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bird with frostbite

cmallory
January 5th, 2008, 06:37 PM
I suppose this is a weird subject, but I live in the Canadian Arctic and someone accidentally let their cockatiel out in very cold weather a couple of weeks ago.

I have the bird now. His feet were badly frozen, and now appear to be dead. Black, stiff, withered, no motion possible.

He is eating and friendly and seems to be in love with my daughter who he sings to whenever he sees her.

His feet are flaking now and I don't know what to expect next. He doesn't seem to have any infections. But it's getting harder and harder for him to walk.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice.
thanks,
Carolyn

rainbow
January 5th, 2008, 07:48 PM
I would get the bird to a vet asap.....I think this would be a medical emergency. Good luck and keep us posted. :fingerscr :goodvibes:

rainbow
January 5th, 2008, 08:10 PM
I just found this...

http://www.cockatielcottage.net/medical.html

cmallory
January 5th, 2008, 08:29 PM
thanks for the info -

I've had the bird for about 3 weeks and it has not died of shock, so that's good.

We don't have an avian vet here - we have a vet who practices part time but she has no suggestions for the bird. I live in quite a remote area unfortunately. There are no roads off the island and it's cost prohibitive to fly out for small emergencies.

I will keep looking...
Carolyn

LavenderRott
January 5th, 2008, 08:38 PM
You might consider contacting a bird rescue group through the internet and see what they might say.

I would think that if the feet are dead, you might have to figure out some kind of prosthetic so that he can stand comfortably.

Rainy
January 5th, 2008, 08:53 PM
Good luck.I feel so bad for this bird.I hope he does better.

cmallory
January 5th, 2008, 09:30 PM
I've contacted a bird rescue place in Ontario - I hope they have some advice - thanks for the suggestion.

Carolyn

hazelrunpack
January 5th, 2008, 10:11 PM
I've seen wild birds that have lost feet to freezing--the good news is that if they survive the freezing and subsequent loss of the extremities without infection, they seem to do quite well. I have no idea how they perch, though :shrug:

At least with the cockatiel being an inside pet, he stands a good chance of surviving and doing well. Likely, the feet will need to come off, though. I'd think a regular vet would be able to advise you about that...just make sure they do some research on anesthesia for birds if they decide to take them off--birds are very sensitive to many drugs.

I hope the bird makes it through :fingerscr He was lucky to have found you. Have you named him, yet?

cmallory
January 6th, 2008, 11:01 AM
Olivia, my daughter, seems to have a special bond with the bird. He loves her and whistles softly to her and no one else. He also makes kissing noises for her. He hates it when she leaves his sight. She wants to call him Jimmy. So I think we'll go with that.

His feet are looking really ugly today, so I'll call the vet tomorrow and see what she thinks... Someone else has said that the bird can survive without feet, so maybe there is hope.

Carolyn

cpietra16
January 6th, 2008, 11:48 AM
I think we need to see pictures....please:D

14+kitties
January 6th, 2008, 02:15 PM
Can you get the bird to your part-time vet so she can look at it's feet? It sounds like the bird is fairly docile and will allow you to pick her up? Please don't take her to the vet in her cage. Transport her in a box. She will feel much safer this way. Or, better yet, have the vet come to you.
If she does have to lose her feet, or does lose her feet, you can buy (at a pet store) or make, her a little cosy or keep the bottom of her cage fairly deep in wood shavings. She won't be able to perch anymore and will need a safe place to sit. Not to mention she will love chewing on the wood shavings.
It sounds like she is doing great. Animals seem to adapt better than humans with amputations. Wonderful she has formed a bond with your daughter already.

This article tells you how to treat frostbite in a bird.


http://books.google.com/books?id=9i2Lg7gZf6MC&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=frostbite+in+a+bird&source=web&ots=pBG7lDqJ8Q&sig=LzikpG9qLKAcpP3bmeV0Gi2WBcQ#PPA87,M1

cmallory
January 6th, 2008, 06:34 PM
the vet only makes house calls, so I'm going to call her tonight and leave a message. She'll probably come over tomorrow. Unfortunately I don't think she is set up to do surgery of any sort, although she did neuter my cat on the kitchen table...

I hadn't thought about wood shavings - any kind in particular? I know rats can't have cedar which is why I ask.

this is a great place for advice! I have some pictures of the bird with my siamese - they both sleep on my lap at the same time. Can I post them here somehow for people to see?

thanks again,
Carolyn

SARAH
January 6th, 2008, 06:45 PM
POST RIGHT HERE !!! We can't wait !!!

Wood shavings.
When I had budgies, my dad would swa pine and birch, just to make saw dust for them to lay thier eggs in (he had no need for the wood he had thus cut up :D ). Any untreated wood I would think would be ok, no idea why cedar would be a no-no? Eucalyptus of course, is ideal (Aussie tree, natural habitat for cockatiels, cockatoos and budgies) but can you find that where you are?

