One legged Gouldian

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shaunh
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Joined: 02 Oct 2010, 11:20
Location: Elderslie NSW

A couple of weeks ago i had to amputate one of my gouldians legs unfortunately, i didn't think the hen would make it with the amount of blood loss prior to severing the leg, but am pleased to say with a lot of care she seems to be doing well. If you have had experience with a one legged finch, what can you recommend to make life for easier for her. What has been the outcomes for your one legged bird? life expectancy, breeding, and socially.
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Niki_K
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Joined: 23 Oct 2011, 12:18
Location: Melbourne, VIC

I had a zebra finch that lost a foot just above the ankle. She recovered quickly and easily, but never laid another egg. I passed her on to a friend of mine that wanted a friend for her male, but she died a few months later, after getting her good leg caught in some kind of native brush. However, I have also had several males that have lost legs, with no apparent ill-effects. They seem to build up callouses to allow them to perch normally etc.
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Trilobite
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Joined: 03 May 2011, 17:28
Location: Brisbane

I have experience two finches with one leg. A jacarini come out of the nest with a missing leg (due to a coconut fibre cutting it off), a Gouldian come out of the nest with a severely dislocated leg which was set in place and as such was essentially a peg leg as it folded back on itself. The Jacarini survived for two years and learnt to live with its disability. The Gouldian is retired to the holding cage and can do almost all things the other finches can do, it is two years old. They are adaptable creatures - admittedly my aviaries are well planted and so quite hiding spots are easily found and hopping from branch to branch is easy.
If your Gouldian is healed and healthy then it is OK.
Cheers
Trilobite
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garyh
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Joined: 11 Sep 2011, 11:05
Location: Montrose, Victoria

Hi,the last 3 weeks have been horrendous for my young goulds,with a butcher bird doing some real damage,week one, split blue loses a leg but survives and now is doing quite well,week 2 ,split blue loses leg and finds mum on nest with 8 fertile eggs and stays the night,but dies,hen then leaves the nest and eggs go cold,week 3,blue loses leg and is now in recovery mode,both birds seem to have adapted really well, not sure what the future holds as they have to go through the moult,but fingers crossed,but i will keep an eye on this post for others experiences.Oh buy the way, all birds lost their legs right up to the hip ,nothing left,garyh
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matcho
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Had a painted cock bird, his leg was mangled so bad either by a butcherbird or tangled through the brush. Tried to catch him up but the effort would have been too much. Let things be. Leg healed, but was severely deformed so much so that his tail would get caught around the deformed leg that he would flap around on the ground and then sort himself out by rearranging the tailfeathers around the leg so he could get mobile. He lasted for 4 years in this condition. Good parent, raised heaps of chicks, nature has a way of working things out. Unfortunately he passed earlier this year. Sad, but they don't last forever. Even with his deformity he still managed to mate more or less one legged. Must have been a great balancing act or she may have been a very receptive hen, come to think of it it was the same hen every season. Ain't love grand.? :) They are pretty resilient, in my opinion I wouldn't worry too much as in the case of goulds mating usually takes place in the nest so balance probably wont be a problem. Just see how things go. You may probably be pleasantly surprised and cherish her. Sure as hell would find it hard to sell a one legged bird. I think things will be OK, leave her in with her friends, I think that having company is probably the best medicine. I could think of nothing worse than being alone at this time in her life.

good luck

Ken.
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Finchy
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Yikes, some upsetting stories here. Birds can be amazingly adaptable though, so I'm optimistic for her.

I once had a Gouldian so badly injured by some unknown creature that he was paralyzed from the hips down - totally limp, not a glimmer of movement in his legs. He was a really confident, healthy bird though, and when I picked him up off the ground he bit me so hard that I figured the little guy had fight! I spent the next few days designing a little custom sling for him and a special diet, to see if he could recuperate. (Seriously, I will give CPR to a mosquito... I don't necessarily recommend it.) He coped incredibly well. I flipped when I saw the first hint of movement return to his lower body 8 or 10 days later - first to one hip, then the other. I set up special perching platforms for him and put him back in the main aviary, but over the following weeks he re-learned to sort of perch/balance on round branches again, without ever being able to wrap his feet. I was incredibly impressed!

This is him in his special sling, in the days following his injury: http://youtu.be/zNM21JwxNy8

So given that, I'd hold out very high hopes for your hen with one fully functioning leg. She will almost certainly adapt to the point that you will hardly notice there's a problem unless you are looking closely.

:)
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matcho
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Finchy,

You are an absolute legend... or a lunatic. Who, in all reality would have thought of this? Now I find myself thinking along your lines. Swore blind that I would never try hand raising again but after seeing that video it would appear that not much is impossible. Well done and three cheers for you. :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Diane
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Location: Northern 'burbs of Adelaide
Location: Northern 'burbs of Adelaide

Ive got a one footed OB and hes produced babies.
Diane
The difference between Genius and Stupidity is, Genius has it’s limits
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shaunh
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Joined: 02 Oct 2010, 11:20
Location: Elderslie NSW

Wow what wonderful stories, and great footage. Thank you all for sharing I hope others get something from it.
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KENTUCKY
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Joined: 18 Jan 2011, 12:38
Location: Frankston Victoria

One legged birds will adjust just like humans do,they will breed just the same despite their impediment, there is no need to treat them any different.
as far as those dreaded Butcher Birds and Australian Mynas that hang around our Aviaries are concerned just waiting for the right moment to do some damage to our Aviary Occupants if they possibly can, my solution to these pests is very simple, all my aviaries are double wired, I use a standard chicken Wire, this simple but very effective method has not let me down once in all my years of breeding Gouldians.
If there is an amputee struggling to get around in an Aviary, he or she would do well in a Cabinet or Cage.
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