Baby feral with injured wing and toe

This baby showed up in the usual spot, looking for help. Her toe is clearly broken and her wing is injured. She sometimes moves her wiung back into position where it should be, but then it droops down again. She has flapped her wings to show happiness after eating, and the injured wing seems to flap fine. Please offer suggestions on what to do for the wing and toe:

maybe a splint for the toe and wing? i dont know just throwing out suggestions :P probably dont listen to me though i have no experience with this stuff

Hi Jim,
Which toe is it that you suspect is broken?
As Ann Marie suggested, you might be able to splint it.
I'm not sure if they are like human toes and there really isn't anything to do.

With regard to her wing: Does there appear to be any breaks?
Getting it properly aligned and wrapping it to the body would be my suggestion.

If it were me, I'd clean the injured foot (warm water with a little betadine, iodine or hydrogen peroxide) and strap the toes.
The broken toe is the outer one on his right foot, isn't it? If you have Metacam, give him one drop just inside the tip of the beak and wait 20 minutes before manipulating the toe. Use that time to get gauze, tape and scissors, and cut up a piece of strong (strong, not thick) card or plastic the shape of a bird footprint. Then feel the bones of the toe. If they are out of alignment at the break, pull them slightly apart and line up the break (very gently, if it's a few days old it won't budge and it won't do to insist), then wrap a little gauze around the toe and tape it. Then tape the 3 front toes individually to the shape you cut, to keep the distances between the toes correct. In 2 weeks tops itwill heal.

As for the wing, I'm almost sure it isn't broken, or the bird wouldn't be able to lift it at all. It could be a strain injury, a wound or a salmonella boil on the elbow joint. Let's try to rule out the last 2 first:
Check the wing carefully for any blood, swellings, damaged feathers or bruised skin. Bruises look bluish, whilst red, hot skin is inflamed, and yellow is infected. Salmonella boils are red, hot and hard, and may have a purplish aureole.
This is a typical Salmonella boil on the elbow:



I only found that boil by touch, as it was hidden under the feathers. For this photo, I had moistened the feathers and pulled them aside, or it wouldn't be visible.

The same boil on the underside of the wing:



If you don't find any of the above, then it's likely to be a strain, and those will almost always heal, but the timing varies a lot. I've one such in recovery, he was trapped by a wing and the neurological damage is extensive. In 3 months he hasn't lifted that wing once.
According to my vet, there is no need to strap a strained wing -- leaving it free allows the bird to chose when to exercise it at his own pace, and it's less stressful for them. It's just a question of time.

Some diseases may also cause wing paralysis, namely PMV, but that usually affects both wings at once.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

Teresa wrote:

If it were me, I'd clean the injured foot (warm water with a little betadine, iodine or hydrogen peroxide) and strap the toes.
The broken toe is the outer one on his right foot, isn't it? If you have Metacam, give him one drop just inside the tip of the beak and wait 20 minutes before manipulating the toe. Use that time to get gauze, tape and scissors, and cut up a piece of strong (strong, not thick) card or plastic the shape of a bird footprint. Then feel the bones of the toe. If they are out of alignment at the break, pull them slightly apart and line up the break (very gently, if it's a few days old it won't budge and it won't do to insist), then wrap a little gauze around the toe and tape it. Then tape the 3 front toes individually to the shape you cut, to keep the distances between the toes correct. In 2 weeks tops itwill heal.

As for the wing, I'm almost sure it isn't broken, or the bird wouldn't be able to lift it at all. It could be a strain injury, a wound or a salmonella boil on the elbow joint. Let's try to rule out the last 2 first:
Check the wing carefully for any blood, swellings, damaged feathers or bruised skin. Bruises look bluish, whilst red, hot skin is inflamed, and yellow is infected. Salmonella boils are red, hot and hard, and may have a purplish aureole.
This is a typical Salmonella boil on the elbow:



I only found that boil by touch, as it was hidden under the feathers. For this photo, I had moistened the feathers and pulled them aside, or it wouldn't be visible.

The same boil on the underside of the wing:



If you don't find any of the above, then it's likely to be a strain, and those will almost always heal, but the timing varies a lot. I've one such in recovery, he was trapped by a wing and the neurological damage is extensive. In 3 months he hasn't lifted that wing once.
According to my vet, there is no need to strap a strained wing -- leaving it free allows the bird to chose when to exercise it at his own pace, and it's less stressful for them. It's just a question of time.

Some diseases may also cause wing paralysis, namely PMV, but that usually affects both wings at once.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

Freaky Teresa...Jim called me a couple of hours ago while I was wroking in the yard and that's pretty close to what I told him.

Oh you know... great minds think alike! (I used to be big-headed, but now I'm perfect!)

Teresa wrote:

Oh you know... great minds think alike! (I used to be big-headed, but now I'm perfect!)

Jim, another thought: after splinting the toe, the pigeon may find it awkward to lie down, so I'd remove the brick and make him a foam mattress, covered in plastic and perhaps with a towel wrapped around it for extra comfort.

Here's one I made earlier:

Well, after about two hours of intense negotiation, we reached a mutually agreeable compromise: she won't thrash around suicidally, and I won't try to splint her toe without at least one extra pair of hands. Stay tuned for the outcome of round 2, tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I,m pretty sure she's got salmonella. I couldn't find any boils, but her poop has a very faint smell that I recognize from another pigeon I helped that had salmonella. I'm giving her quarter tablets of Meditrich and Baytril 12 hours apart. Will the Baytril take care of the salmonella, or do I need to use something else?

Jim - sending my best healing thoughts for your little rescue. Hope she recovers soon.

Appreciate the update, Jim.
Thinking positive thoughts that all goes well with your little rescue.
Please keep us posted.

Bless you both,

jimc2000 wrote:

Well, after about two hours of intense negotiation, we reached a mutually agreeable compromise: she won't thrash around suicidally, and I won't try to splint her toe without at least one extra pair of hands. Stay tuned for the outcome of round 2, tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I,m pretty sure she's got salmonella. I couldn't find any boils, but her poop has a very faint smell that I recognize from another pigeon I helped that had salmonella. I'm giving her quarter tablets of Meditrich and Baytril 12 hours apart. Will the Baytril take care of the salmonella, or do I need to use something else?

The baytril should take care of the salmonella unless it is a resistant strain.

Matilda wrote:

The baytril should take care of the salmonella unless it is a resistant strain.

How long should it take for the baytril to start working and what sort of changes should I look for to know that it's working?

Jim...I would hope you will see a change for the better within 36-48 hours.

Hope the treatment is working, Jim.
About the thrashing, you'll need to wrap her and immobilise her, so you can have both hands free. For difficult customers, I also use a small foam cushion. First I wrap the pigeon in a towel (head included, she must be able to breathe easily, but shouldn't be able to see out) and then put the burrito on the cushion, head end slightly higher, and unwrap the bottom of the towel to expose the legs. For extra security, you can fold a scarf lengthways until it's only 2 or 3" wide and use it to secure the burrito to the cushion. That will leave both your hands free.
I hope you'll be able to splint that toe soon. Good luck with round 2!