I would also make little platforms higher up in the cage, not just on the bottom. Birds like to have an overview of things around them.

14+kitties
January 6th, 2008, 06:52 PM
When I had my blackface lovebird I used the pine shavings you get in bulk for gerbils/hamsters. He loved it. He would sit on his perch and chew on the bigger pieces for hours. Great exercise for their beaks. He also liked to play in it and would make a general mess making it fly all over. He was a real clown that one.I now have a pair of peachfaces but use paper for lining at the moment. I found you need to change the shavings every couple of days because it gets mouldy when it gets wet from their water.
You can post pictures right here if you want or start a new thread.
If you scroll down to the bottom of the page when you are doing a post you will find additional options. Under that it says Manage Attatchments. Click on that and follow steps. You will probably have to resize your pics which you can do by using your camera program on your comp or you can use an image hosting site. Hope that helps.

Frenchy
January 6th, 2008, 06:52 PM
Of course you can post the picture here ! :thumbs up

I found it fascinating that you live in Arctic Canada, we don't have any other member from there. Were you born there or did you move from somewhere else ?

cmallory
January 6th, 2008, 09:17 PM
I have lived in Iqaluit, Nunavut now for 8.5 years. My husband is a seabird biologist, so that is why we are here. You'd think he would know something about birds and frostbite eh? Nope.

We have 13 animals living with us and 3 kids. We have 2 dogs, 5 cats, 3 ferrets and 3 birds. Everyone gets along really well - it's amazing.

Unfortunately, I don't have the manage attachments under additional options. I tried to past the photo in here, but it didn't work. And under insert image it asks me for a URL...which I don't have, I was just going to upload a photo from my computer. Sigh.

We can't really buy any pet supplies here, so I will have to find someone who is going down south to pick up some wood shavings or something. We don't have trees either so that's not an option...

I left a message with the vet and I will keep you posted. Any other suggestion for photos?
Carolyn

cmallory
January 6th, 2008, 09:29 PM
I think I managed to put a photo of us in the profile - lilac point siamese - Topaz, and Jimmy the cockatiel and me!!

Carolyn

you will have to click on my profile to see the picture I guess...

hazelrunpack
January 6th, 2008, 09:40 PM
I see it! :D It's small, though... :sad: But, the good news is, however you posted the pic in your profile, you should be able to do the same to post it in a thread :thumbs up The only restriction is that any attachment be under 100K in size...

SARAH
January 6th, 2008, 09:40 PM
Yes, visible, but with a magnifying glass!! Still, better than nothing till you get it on the thread ;)

Melinda
January 7th, 2008, 08:16 AM
my father took in rescued birds for the spca, we had a few without feet, ramps instead of perches was what he used, the ramps were covered in rubber (looked like mini tire treads) and the birds would walk up to their feed, water etc, he wouldn't just leave them to stay on the floor because they needed the exercise to keep them active and their weight down....hope this helps, and I hope the vet can help him.

amatazes
January 7th, 2008, 03:33 PM
i just found out that we can't post pics until we've been on this site for a little while and have written a certain amount of posts.

i hope the bird feel better. :sorry:

cmallory
January 7th, 2008, 08:00 PM
the vet came by today and she wasn't a whole lot of help. She apologized for her lack of bird knowledge. But she looked at his feet and agreed with me that they are dead - no apparent feeling or live tissue. She thinks that the feet will eventually fall off without much chance of infection. So that's good news. she thinks he will adjust to life without feet.

Thanks for the ramp idea, I was wondering about the food thing...that sounds like it could work. He flies really well, so he will still be able to get exercise that way.

the cats all gather round me when he is sitting on my lap. Yesterday he was actually sitting on the siamese cat's back. Got some photos but have to wait for my husband to download them from his camera.

I now have manage attachments miraculously! let's see if I can post something.

Carolyn

14+kitties
January 7th, 2008, 08:14 PM
What a pretty baby. And the kitty is pretty special too :)
The ramp is a great idea. I figured if the bird had been outside he knew how to fly so figured that is how he would get around and just go to the floor when he wanted a rest. If you can't get chips a nest made of soft material at the bottom of the cage works too.

I am adding a site for bird nesting material. I don't know how easy it is to get stuff shipped up there but am assuming it's isn't that hard. You can make a nest for him out of just about anything as long as he is comfy.

http://www.nextag.com/bird-nesting-material/search-html

Hope this helps and good luck with the little guy. He doesn't seem to be suffering much at all.

Frenchy
January 7th, 2008, 08:52 PM
Cute picture ! The cat looks pretty friendly to be so near a bird and doesn't try to ... eat it :D

hazelrunpack
January 7th, 2008, 09:00 PM
What a sweet kitty, tolerating the bird so well! :D Beautiful bird, too--and very lucky. Thanks for being his :angel: and taking such good care of him.