No rest for the wicked

Teresa wrote:

Apple sauce for babies -- I got some and gave her a little, but I ended up wearing most of it... Is it just to be given as a meal or mixed up with something else?

Applesauce is nutricious and easy to digest. It's especially good for canker patients. I always warm it just a little. I thought in this case, it might be soothing but not a full meal.
I use it when treating a starving bird after the bird has been warmed, hydrated. as a graduation step into formula.

Charcoal capsules you can open, mix part of it with water and with eyedroper give down the throat. Be careful it is difficult to clean if spilled. :eek:

Sad, sad news -- she's just passed away. :( She was overwhelmed by the severity of the illness and couldn't fight any longer.
Rest in peace, my sweet one.

Teresa wrote:

Sad, sad news -- she's just passed away. She was overwhelmed by the severity of the illness and couldn't fight any longer.
Rest in peace, my sweet one.

I am so very sorry, Teresa.
Rest assured, Firefly has moved on knowing there are wonderful humans in the world. She met one of the best.

" Fly high and fly free over the Rainbow Bridge our sweet Firefly"

Oh no Teresa, this is so unfair. I am very sad to hear about this. Very sad - it makes me cry as if it had been one of "my" balcony pijjies. I am really shocked because it seemed to go well. And now - what can I say. I am really heart broken...

Cindy told me Firefly passed on, several hours ago over the phone. When I heard this sad news, my heart just sank. I am confortable saying, that we all were pulling for Firefly and hoping for recovery. In a way she has recovered...she's flying with the other Angels.
XOXO

Thank you so much for your words, and thank you also for all your help and advice. All that you've been teaching me will be used to help other pidgies in need.

I've been compensating by making a big fuss of the other pets, who were acting strange anyway. I'm sure they know what happened. Piper was very quiet and serious and Penny didn't peck me at all. Lawrence has been glued to me all evening.
I feel sad looking at the empty basket, but it's a comfort to think that she's flying free now. I read somewhere that closed eyes in sick pigeons can mean they are in pain, and I think that's very likely, as the Salmonella boil on her right elbow was the worst I've seen anywhere. I would have done anything to help her survive, but the part of me that believes in life after death is relieved that my littlest one isn't suffering any more.

Sad news Teresa, im so sorry for Firefly. I've youst lost my youngster too and my only relief is that the pain is over.

Plamenh, I am just sad to hear that. As I already said before - one should think that you get used to death when you take care for sick animals but death is never acceptable nor fair. It is painful and it hurts to see these little souls fly away. No words can take this pain away...

pigeonwriter wrote:

Plamenh, I am just sad to hear that. As I already said before - one should think that you get used to death when you take care for sick animals but death is never acceptable nor fair. It is painful and it hurts to see these little souls fly away. No words can take this pain away...

So well said, Petra.

Indeed it is always a sad time. The number of times I've read a post, with tears for a bird I never knew except through a forum, because I know someone else is feeling the sorrow I feel when it is one of our own.

I am so sorry, Teresa, she was a beautiful bird and you both fought so hard.

Cynthia

I am so sorry too. You did all you could and it's so so sad when you've seen some progress, but the fight is just that bit too much for them.

She'll be resting peacefully now bless her.

Janet

plamenh wrote:

Sad news Teresa, im so sorry for Firefly. I've youst lost my youngster too and my only relief is that the pain is over.

I'm very sorry to hear that, Plamenh. I hope they're both flying happy and free.

They are!

It was a quiet day today, catching up with housework

Penny is taking a break from the antibiotics after 2 weeks. Today she had natural yoghurt (but only when I sweetened it) and hydrotherapy



followed by sunbathing and a gentle massage. The muscles on her upper leg have atrophied somewhat from lack of use, but she still doesn't put any weight on her right leg. Now that the swelling has gone down a lot, I do suspect that her knee was fractured. Here's a close-up:

I'm glad to hear you your day was quite, with regard to incoming, Teresa. It's much deserved.

Although it's been a little while, what are your thoughts on splinting the leg?

Fancyfeathers wrote:

I'm glad to hear you your day was quite, with regard to incoming, Teresa. It's much deserved.

Although it's been a little while, what are your thoughts on splinting the leg?

I have no idea how it could be splinted if the fracture is at the actual knee. Should it be kept bent as when she's lying down?
I felt her leg very carefully again and it's definitely not broken below or above the knee joint, but the knee itself has a bone protuberance (or hardened remnant of lesion) on the right handside.
She's out of the cage right now, and for the last 5 minutes she has been hopping about. I filmed her. I'll just uplooad it.

Here are the videos of her moving about. Can you tell from them whether the leg should be splinted, or whether she might improve with time?

https://s333.photobucket.com/albums/m381/Skbllz/Pigeons/?action=view&current=DSCNB2727.flv

https://s333.photobucket.com/albums/m381/Skbllz/Pigeons/?action=view&current=DSCNB2730.flv

Thanks for posting the videos, Teresa.

I am certainly not an expert here, so this is just a guess . . .
Given that's it's been three weeks since you rescued her, splinting may not improve the condition.

Since the swelling has gone down, does she seem to favor her leg, suggesting that she may be in some discomfort?

I have a couple ferals in our backyard the flock who have quite a limp from what appears to be old/untreated issues. They get along just fine and have adjusted to their limp as a normal gait.

They don't favor the impaired leg as if to suggest they are in pain, so I haven't tried to intervene. Which would be to no avail at this point.

I do believe the knee is still sore, because she makes several attempts before lying down (and that's on the padded mattress), and occasionally she still uses the wing as support when she's resting. She's impatient to be free, but I don't honestly think she stands any chance of competing with the park pigeons for food.
The infection seems to have cleared completely, so there should be no need to continue giving her antibiotics, or is there? I remember Pidgey recommending a liniment for pigeons recovering from injuries/lesions like this, but that wasn't available here.

Teresa wrote:

* I do believe the knee is still sore, because she makes several attempts before lying down (and that's on the padded mattress), and occasionally she still uses the wing as support when she's resting. She's impatient to be free, but I don't honestly think she stands any chance of competing with the park pigeons for food.

** The infection seems to have cleared completely, so there should be no need to continue giving her antibiotics, or is there?

* I wondered about that when I was watching the video.
No, I definitely would not consider releasing her just yet.

** Probably not. But others, more experienced in that area will be along to give their opinion.

Thank you so much, Cindy!


This is a photo taken just after the videos, showing the way she lies down, using the wing to take the weight off her right knee:



Learning from Penny: After I took that photo, she walked up to where the TV remote control was and lay down leaning on it. So I made her a pillow (or a bolster, to be precise) and she's really taken to it. It doesn't take her nearly as long to find a comfortable position now.

Do you have DMSO there?

http://www.dmso.org/articles/information/muir.htm

Scroll down to ...DMSO eases pain and penetrates the membrane...or something like that.

That's the one that Pidgey recommended, I remember the name now. And no, nobody I asked here has ever heard of it. I might try a place that sells farm supplies though, as I was told it was used as horse liniment.