Darkened foot?

[Shrub]

We have noticed Giggles foot/leg is getting blacker/darker. Only the leg her leg tag is one. We got her from a breeder and they would have put it on when she was younger obviously. But is it natural for her leg to really darken? She baths daily. (I would never hear the end of it if she doesn't get her bath she is very vocal when she wants something) I clean her cage very often. and the ring on her foot doesn't seem tight.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Hun anything that stands out as 'not normal' should be taken to your Avian certified and trained Vet. It is never a waste of money and always best to seek their help and advice.

Just as an aside I trust you are scrupulous with cage hygiene and all perches are spotless?

 

[Shrub]

I try to be. Perches are due to be washed and cleaned today I clean the cage and wash often and the area around the cage. I wash her toys often and all that.
Just wondering if it is kinda normal because she is our first Parakeet. To be honest when we got her I even had to look up with the foot ring was for/meant.

 

[plumsmum2005]

I clean all perches every night hun, this stops anything nasty building up and entering the foot. Pop along to your Av hun, I would

 

[ChristaNL]

Is that the foot she uses to eat with?
Some foodstuffs (and some toys as well!) will colour the foot that holds them.

 

[dhraiden]

Check her grip strength. If she's hand tamed enough to step up, practice several times and observe how her claws close and wrap around variously sized perches.


Wash her feet, and see if you can ascertain further where she's sensitive in the area to pressure, stroking, etc.



If none of that seems to produce any observable injury/pain/disinclination to perch (she's not favoring the other non-darkened foot) etc, it could be something internal that hasn't started producing pain enough to make her change how she moves about. Observe and take her in if it continues that way. Only thing I can think of is internal bleeding that would discolor from the inside-out.

 

[plumsmum2005]

that is my thoughts too.

 

[noodles123]

Is any of the darkening on the bottom of her foot?

 

[Shrub]

it is mainly on her leg. I will see if I can get a picture later.
She has a bath not long after i posted and I think the colour got lighter.
It is not the foot she eats with but it is the foot she uses to throw her food everywhere.
She doesnt like to be grabbed or touched, but should I get my hubby too so i can try and wash her leg? the most darker spots seem to be where the ring is.

Her grip seems good. She isn't hand tamed enough but will jump on a finger to get a treat, when she gets the treat she will fly off again. She doesn't seem to like to sit on people or be touched. The only time we can touch her is when she does this weird thing and crouches down. I posted a video before asking why she does this but no one answered? it is on my twitter. When she like this you could touch her any where, she will bend her neck more back and get a little louder though, she normally turns around in a circle a few times when she starts. But when she does it it seems like she likes it when I whistle with her.
https://twitter.com/xShrubx/status/1104489162684723206

 

[Shrub]

 

[ChristaNL]

Oh, she just invites you to mount her.
(This is the birdy-equivalent of a bootycall, she has sex on the brain.)

 

[Shrub]

I thought that was it....she does it multiple times a day. or when she gets in trouble doing something she knows she shouldn't be doing....
When she does it, Hubby tells me my bird is broken

 

[plumsmum2005]

Broken birdie LOL. Hun stroking your bird anywhere other than its head can be construed as having sex with her. My hormonal G2 is dreadful, I can hardly touch her some days or she is off in the land of pleasure.



Back to the leg, do these birds have darker leg colouring at all, is it pigmentation? Can you get her to stand in some water?

 

[Shrub]

Broken birdie LOL. Hun stroking your bird anywhere other than its head can be construed as having sex with her. My hormonal G2 is dreadful, I can hardly touch her some days or she is off in the land of pleasure.



Back to the leg, do these birds have darker leg colouring at all, is it pigmentation? Can you get her to stand in some water?

Only when she wants a bath. She hasn't had one today yet.

The foot doesn't seem to bother her at all I do notice it is the one she hold close to her body mainly after a bath or in the evening. during the day she stands perched on both legs.

 

[noodles123]

Have you considered removing the band? I know there are reasons for keeping them on, but I have heard many stories about them getting snagged on things etc. I am wondering what metal the band is made out of...Some metal will oxidize and rub off on objects. You should definitely investigate this further, but I just keep thinking about how certain metals have turned my fingers grey or green (cheap rings etc).
Side-note: if your bird ever "mouths" the band, that could be bad if it isn't stainless steel or aluminum, as other metals can poison birds when ingested in small quantities.

I saw that hormones were discussed and I don't know if that relates to the leg at all, but just because it was mentioned, DO stick to petting only on the head and remove access to any boxes, huts, tents, holes, low-ledges, bedding, undersides of furniture, cave-like spaces and shadowy areas. Birds and shadowy spaces are inclined to nest and nesting birds are hormonal birds.