Rubber band wrapped around leg of pigeon

[TheOddOneOut]

View attachment 2909818Still the same.

You may have to cut it off.

 

[The WinterWolf]

You may have to cut it off.

possibly. just maybe seek help from a friend, or us.


but not me, i don't like seeing that stuff

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

You may have to cut it off.

I mean, maybe. I don’t want to hurry the process if it’ll fall off by itself, though.

 

[The WinterWolf]

I mean, maybe. I don’t want to hurry the process if it’ll fall off by itself, though.

i am anxious about that too. but you may still have to do it.

 

[The WinterWolf]

i am anxious and i am not even the one who might have to do it!

 

[NatJ]

Does the pigeon seem to have any ability to move the toes or the foot?

I mean, maybe. I don’t want to hurry the process if it’ll fall off by itself, though.

If it's not causing problems the way it is, I would agree about not rushing to do anything.

I wonder if it will just stay there, dried up but not doing anything. (Like an artificial foot?)

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Does the pigeon seem to have any ability to move the toes or the foot?



If it's not causing problems the way it is, I would agree about not rushing to do anything.

I wonder if it will just stay there, dried up but not doing anything. (Like an artificial foot?)

No, the foot is stiff. She does avoid walking on it.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Sometimes I doubt her foot will ever fall off.

I know Exactly how you feel re wondering if the foot will ever detach. At the point when Matilda's dead right foot was still attached a full 7 weeks AFter her left foot came off, I wondered out loud in her thread your exact same question. I asked if it might somehow remain blackened and dead, yet permanently attached. Someone answered that Yes, the foot would eventually auto-amputate. And the very next week it Finally did. The swelling in RB's shank above the dead tissue appears even more swollen than in your earlier photos, and i remain very surprised it hasn't yet come off. But obviously the internal healing and separation hasnt completed yet. (And the fact you are still seeing color changes also points to ongoing internal processes taking place.)

With human frostbite cases, surgical amputation IS often performed to hurry the process along. But surgical amputation can introduce a much higher risk of infection, & aftercare following a surgical amputation is more labor-intensive than auto-amputation. Especially with RB being a feral pigeon, I think much better to keep being patient and let nature run its course.

As far as I understand, there is zero chance of the foot remaining permanently attached but dead. But @RoostersAreAwesome , that is a good question to follow up on to be sure. You could research human cases of auto-amputation and see if you find Any cases where the dead part never separated.
Also, RB's case is similiar to the way ranchers castrate calves, bucklings, etc by banding their testicles until they finally fall off. As far as i know, the testes Always eventually fall off. The fact that you removed the band on RB's foot may have slightly slowed/altered the process. (The color changes in the blackened foot is peculiar and interesting.) But her blackened foot and the swelling above the dead foot indicates the dead foot Will eventually fall off.

Again, I totally understand your frustration in waiting. Also want to add, the longer it stays on, the worse RB's dead foot may smell when it finally falls off. Matilda's left foot detached 6 weeks after frostbite injury. The dead left foot didn't have a bad smell. The right foot came off 7 weeks after the left foot, and a full 13 weeks after initial injury. Omg I can't remember ever smelling anything more foul than the right foot did. Smelled like a combination of dead, rotten and infected. (Smelled so bad I Did initially think the live stump was infected, but nope the horrendous stench emanated from the dead foot.) Im not sure when RB's injury occurred, but as the weeks continue on before separation, you might wanna be prepared to hold your nose!

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

RB’s foot today. I noticed she had a bunch of pin feathers on one side of her neck, I think because it’s harder for her to preen. So I gave her a face scratch, which she seemed to enjoy (she briefly preened her chest while I was holding her, which she’s never done before).

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

What is your after-care plan for RB after the dead foot finally comes off?