening wildly and still holding his sore leg up. He does not seem to want to go to his cage floor to eat his seed and pellets as I guess his leg is painful.I am holding his food up to him every hour and he is eating. His sprouts are beside him wrapped in the cage bars and he is eating them too. He will not touch his water that has the antibiotic dissolved in it. I keep offering it to him but he just pecks the container.I'm hoping that he will have some tonight because that will help his bumblefoot. I know Damon so well and I know the arthritis in his one leg is causing him pain. I wish there was some antibiotic cream that I could apply to his feet but the vet only gave me this antibiotic called Psittavet to dissolve in his water each day.I honestly cannot see any sign of bumblefoot but this vet is excellent with birds so I have to trust his judgement.

In the meantime, I am using paper towels and a soft cover to pad Damon's perches, until I can find some vet wrap.
I will now search the forums for the treatment of bumblefoot. I know someone was on here recently whose bird had the condition, so I will try and find that.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support for my Damon Bird..........Janna.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Hope Damon feels better soon. I have used moleskin to wrap a perch. Moleskin is a cotton flannel with an adhesive on one side, you can usually find it anywhere that sells remedies for the feet/shoes, human feet that is, if you use that just make sure Damon does not chew through it once you put it on the perch. I also one time wrapped a perch in quilt batting and made a cotton slipcover for it and that was really soft.


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## Blingy (Feb 26, 2018)

Hi there Damonsmaster. I notice you're in Australia so I just wanted to tell you that most hardware stores here sell the vet wrap and it's cheaper than at pharmacies or vets. I use it all the time for my nails so I've shopped around. It comes in different widths so I buy the 10cm wide rolls and cut it both lengthways and widthways to get the size I need. It works out a lot cheaper than just buying a small roll. On the other hand you likely won't be needing or using as much as I go through. Anyway, I suggest you look at Mitre 10 if you have one locally. I hope this helps. Best of luck with Damon.


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## DamonsMaster (Jan 7, 2012)

Hi everyone, thank you for all your great suggestions for padding up Damon's perches. On the advice of Damon's breeder, I have padded all his perches with bubble wrap, then covered them with paper towels, then a soft cloth cover on each. Damon does not chew and I am with him all the time, so for now, he is safe. He will be back at the vet next week and I will get some vet wrap then.Damon has refused the antibiotic in his water and also refused to eat his rationed seed supply from a smaller container.He was afraid of the container and wouldn't go near it.After 2 full days of not drinking or eating anything, I rang his breeder for advice. He was not going to the toilet at all and I was worried.She told me to replace the antibiotic water with fresh water and give him back his normal seed container. I gave my poor wee bird some fresh water straight away and held it up to him and he drank ! He was so thirsty. He also ate seeds out of his big container I know it sounds silly, but I really think Damon would have starved himself had I not done something. Now I am giving him the antibiotic water during the day, which he won't touch and giving him fresh water at night.I'm also letting him have seeds in the morning in his big container,then removing the container and leaving him with pellets and fresh veges throughout the day.I have the veges wet so at least he is getting moisture.He is going to the toilet normally now and seems happy (talking away, playing with his toys and chirping loudly) ,although his one leg is still sore and he continues to limp, although not as much as he was.I know he is only allowed one and a half teaspoons of seed per day, but I really don't think that he would be getting any more than that amount if I remove the seed container after he has eaten.

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts for my Damon Bird. I'll let you know what the vet says. I suppose he'll be cross with me for not measuring out his seed each day, but hopefully he'll understand why I'm no longer doing so................Janna.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Damon is going to need to be given the antibiotic orally via syringe rather than through is water.
Many birds don't get enough (or in Damon's case any) of the antibiotic when it is administered through the drinking water.

Please contact your vet straight away as it is important he know what is going on with Damon so it can be corrected.

The sooner Damon receives the proper treatment, the better. :hug:*


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## RavensGryf (May 8, 2015)

I absolutely agree that Damon needs to have the meds administered directly to him, not by water. 
Get a small syringe to control each drop. It also helps to smooth the mouth feathers back to expose the tiny beak, with a bit of water. 

:hug: I wish you and Damon Bird all the best. Take care Janna.. Looking forward to updates.


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