I picked up a bird yesterday from the avian vet who treats my birds. A young hen was rescued in New York City with severe string feet. The vet removed all the visible string. She was not positive that there is no more in the deep cut in the worse foot. She told me to soak the feet daily to see if that would loosen anything left. The poor bird has lost 2 toes on one foot, one toe on the bad foot. She's eating ok. Is there anything else I can do for the feet? She does have some use of the bad foot although the remaining toes are bent.

bad foot, she doesn't extend the toes but has feeling and a little movement
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This foot works pretty well despite missing 2 toes

Oh--- poor poor baby!

Arnica Montana...would be very helpful in the pellet form...disolved and given orally... You could also soak the feet in a tub of Epsom Salts...very mild... once dry... you could apply arnica in the cream formula... I myself and with my birds have had great success with it!

another idea: http://www.vitacost.com/Natural-Immunogenics-Sovereign-Silver-First-Aid-Gel in place of the arnica cream....



"Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel works in 4 ways to help minor wounds heal fast:"

Reduces Topical Pain: Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel reduces pain quickly, taking the sting out of skin irritations.
Calms Skin Inflammation: Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel calms inflammation, reducing the swelling, redness and heat that often accompany minor skin wounds.
Fights Minor Skin Infection: Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel helps the body keep minor skin infection at bay, allowing minor wounds to heal quickly.
Promotes Healing of the Skin: By reducing topical pain, calming skin inflammation, and fighting minor skin infection, Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel helps skin recover from all kinds of minor wounds.

I agree.

It's heartbreaking to see the damage strings can do! I'm sorry she's lost three toes, but the remaining ones are looking good. I'm sure she will gradually uncurl her toes on the bad foot as it becomes less sore and the tissues continue to heal.
I looked after a similar string injury, and he recovered the use of all his remaining toes. While he was recovering I made him a soft mattress: a piece of wood covered with foam, then wrapped in plastic for ease of cleaning. He loved it.

Bless her heart.
String issues can be just awful.

It looks like she's got good circulation in her feet.

I'm just wondering if there might still be a bit of string in the crease where the arrow is pointed. It looks a little suspicious.
And the lower toe doesn't look as colorful as the other two.
Or is it just the angle of the picture?


I'll be thinking positive thoughts that she fully recovers without incident.
Please keep us posted, Jen.

Have you thought of giving her some metacam for the pain?

I've got the 1.5mg/ml, and I use one drop a day for an adult pigeon.

I've seen the dosage quoted as 0.2mg/Kg/day, so for a pigeon weighing about 330g it would be 0.066mg. If we consider a drop as being approximately 0.04ml, it would contain 0.04x1.5mg, that's to say, 0.06mg, so that's the right amount.

A quick update on this bird. The toe that the arrow is pointing to is getting ready to fall off I think. It's turned a dark color and feels "loose" when I touch it. What should I do if it falls off? Is there a chance of bleeding? I'm not sure what to expect. The rest of the foot looks good and pink but is still swollen. The deep cut is starting to fill out. I'm still soaking twice a day. I'll try to get new pictures soon.

Jen...I don't have experience with this kind of thing. I suspect that if it falls off, there won't be much bleeding because the toe is dead.

Hi Jen,
I've had a few that their toes have fallen off, but never actually 'found' the toe, but I don't believe there would be much if any bleeding as there is no blood circulating to the toe.

I certainly could be mistaken, so I would suggest just keeping a close eye on it.
The remaining toes do look good.

Let us know how things go.

I would try Arnica for swelling. When the toe falls, there is no much bleeding, but it is good to use oinment against infections.

Merlin lost two toes whilst in captivity, so I actually saw it happen. :eek:
With the first, there was no bleeding; with the second, a tiny spec -- an application of hydrogen peroxide to the spot stops any minor bleeding immediately and disinfects the stump.
I totally agree with Plamenh's advice to use an antibiotic ointment.

I'm including a link to Merlin's photo album so you can see for yourself the stages of the separation and what the stump looked like -- especially the photos entitled 'Standing on toe', 'Hanging' and 'Severed'. (Beware, GRAPHIC and potentially upsetting):
http://s333.photobucket.com/albums/m381/Skbllz/Merlin/

Best wishes for your patient!