splay leg??

Question
Hi..I wanted to let you know that I tried to wrap the legs to rty to fix them..all was well and i sat it in a little bowl so that it was propped up.  The daddy bird went balestic...he started pecking the baby, and standing on the bowl...  I left them alone for awaile and when I came  back the father had tipped it over and was standing on the baby.  the bay couldn't move because his legs were wrapped.  We had to take it off, or I think that the dad would have killed it.  Once off all was well, except that the leg went back to the usual stuck out position.  What do you think about getting the vet to fix it?  I called and they said it was probably 50/50.  I feel really bad for hi...he is so cute , and to think he will be like this forever just breaks my heart.  I think the father was trying to show him the water container yesterday, but I am probably going to have to rig up something different because I don't think he could reach it.   Thanks I appreciate your help.
 
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-----Question-----
Hi..we are new to owning pigeons..we have Old Fashioned Frill Satinettes.  They are beautiful.  They laid 2 eggs and only one made it.  I read that they get this condition because of slipping in the cage ..I feel really bad..no one told us to put anything grippy in there for him.  Is there anything that we can do to help it at all.  it is 2 weeks old...The parents are still feeding it, and it is really cute now, but they just laid another egg.  I also don't want them to neglect this one..Whe should they be able to eat on their own...?  Please help..I feel so bad about the leg that I could just cry..
Thanks
Bonnie
-----Answer-----
Hi, Bonnie.  Thanks for posting!

Don't cry...splay leg can be fixed on a pigeon of 2 weeks of age.  You caught the problem early enough!  Splay leg occurs when the bird doesn't have enough friction under it's leg when it stands (so it can "push" itself up or hold itself up straight), so the legs grow out sideways.  With pigeons, this usually occurs when the eggs aren't laid in a nesting bowl (so they can push against the bowl itself) and/or when only 1 squeaker survives.  When there are 2 babies present, they can push on each other and this condition won't occur.

Your squeaker's legs need to be hobbled.  This is a process whereby the legs are brought directly under the bird and held there by some means until the cartlege can grow back the way it's supposed to be.  There are several ways to do this, and all are hard to explain on a website!  Therefore, please go to the following websites and look at the pics and read the information available.  You can use one of the methods described or come back after reading and looking at the pics and I can tell you the method I use for this condition.  I've successfully fixed many pigeon and parrot legs with hobbling.  In some cases, hobbling doesn't correct the problem 100% and a bird has to live with a slight imbalance.  However, they usually do quite well if caught early enough.  If you show your satinettes, you may not be able to show this bird.

http://www.parrotparrot.com/splay/
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/cliffs/6483/splay.html
http://www.2ndchance.info/spraddle.htm
http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/splaylegtreatments.htm
http://www.duckpolice.org/BirdWeb/PigeonResourceWeb/splayleg.html

Find more by using the search string "splay leg" in your search engine.

The babies should be able to eat on their own when they are about 21 days old.  Some start earlier than this, some later, but daddy usually starts weaning them at about 21 days old.

Come back with any additional questions.

Chrys

Answer
Hi again, Bonnie.

Good job!  Daddy was most likely pecking the baby because you put it in a bowl.  Daddy pigeon doesn't know what a bowl is.  Also, depending on how you hobbled the baby, daddy might not like this strange think on his baby's legs.  If you can make the hobbling as inconspictuous as possible to the parents, the baby pigeon will do just fine without being in a bowl.  When I hobble baby birds, I use a method that still allows the baby to walk around if it wants, baby doesn't need to be propped up, and parents still keep the baby warm, feed it, etc.  I'll try to explain below:

Using 2 pieces of gauze (1 for each leg), cut the gauze pieces to the desired length and width.  Width should be the same as the width of the tape you will use.  Length should be such that you can wrap the gauze around each leg twice.  The gauze is used to keep the tape from sticking to the bird's skin.  You'll use the tape to wrap twice around one leg (gauze underneath the tape).  Then bring both legs directly under the bird as they would be naturally (look at another pigeon to see how the legs should be positioned).  Take the other end of the tape and wrap it twice around the other leg, and then bring remaining tape back around the first leg at least once.  This should hold legs in position, be fairly inconspictuous to the parent birds, and also allow the baby to move when it wants.  This is so hard to explain in writing, but with the words above and the pictures from those internet sites, I hope you can understand.  This method has worked well for me for many years.  You may have to try it a couple times before you finally get it positioned just right, but it does work.  Instead of tape (such as white bandage tape), I use Vet Wrap, which is a bandage that sticks to itself (used mainly for horses).

You can take the baby to an avian vet for hobbling, too.  Vets just charge a lot for such a simple procedure.

Come back with any questions.

Chrys