Rick (Zack's daddy) and I came home from church to find Zack hanging out of his happy hut. His leg was tangled in a thread, and he was thrashing around trying to get free. It was a small thread, but the harder he pulled, the more tangled it got. And in his struggle to free himself, he broke a blood feather in one of his wings.
Fortunately, there's an emergency vet nearby, and we took him there. They looked over Zack and said that his foot was swollen and bruised, but he was ok. His foot strength is still good and he can move around, but it's obviously injured. They said there may be some minor tissue damage, but they weren't sure and said the speed of his healing would reveal that. His fever was also a bit high, so they put him on a pain reliever, an antiboitic, and an anti-inflammatory medication. We're going to have to give him these medications by syrenge every day for a week. The emergency vet also sent a report to Zack's regular vet, and I'm supposed to call them tomorrow to make an appointment for a follow up later in the week. Zack is supposed to rest and try to stay off that foot. That's going to be a trick, considering how active Zack is. But he seems ok to settle in on Rick's shoulder or on his favorite perch.
I want to thank everybody on Twitter that supported us today. That was a scary ordeal, and you don't know how much your tweets meant to us. We weren't in that room alone with your support and encouragement coming in. Thank you so much. You guys were our blessing today! I saw once again today that online friends ARE real friends, and you're just as valuable to us as everybody personally interact with. I do hope that your graciousness and kindness are rewarded with a holiday season of abundance and joy and a new year filled with happiness and properity.
I also want to tell you bird owners out there: If you have a Happy Hut for your parrot, GET RID OF IT! Zack had chewed on his and although I monitor his toys, it seems he was able to free a threat too small to catch my eye but just big enough to cause trouble. A great deal of the blame for his injury falls to me for not being more attentive to the state of that toy and realizing that it had become dangerous. Thank God he will be ok. I learned a hard (and scary) lesson today, and I want to pass it along to you so you won't have to go through what we did today. Plus, many people on Twitter mentioned that a lot of birds have been hurt and killed by similar accidents with Happy Huts. So if you have a Happy Hut, get rid of it. And always keep a sharp eye on the condition of your birds' toys. When it starts to wear, replace it.
Yes, we had quite a scare today, and I feel bad every time I see him holding up that poor, swollen foot. I pray he heals quickly. And as for the Happy Huts - they've all been disposed of and are no longer allowed in our home.
As for Chloe and Ollie, they're ok. They were worried about their "big brother," of course, but they sure were happy to see him come home. They're keeping an eye on him.
Thanks again to all of you that were there for us. We appreciate your friendship and support. Take care. We'll keep you up to date on Zack's progress.
Best regards,
Sherri