Questions about feet

[Florem]

Hey!
So I'm as worried as a first time mom and as soon as I see any changes in Ebbe, I'm a bit panicky.

After a visit to the vet, I noticed a colour difference on one of his feet. It looked a bit darker, almost like a bruise and today I saw that the lines between his pads on the underside of the foot was darker than usual.
He uses different sized perches, some made of natural branches (his sleep-perch) and climbs around the cage a lot. He's overweight, so I guess that could be a contributing factor. In that case, is there anything I can do while he loses weight to make him more comfortable?

You can see pictures of his feet in the links below, and they are very zoomable.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/843c9se4hkd7mjw/2017-11-05.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ropwbbtbrijw6x/b709e530-8335-468a-ab26-0f5dd9e9abf1.jpg?dl=0

 

[clark_conure]

I.....i know someone might come on here later and tell me I'm so wrong, but birds are VERY strong! they can hang upside down indefinitely, well maybe not that long but....his weight is nothing to his feet. Their strength to weight ratio is off the charts. DINOSAUR POWER!

I know you care about this bird more than anything but...I don't see anything out of the ordinary, I would look more to behavior...is he favoring a foot or anything? If you had just posted "look at these feet" I'd be like , "uhm yep, nice feet."

 

[Kiwibird]

Look like pretty normal and healthy dinosaur feet to me! Might as well be photos of my BFA's feet. Parrot feet are rather unattractive things, with thick scales and are not always uniform in color. They are designed to be tough and to resist splinters, scrapes, cuts etc...

Not to mention amazons are quite proud of their scaly ancestral links to velociraptors and t-rex, so you might not want to let him hear you questioning his feet

 

[Florem]

Thanks guys!!

 

[SailBoat]

I.....i know someone might come on here later and tell me I'm so wrong, but birds are VERY strong! they can hang upside down indefinitely, well maybe not that long but....his weight is nothing to his feet. Their strength to weight ratio is off the charts. DINOSAUR POWER!

I know you care about this bird more than anything but...I don't see anything out of the ordinary, I would look more to behavior...is he favoring a foot or anything? If you had just posted "look at these feet" I'd be like , "uhm yep, nice feet."

No, I am not going to tell you that you are wrong in regard to the strength of Parrot claws and legs. That said, Companion Parrots legs, claws and pads are faced with forces beyond their design! They are not designed to spend hours, upon days, upon months, upon years on dowels of any size. Yes, they can survive occasional time on such perches. They require variation from flat surfaces, soft surfaces, a wide cross-section of natural branches with variation over they length. As our Amazons become older, they will clearly need larger diameters.

Specific to Ebbe: It is not uncommon for there to be differences between legs, claws and pads colouration when they stand in place with greater weight on one over the other, which may have been, 'favored' or kept-up near the body.

As stated by Kiwi's Mom; Looks Like Amazon legs and claws.
As now provided by SailBoat: Great care must be taking when obtaining a photo from under an Amazon - or near all Parrots.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Yep...they look like feet to me too

And the first photo..the look on Ebbe's face..."What the !#%$ are you doing down there,MOM???"





Jim

 

[Florem]

Yep...they look like feet to me too

And the first photo..the look on Ebbe's face..."What the !#%$ are you doing down there,MOM???"





Jim

Haha, gotta love that face!

 

[Florem]

It looks woooorse!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/39ap1pj4cwgu1qs/4771BD08-BCE9-47D5-9090-4FE241B0A765.JPG?dl=0

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

If Ebbe lets you handle him,you could try rubbing Virgin Coconut Oil into his feeties..and beak..
Does he favor that leg/foot at all?




Jim

 

[SailBoat]

If Ebbe lets you handle him,you could try rubbing Virgin Coconut Oil into his feeties..and beak..
Does he favor that leg/foot at all?

Jim

Yup, just a little bit.

When was Ebbe's last bath?

 

[Florem]

AmyMyBlueFront - He really doesn't like it but I made it work while we were training touching. I didn't have coconut oil but I had a similar product for babies. It got a bit messy but looks better.

Sailboat - It was the day before yesterday I think. He's a bit difficult to bathe. He needs to hear the sound of the vacuum for some reason and then get sprayed with a bottle and then he might feel like taking a bath. I've tried different bowls, the sink, the shower, different temperatures but he is VERY specific.

