Foot issue :(

I have a disabled bird with some kind of birth defect/nest deformity on her legs/feet. See pic:





Recently, I've taken her into the vet because she seems to be babying one of her feet..... the vet didn't feel any joint/bone issues, told me at the time it was a ligament/tendon problem most likely and to just provide plenty of soft surfaces. She walks on her hock, so I already have soft surfaces for her.


That made me feel better at the time but she's now limping - I'm worried she caught one of her feet on the cage bars, and maybe he either didn't feel it at the time, or it happened after the appointment?


On a normal day I'd take her to the vet right away... I'm just nervous because of the current circumstances...... I'm just looking for feedback and advice.

Take her to a certified avian vet.

I’m sure these days, they have curbside service like the restaurants.

My vet is certified avian, but they told me they won't see her unless it's an emergency.


It's unfortunate because I don't know of any other certified avian vets in the area.



She is doing much better today as opposed to the other day when I made this post but I really would rather take her in now vs later if it's an "emergency"...

There is a ton of information on the Web. Complete a search that uses the words:
Handicap Birds
Handicap Parrots

The recommendation of soft surfaces is a great one!

FYI: Avian Professionals and all Vets are overloaded and a bit edgy regarding non-emergences with all the safeguards in place in the past few days. Give them a bit of slack at the moment, things are tough on all care givers.

Vet Rap is your friend, use it to rap everything. Sports Rap is another term for the same product. It should be in good supply as its not on any Emergency Stock list that I'm aware of.

Try to get an idea of what colors and/or patterns your Parrot likes and dislike. Avoid the ones that are not liked and target the ones that are liked. You can use this to select soft cotton cloth to use for creating raps for perches and other flat surfaces. Assure the edges are sewn.

Be and show interest in ferrying your Parrot around.

The relationship with a Handicap Parrot develops into a deep, loving relationship!

Thank you for taking this sweetheart into your World.

I've had Birdie with me for 6 years, so I've had plenty of time to fill her cage with soft & flat surfaces - sorry, not intending at all to imply that your advice isn't fantastic, much appreciated


& I totally understand the vet being overloaded as well, I have a good rapport with my avian vet and have never considered him to be stingy. Really it's just stressful. I tend to be a helicopter mom. For the most part that's why I posted this, just needed some validation and some place to vent so I could avoid panicking. I had quite a few animals pass last year from health issues & age so I've struggled to differentiate between normal not-feeling-great and emergency, to be honest.



It might sound silly since her feet are quite obviously not "normal" looking as it is, but I'm very familiar with how they normally look, and they've definitely looked different lately. Her right foot specifically used to have more twists in her toes than it does now. My vet palpated her leg thoroughly last time I was in and assured me there were no breaks, but I was really hoping to have an x-ray done to be sure and the timing of this vs the pandemic isn't great.


I think I also was misunderstood by the vet tech who told me she didn't want to schedule me, I told her that I'm "self quarantining" and simply meant I haven't left my house and have been working from home voluntarily, not that I'm sick or that I've interacted with someone who's tested positive. But either way I'd completely understand.

Yup, you used the magic words of FEAR. Better to use, something like: I'M Practicing Social Distancing...

Still very happy that you brought this sweetheart into your life...

I work with much older Amazon and some have been Handicapped, so the subject is close to my heart. That said, it is possible that your Parrot may have early signs of thickening bones in the joint, which can cause the foot to twist slightly and also lead to some painfulness.

When this round of Virus activities easies, consider a revisit your CAV and set-up to have an X-ray completed.

Nothing better in my view than an overly concerned Mom!!!

I'm grateful for her every day, she really did choose me when I volunteered at the nearby bird rescue she'd fly to my shoulder every time. She wasn't very steady so she'd fly to a cage, back to my shoulder, to a cage etc & the other volunteers always called her "rude" like she'd make an unaffectionate pet, but lo and behold the first day I brought her home she was cuddled up under my chin napping with me. They actually waived her adoption fee because they didn't really think she was going to be adopted, which is baffling to me.



Ironically, despite her special needs she's historically been my "lowest maintenance" pet in terms of vet care. She's in great health. I have several other birds with conditions I have to monitor that have cost me a pretty penny lol.

Update -

Yesterday in an attempt to administer medicam via syringe which I believe was the first time for this particular bird, we had a minor freak out - she's very fast and really the only bird that can't be easily toweled in my flock, so I'm out of practice. Anyway she exhausted herself to the point of wheezing, which given that her age is a huge question mark spurred a vet trip. I can confidently say it was a huge failure as far as novice bird first aid attempts go lol.

She was fine by the time we got there but this gave me the opportunity to have her checked out, vet found no obvious breaks but I requested an xray anyway which yielded very positive results. No break was confirmed, the vet couldn't even see much obvious arthritis which she told me was a very positive sign given her nest deformity. She concluded birdie is rather young which was a HUGE relief!!! Birdie has been placed on a two week mandatory rest, I removed her perches & gave her blankets on the floor (in her home cage this time) but she ended up sleeping clinging to the cage bars so I'm going to be fixing up some platform perches with felt covers today. Most importantly she was very happy to see me this morning and that was a weight off my chest since I tend to spook her a lot when I get panicky, but she's going to be a very angry bird for two weeks.

I've also learned the hard way that sometimes it's not worth it to towel a bird who doesn't want to be toweled which is ultimately a valuable lesson. I'm going to try to administer medicam anyway since her primary issue is inflammation but we'll be doing it through soft foods, possibly apple sauce.

Thanks everyone for your advice & thoughts!