TammiMc

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Jun 18, 2020
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edinburgh
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Kiwi - 7month old Green Cheeked Conure
Hi! about 2 weeks ago i got a 7 month old Green Cheeked Conure called Kiwi. Kiwi was born with only one foot but i was told it doesn’t seem to bother him and i don’t think it does. From getting Kiwi he seems to be a bit off, i was told he was a sweet funny cuddly bird and as he is becoming more comfortable around me he is showing his true colours. The 2nd night i had kiwi he sat on the bottom of his cage not moving and making strange noises, naturally i got a bit worried so i picked him up and he was absolutely freezing! I’m not 100% sure why as the room hes in isnt cold at all and is why he’s in here, as he was so cold i got a heat mat and a small towel and thankfully he ended up being okay but the next day the same thing happened and he does seem to struggle without the heat mat so i have since put it in the bottom of his cage and have it on during the day for him and seems better.

This is what has worried me more - about 3 days ago i uncovered his cage to find him laying strangely on the bottom of his cage, again i was worried so i picked him up and he was totally flopped over to his left side, couldn’t stand, fly or pick his head up, i phoned a vet and while on the phones he picked back up and was able to walk and eat and was doing better so the vet told me to not bring him in at that moment but if it happens again to call, thankfully it hasn’t happened again but was mentioned to me that it possibly could have been a stroke or a seizure which is concerning. Kiwi is quite playful, loves playing with his toys, ripping paper and finding treats (apple is his favourite)! before 3 days ago he was flying about and loved being anywhere but his cage but now he can’t fly 30 cm or gain any height and sleeps almost all day in his cage on the heat mat. He is still eating and i have to make sure he drinks water otherwise he doesn’t but he doesn’t refuse to.
For a few days his poo was very green and runny so i took away watery foods and that does seem to be helping.
Because of his lack of foot he isn’t the most graceful at landing and has went straight into the wall and window a couple time’s but has always been okay afterward, i always check.

I’m not sure if i’ve been sold a dud/runt bird or if it’s been something i’ve done but i am worried... he’s breaking my heart.
Does anyone know what could possibly be wrong with him? or how i can help him? is there anyway to help him? Am i being selfish keeping him alive?

Apologies for this being so long!
Thanks so much for your help! T x :green2:
 
Last edited:

LaManuka

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Welcome to the Forums Tammi, but I am sorry your baby seems to be having some health issues!

My best advice would be to have him checked by a certified avian vet if you possibly can. With any new bird it's always a good idea to have them health checked and tested for various common avian viruses anyway, but I think it would be a particularly good idea for Kiwi given his situation. Do go to a certified bird vet rather than an exotics one who "just sees birds every now and then". The following link might help you find one if the one you've called isn't certified........

https://www.aav.org/default.aspx

Also if that is one of those happy hut/snuggle tent things in the cage, please dispose of it as soon as you can, as they are often the cause of injury or worse to birds who like to chew the synthetic threads and get them stuck in their gastro-intestinal tract. Not to mention a huge potential cause of hormonal aggression. As he only has one foot you can look into making a substitute out of seagrass matting, and you could probably find a fairly reasonable substitute online. Flat perches or corner platforms are also available for little ones like him with foot problems.

Here's an example or two of what I mean about the seagrass substitute........

104493321_120913209654314_5255352067253256129_o.jpg

(ignore the soggy lorikeet, she'd just had a bath!)

104330510_120913189654316_430455447110254095_o.jpg

That's Val the budgie, he doesn't have any foot problems, he just likes to take the weight off every so often :)

They're often called a "Flying Trapeze" if you're looking for them online.

As for Kiwi being a runt, I once had a runty little cockatiel called Kang who lived very happily and normally for 17 years, so a rough start is no indicator of how long they may live if they receive the right care. Kang might've lived even longer if I'd been successful in converting her to a healthier diet but she was one stubborn birdie!

Thanks for reaching out and I hope Kiwi is ok!
 
