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I recently just had one of my parakeets pass away. I’m not sure if it was from a broken wing or shotty veterinarian practices. At any rate…I’m looking for answers.
Here is my story.

Little Guy and Rosie are two very special parakeets that we have been raising for about 4 years. We have never had their wings clipped and let them fly freely throughout the living room of our home. Our living room was very conducive for this because it was basically a long rectangle with other rooms branching off of it. The front door was not accessible and they rarely flew into the other rooms. Their end of the living room was flooded with light from a large bay window which they perched on throughout the day.

One day my friend came home and saw that Little Guy wasn’t flying. Rosie took flight and Little Guy just fell off the cage. We did some research and believe he was injured by some children who don’t live with us and are not familiar with the care of birds. We can’t get straight answers from them but my guess is that they knocked Little Guy out of the air while in mid-flight. One of the kids said they saw another kid placing Little Guy back on the cage. Well there is no possible way this could happen because the birds would not let us handle them. We could touch them when they were sleeping but you would have to be very quick to grab them especially if they were out of their cage. This is my conclusion.

We weren’t quite sure what was wrong. Everything seemed normal as far as the bird’s interaction. Little Guy didn’t look like he was in pain and he was still jousting along the perch with Rosie. He just didn’t fly.

About 4 days later we decided to take him to a Vet. On the ride up the birds seemed very normal. Preening each other and singing. Just as happy as can be. The initial check up (which lasted a very short time, 5min) indicated that both birds were very healthy. The Dr. lifted Little Guys wing and said he wasn’t sure what could be the problem. Little Guy didn’t squawk when he did this. He said he needed to take a closer look and took him in the other room. A few seconds later we could here Little Guy screaming. The Dr. returned and said the largest bone in his wing was broken. He put a wrap (or a splint which he called it) on Little Guy and told us to keep him in a cardboard box and make sure he gets plenty of food and water for the next 3 weeks when he will remove the splint.

I found this very peculiar because first; we didn’t receive any written care instructions. A broken wing on a parakeet is a major ordeal and home care should be paramount for proper recovery.

Second: The wrap didn’t allow Little Guy to stand. He would just roll and flop around in this box that we tried to make as comfortable as possible. The box couldn’t be too big because he kept wrapping himself up in the towel on the bottom (which the Dr. told us to put there) and we were afraid he would suffocate.

Third: The Box? Place him in a box on the floor? Yea…and let him flop around helplessly. This was not only hard to watch but he began to damage his other wing in the process.

So we put him in a smaller box, hand feed him and gave him water with an eye dropper. My friend took him to work with her so she could care for him around the clock. He was eating and drinking normally.

On the second day the wrapped looked like it needed some attention and his other wing was starting to get rubbed raw in some spots. We called the Vet and he said he couldn’t get him in until the next day.

Little Guy passed away that night.

So my question to you all is:
Does this sound like shotty Vet practices or was the something more we should have done at home?

Thanks for taking the time to read my story.

oh man, i'm so so sorry to hear about your little pal. it doesn't sound like he got the greatest care. i always think of things like that in terms of - 'if he was a human child, what would the doctor do?' i felt like that when i took my sun conure to a new vet, his regular was on vacation, and i had to leave him there with a wheeze, and the next thing i know, i'm in a ball on the couch two days later crying my retinas out because he didn't make it, and the doctor had no clue what was wrong!!! i wanted to hunt her down and pummel her about a week later. i probably should have had a necropsy done, but at the time, i was just insane with grief, and wasn't thinking clearly enough.
although i obviously don't have any good solid advice for you, at least you know you're not the only one. i finally just got another roommate for my caique, after trying to be the center of her universe since mid.september - have you thought about getting another keet for your girl? if you start looking, check petfinder, there's always little ones that need good people.
maybe you could call another avian vet and see what they think? or what they would have done?
again, sorry for your loss.

Well my first question is, Was this an actual avian vet or just one who will deal with any small or even larger animals. If it wasn't an avian vet I am doubly sure they didn't know what they were doing.

In some cases a vet will tell you to place your bird into a cage where it cannot climb or fall off perches etc. Usually this is better to be a "recovery-cage" that you always keep handy. Many people keep an aquarium sanitized and put away for just this purpose. With an injury like your parakeet was supposed to have this would have probably been the best bet. In the cage the floor is usually covered with paper towels which can be removed easily when soiled and keep your bird from slipping or sliding around the bottom. Next instead of placing a towel in the cage usually you use one to wrap around three sides of the cage to make your bird feel secure while recovering and to keep warmth in. Many will suggest using a low wattage heat lamp (just making sure no area, especially the glass, gets too hot). Then the food and water bowls are placed on the ground and have to be checked more regularly since there is the greater possibility of soiling it.

I have two wonderful avian vets that I love and that see my birds whenever needed. If one is on vacation or not able to see a bird immediately I use the other or vice-versa. One is my favorite but is farther away, the other also does quite well with my birds and is a bit closer so that sometimes also decides who I see. Both of these vets have suggested the "recovery-hospital cage like I described above. Neither have ever said anything about a cardboard box although I have heard a couple other people mention this before. Also as far as wrapping a broken wing. Usually the wing is wrapped "separately" as a human's broken arm would be and then it is bound ot the body. Depending on the size of the bird, the area of the break, etc this may be done in several different ways but any way it is done should allow regular movement for the bird (except for that wing of course!!).

I have no way of knowing if something else was wrong with your bird and would have no way of knowing without a necropsy etc to tell this but I do not agree with any of your vets care. I would suggest finding a new vet if at all possible before anything is needed for your other birds!