DON'T WORRY...but...

Thursday afternoon, John and I were sitting here working...waiting for Kekoa's visit. John has clear view of the yard from his temporary desk and always announces "It's Chicken" when he rounds the fence. But yesterday he rounded the fence limping.
Now don't freak out!

Ok here is the whole story...

Kekoa showed up with a really bad limp yesterday afternoon... when he came into the house I got to pick him up... which he hates, but today he loved being held by both of us. So we got a good look at the leg, hoping it was a thorn in his foot, but looks like he has a break or a fracture in the lower left leg. He can still move his toes/talons... so I'm not sure what the actual damage is.

That was around 4:00 PM. He flew up to the top of the bookcase in the kitchen around 6:00 PM. Funny because that is where he would fly up to and sleep as a baby.
TOO CUTE! He always looked for the highest spot. I managed to catch several vintage vases before they crashed to the ground... which was a wonder all in itself.
He slept there all night and I woke up to him chirping at 6:15 this morning. This is the look he gave me when I came into say HI.He's like me... NOT A MORNING PERSON. I went back to bed after letting him down. He then jumped up in bed with me. He hates in when I'm in bed and he bites me...HARD! This morning he got my left index finger and top of my hand. He is a wild bird... and I never get mad. MY OWN FAULT.

He does not really act like anything is wrong... but just can't stand on it. It also seems to hurt him to sit with it under him. I made a nest on the top shelf that is more raised on one side so his leg kinda hangs low rather than having to sit on it. Seems to be working. He does get up and stand on his right leg and sleeps like that about 15 minutes of every hour. He was very thirsty last night but has not really drank anything all day. NO WAIT. HE JUST NOW STARTED TO DRINK. He is back on the bookshelf now... right above my head. The only thing he will eat is mac nuts and peanuts. I even went out and got a big jar of worms and bugs. He ate 2.

He's been under John's chair on his towel nest and tray of food and water pretty much all day.

There was no way we were sending him back out... which also made us sad because he does not like being here past 5:30. He likes to be in his nest by 6:00... and maybe he has a family to be home to. Are they worried sick?

Will they still love him tomorrow? NEXT WEEK??? WILL THEY!!?

We wonder if he got into a fight with another male? It's mating season.
His dad also has a permanent limp... but only when he runs.
Or did he get it stuck in a tree branch? With all the heavy winds was he blown off a branch?
Did he get close to someone and try to peck them... and they in turn kicked him?

We'll never know.

He'll be fine, we may have to repair the coop, put on some plastic chicken wire, so he does not scratch his beak... and keep him in there a few weeks.

Being bird dads is hard work...

And can you believe it's been almost 1 year since we found him...April 17th.
Deja-vu.

We did not see him Wednesday so I am not sure if he was like this then or not. I googled how to make a cast/splint all night and I think I got it here... How to repair a fractured leg
We did it pretty much according to the site, but we added a half a popsicle stick to each side.
He was perfect throughout the entire procedure.

John in charge of holding him down... which was easier than we thought.
Here you can see the bruising and the crack.
The pads on this foot are a bit swollen so we are keeping an eye on it making sure the bandages are not too tight.

We started out with that stretchy tape so as not to have the glue on his leg.

Then we wrapped that with tape as described on the website.
He seems to be able to use it a bit more and has even used it to scratch his head. Still not putting any weight on it unless he starts to topple over. He gets around by hoping on one foot.

The patient is resting comfortably.
Stay tuned.