Last edited:

fiddlejen

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A little concerned about that heat mat. There are all sorts of materials that can be poisonous to birds if they are heated and, while warming him, it could potentially be causing other problems. Teflon Chemicals are the big big baddie in this regard - PFTE and PFOA and some others with initials.
 

noodles123

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A little concerned about that heat mat. There are all sorts of materials that can be poisonous to birds if they are heated and, while warming him, it could potentially be causing other problems. Teflon Chemicals are the big big baddie in this regard - PFTE and PFOA and some others with initials.

OP- FYI, here are the full names (if you ever call a company, you have to be kind of pushy because they will try to tell you things are safe even when they have NO clue what is in them. Once you don't let it go, they will likely put you on hold or ask to get back to you. If checking out a product, provide the names, spellings and abbreviations of all of the following:

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
A perfluorinated compound (PFC)
Teflon (a common brand-name of non-stick cookware containing these chemicals)
 
OP
T

TammiMc

New member
Jun 18, 2020
3
0
edinburgh
Parrots
Kiwi - 7month old Green Cheeked Conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #5
A little concerned about that heat mat. There are all sorts of materials that can be poisonous to birds if they are heated and, while warming him, it could potentially be causing other problems. Teflon Chemicals are the big big baddie in this regard - PFTE and PFOA and some others with initials.

Apologises, i was a little vague... it is actually safe for him and i got it from a vet. I was in contact with the vet and explained everything to him but due to covid didn’t want me bring him in and since he seemed to have picked up by then but did advise me on how to keep him comfortable
 
OP
T

TammiMc

New member
Jun 18, 2020
3
0
edinburgh
Parrots
Kiwi - 7month old Green Cheeked Conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
Welcome to the Forums Tammi, but I am sorry your baby seems to be having some health issues!

My best advice would be to have him checked by a certified avian vet if you possibly can. With any new bird it's always a good idea to have them health checked and tested for various common avian viruses anyway, but I think it would be a particularly good idea for Kiwi given his situation. Do go to a certified bird vet rather than an exotics one who "just sees birds every now and then". The following link might help you find one if the one you've called isn't certified........

https://www.aav.org/default.aspx

Also if that is one of those happy hut/snuggle tent things in the cage, please dispose of it as soon as you can, as they are often the cause of injury or worse to birds who like to chew the synthetic threads and get them stuck in their gastro-intestinal tract. Not to mention a huge potential cause of hormonal aggression. As he only has one foot you can look into making a substitute out of seagrass matting, and you could probably find a fairly reasonable substitute online. Flat perches or corner platforms are also available for little ones like him with foot problems.

Here's an example or two of what I mean about the seagrass substitute........

104493321_120913209654314_5255352067253256129_o.jpg

(ignore the soggy lorikeet, she'd just had a bath!)

104330510_120913189654316_430455447110254095_o.jpg

That's Val the budgie, he doesn't have any foot problems, he just likes to take the weight off every so often :)

They're often called a "Flying Trapeze" if you're looking for them online.

As for Kiwi being a runt, I once had a runty little cockatiel called Kang who lived very happily and normally for 17 years, so a rough start is no indicator of how long they may live if they receive the right care. Kang might've lived even longer if I'd been successful in converting her to a healthier diet but she was one stubborn birdie!

Thanks for reaching out and I hope Kiwi is ok!

Thank you so much! the vet i have been in contact with honestly doesn’t seem 100% confident so i am thinking about talking to someone else but i didn’t want to go round annoying them all so wanted to double check on here with people who know a little more than me maybe haha.

Thank you! i do know about the dangers of them and i wasn’t happy about it so it has since been removed but the man who had him before sent it up with him and told me he doesn’t like sudden change so it was only in there for 2 days and was replaced with a couple flat perches like you suggested! Ah thank you i have been struggling with finding substitutes and the seagrass sounds really good so i will defo be working on that now!

So good to hear that Kang lived so happy for so long! And your photos are very cute :p

Thank you so much! T x
 

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