 

[SailBoat]

Since, I have a DYH Amazon, which has no color in the nails or the claws, pads and upper legs. I have had to go back and look at past pictures of our other Amazons over the years. That has helped remind me of the dark nails and leg /claw structure of BFA.

There are a couple of things that are going on with your Amazons legs and claw structure the majority of which is very common!

- The normal dust that Amazons produce and as with all things, gravity acts to carry it down to the lowest point. The light white colouration off-set the darker colour of the legs and claws as it settles into the spaces. This results in the contrast between the higher and lower levels of the legs and claws. Since upper section of the legs and claws have the greatest movement they 'tend' to appear lighter than the outer section of the claws.

- Also, on the bottom (the Pads) the areas closest to the legs have the greatest contact with Perches and other surfaces and tend to appear more pink (lighter in color) than the out section of the toe pads. This will cause the outer toe pads to appear darker.

- Outside sources of colouration. Some surfaces natural loose surface material that when the Amazon perches on them, the material (dust or dirt) rubs-off and onto the claw structure of the Parrot. Take a long look at what your Parrot perches on during the day, looking for dark surfaces that as a result of your Amazon perching or rubbing it, loosing surface material onto the claw structure.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I'll see if Amy will let me get close enough to his tootsies with my camera and take a couple pics to post here for you,Flo.





Jim

 

[Florem]

Since, I have a DYH Amazon, which has no color in the nails or the claws, pads and upper legs. I have had to go back and look at past pictures of our other Amazons over the years. That has helped remind me of the dark nails and leg /claw structure of BFA.

There are a couple of things that are going on with your Amazons legs and claw structure the majority of which is very common!

- The normal dust that Amazons produce and as with all things, gravity acts to carry it down to the lowest point. The light white colouration off-set the darker colour of the legs and claws as it settles into the spaces. This results in the contrast between the higher and lower levels of the legs and claws. Since upper section of the legs and claws have the greatest movement they 'tend' to appear lighter than the outer section of the claws.

- Also, on the bottom (the Pads) the areas closest to the legs have the greatest contact with Perches and other surfaces and tend to appear more pink (lighter in color) than the out section of the toe pads. This will cause the outer toe pads to appear darker.

- Outside sources of colouration. Some surfaces natural loose surface material that when the Amazon perches on them, the material (dust or dirt) rubs-off and onto the claw structure of the Parrot. Take a long look at what your Parrot perches on during the day, looking for dark surfaces that as a result of your Amazon perching or rubbing it, loosing surface material onto the claw structure.

Thanks! You're smart as always

 

[Florem]

I'll see if Amy will let me get close enough to his tootsies with my camera and take a couple pics to post here for you,Flo.





Jim

That would be highly appreciated!

 

[Notdumasilook]

I would take some pics of Cookies feet for you but his are not exactly normal... due to injury years back. Sometimes their feet can get issues from perching on a certain perch for extended periods.. like his sleeping perch. If its a natural wood perch with the washer and wingnut on one end its possible to rotate it every few weeks... perhaps a quarter turn. This keeps them from using the same pressure points on their footpads supporting their body weight... which can cause problems.

 

[Florem]

I would take some pics of Cookies feet for you but his are not exactly normal... due to injury years back. Sometimes their feet can get issues from perching on a certain perch for extended periods.. like his sleeping perch. If its a natural wood perch with the washer and wingnut on one end its possible to rotate it every few weeks... perhaps a quarter turn. This keeps them from using the same pressure points on their footpads supporting their body weight... which can cause problems.

What a good idea, thanks!
I wrapped strips of cloth around it yesterday. He was not impressed.

 

[Florem]

I sometimes worry that he could get issues with his feet due to my hair products. He loves sitting on my head and since my hair is nordic and thin, I usually use some spray. I'm not sure what to do about it. Would be nice if he would prefer my shoulder (that way I would also avoid the short hairs standing right up on my head after his preening )
Important - I do not let him preen while having products in my hair.

 

[CKP]

Managed to snap a few shots of Mav's feet. He is a 1.5 year old BFA.

These are his typical feetsies:

The bottoms sometimes take on funky colors. He has orange wood blocks this week to play with. When they're red his feet look a lot more pink.

He had his bath yesterday. He isn't a fan but he tolerates showering with me about every 3 days or so. When we got back from our week long vacation they were definitely lighter and dryer. But after a good shower he was back to normal!

Hope this helps.

 

[Florem]

Very pretty feet!

Right now I'm mostly worried about the darker area on top of his foot. I have no idea what it is and why it's there.