This here is Megan (Yellow 082).
Megan came to us on the 6th of November as a referral from Rosevean Veterinary Practice, after a thorough check over by our brilliant vet.
She presented ataxic and with a head tremor, testing negative for AI. She also had minor cuts to both ankle joints due to shuffling around as she was unable to stand. We suspected she had sustained a head/collision injury.
On arrival she could not hold her head up well but after a night of TLC and Loxicom (a painkiller and anti-inflammatory) she seemed to be making good progress despite being wobbly still.
To protect her ankles from further damage, she had a tick dressing applied to provide cushioning. These were changed every 24hrs and were removed after 3 days when her cuts had dried over. In this time, Megan was hand fed as her head tremor made it difficult for her to pick up food. On the third day of her being with us, she began to eat for herself and tentatively walking – on tip toes with wings spread for balance!
It was not long until Megan was back to normal and trying her best to get out of her hospital cage. She was then moved to a sheltered outside aviary to give her more space, the chance to bath and for us to review her flight ability.
We aimed to keep Megan in this aviary for a week to acclimatise and build strength but she had other plans! In 24hrs Megan was fed up of being caged; flying in circles, landing well but immediately walking into the aviary sides to try and find a way out, putting her beak through the mesh…
To prevent her from becoming overly stressed and injuring herself further, we released her on site to continue her wild life – hopefully with no more knocks to the head!