On March 30th 2022, a little canary was found tangled in a tennis net at a school, and rescued by some primary school students. The teacher was kind enough to rush the bird down to an avian vet clinic for care.
Diagnostics were run and they found that both her legs were broken, and would need bandaging, with a chance she may not regain function. I decided to give her a chance, and brought her home on April 1st 2022 to start her recovery.
A special cage was set up for her with a soft hammock, easy access to food and some perches for when she was ready. For the first week, she mainly stayed in her cage resting, only coming out for medication and cleaning.
On April 7th, she began to peck at her right foot and she had to be collared to ensure she didn't lose too much blood or cause permanent damage. We made a makeshift collar at home until we could make proper ones, but she still managed to make herself bleed again on April 10th. Due to it being a weekend, we had to administer emergency treatment at home to ensure she didn't collapse from shock or lack of blood - luckily she recovered well.
Throughout her time with me, she managed to peck and lose blood 5 separate times, despite her collars, she was lucky to have survived every time with supportive care. The right leg was the target of her frustrations and was not looking good, so during the first week, the vet dispensed a special medication which really helped her circulation. After the first 2 weeks, she started to warm up to me more and would even sit in my hand for little periods of time before hopping off. Her tail even started to grow back!
On April 21st, we removed her casts - partially due to the fact that her toes were becoming necrotic on the right side and it was time to remove the cast anyways. She wasn't able to stand up for the first day, but a warm bath on her left leg helped her to stand and start hopping around. 2 days later, I gave her a bandage on the left foot to flatten her toes, as they were curling and a supportive bandage around her right leg as the break was unstable.
During the Anzac Day long weekend, her necrosis began to spread rapidly and the break on the right leg began to show signs of infection. With permission from our vet, we restarted her on antibiotics and I mentally prepared for her requiring an amputation. At this point she was getting around well, even started to hang out with the other canaries and was able to start flattening and curling her left foot. On April 26th, we amputated her right leg and she coped with the procedure very well - and things were looking up. She was getting around well, bright, inquisitive and so beautiful - I was so excited to have her recover within the next 2 weeks and have her join the other canaries.
Unfortunately, on May 1st, we found her gasping in her cage and her breathing sounded wet - our first thoughts were aspiration of water or seed. We tried our very best to clear her throat of liquid, but that only helped for a brief period before she continued to have difficulties. She made it through the day, hanging out with the other canaries and eating her favourite foods. We put her to bed in her warm brooder, watched her eat seed and bounce around before saying goodnight. However, by early morning she was gone.
She was a beautiful, well-tempered little bird. She loved her food more than anything, and would eat anything that was put in front of her, often making the biggest mess I had ever seen come from a canary. She was always curious about her surroundings and loved to hop around exploring.
Her name is Lemon Meringue, named for her soft yellow and white colouring. She was brave, she fought so hard everyday and showed us how much she was improving - we were so so proud of her. We will always remember her as the silliest little bird, she survived so much and was so close to joining the flock. We will always wonder if there was more we could have done to save her, but we hope she knows that she was loved and safe until the end.
We will meet again one day at the Rainbow Bridge, sweet silly bird. We love you very much.
