A terrible scare from Lucy this morning...

[Kiwibird]

Last year, my parents 40 y/o green cheek amazon suffered a stroke. He fell off his perch in the dead of night, and my parents found him on the floor of his cage disoriented, head/wings drooping and unable to stand. It took a solid 5 months for him to start regaining his full mobility/flight again. The whole family was terrified he would pass away (he's a fighter, and is almost back to his old self)

This morning my mom called me at work in hysterics because she found her female DYH Lucy near the base of her t-perch disoriented and unbalanced after hearing some unusual flapping sounds (she likes to sit on her perch and look out the window). Apparently, she had been acting perfectly normal when she got woken up, ate and flew over to her favorite spot. We were both shocked and devastated that she too may have also suffered a stroke, being she is a lot older than Barney. The vets office wasn't open yet, and my mom told me she would call back when she knew more. A few hours later she called back much calmer, but was absolutely puzzled because Lucy seemed just fine again. I guess she "recovered" fully after only about 20 minutes, had been running/flying around like normal, and was happily eating some blackberries. My mom just called me again because she figured out what happened to Lucy. I guess the nail had come loose on her perch, and she had figured out she could hold on to the edge and flap furiously, causing her to spin around like she was on a propeller! My mom caught her in the act later in the day! She must've spun herself dizzy this morning, which is why my mom heard the flapping and she was acting so strangely, yet recovered so quickly. My mom threw the perch out and is building her a new one. She scared the crap out of everyone! I know I'll be forming a new habit of consistently checking Kiwis t-perch from now on to make sure that sucker is tightly bolted down still!

 

[happycat]

Phew! Thank goodness she's okay! Gosh, parrots and the freaky things they do!

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Oh Im so glad shes alright !! 40 plus years is a long time in your life. Can you imagine your poor mom if she hadnt figured it out [thinking it was medical].

 

[BillsBirds]

Another reminder to check their toys, perches, and everything else regularly for any hazards, dangers or malfunctions. Glad everything is okay!

 

[Jtbirds]

Wow I am glad she is alright. I always crank my perches on with pliers so they are extremely hard to get off my macaws sometimes still will drop them though.

 

[antoinette]

Glad Lucy is okay, what a terrible scare
I second BillsBirds comment check their toys, perches, and everything else regularly for any hazards, dangers or malfunctions.

 

[Kiwibird]

Thanks everyone! My mom is usually really good about checking toys/perches, but every so often, those t-perches get a bit wobbly, and with 3 perches (one for each bird) floating around the house, she just must not have noticed it loosened up THAT much. It was a stroke of genius on Lucy's part figuring out how to turn her perch into an amusement park ride though :09: I'm just thankful it was a broken perch and temporary dizziness. Her birds have always been extremely healthy until Barney had his stroke last year. I don't know how well she could've coped with a second seriously ill bird in under a year. I also don't know if poor still-recovering Barney would've handled his "mate" being in poor health too well either. It's such a huge relief she had done something so silly and is perfectly fine