Disabled conure?

[TheSoggyBagel]

Hey guys! So, I’ve been looking into adding a Jenday conure to the family for quite some time. The one that I have my eyes on has a birth defect, causing her to limp. She seems healthy otherwise, and she manages to get around for the most part. She just has a hard time perching and she falls from time to time. As a first time bird owner, do you think it would be safe to take the risk of getting her? Is there anything I can do to help her?


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[Skittys_Daddy]

As much as I admire ur eagerness to help, in my opinion it would probably be better for a disabled parrot to be home by someone who has owned birds before. Ideally, someone w experience in caring 4 disabled parrots. That being said, it is ultimately ur decision, but shud u decide to take in the bird, do plenty of research, talk to other jenday owners and even people who know about disabled parrots. Just my opinion. Best wishes all around.

 

[YSGC]

I agree that a parrot with special needs would be better off with someone with much parrot experience.

Even when everything about a parrot is ideal it's a real handful for a person new to parrots.
There is so much to learn.

 

[SailBoat]

Thank you for considering a disabled parrot. As stated above, they come with not only the normal realities of life with Parrots there is also the additional requirements.

- Assure that your have an Avian Vet near by as you will have greater needs of a professional Certified Avian Vet and the additional health costs.
- Web search disabled bird support and disabled parrot support. There are groups that work, support and share with each other regarding their special Parrots.
- IMHO, the rewards are worth the efforts. As long as you are willing to take on the responsibility for a life time.

 

[noodles123]

I would be very concerned about verifying that this birth defect was indeed congenital and not viral. There are many vertically transmitted viruses (mother-embryo) which are viral in nature and contagious (e.g., PBFD and PDD, to name a few). Many people assume that these diseases will always show themselves in typical fashion, but that is just not the case. They are very sneaky and can even be asymptomatic...SO, if you go that route, make sure you have a ton of testing done before bringing the bird home...You do not want something like that in your home if you can avoid it, because the diseases can linger well after a bird has passed as a result of them.

Bringing home a sick bird could be disastrous long-term if the root is viral.

FOR EXAMPLE-- here are some facts about PBFD (and why you definitely don't want to deal with it)--I am not saying yours has this, but this is a fairly common illness:
smallest known parrot virus; can be spread by invisible carriers--birds can be contagious and asymptomatic for many years; extremely contagious; deadly; vertical transmission (mother-embryo) occurs; extremely resistant to most disinfectants; spread via fecal matter, oral secretions, and through feather dust/dander; stable on surfaces for years (including air ducts, carpet etc); incubation time ranging from a few weeks to 10+ years; possible false negatives when testing birds due to carriers.

 

[EllenD]

I'm thinking the same thing as Noodles, how do you know this bird has a "birth defect' and not something like an Avian Viral Disease, or a bacterial infection, or some other condition that is either going to eventually kill it or cost thousands to treat? Any time I hear about a parrot with a medical/health issue and someone says that it's 'a birth defect" or it's "congenital" I cringe...And usually they haven't even had it to an Avian Vet, they're just guessing that it's congenital...

If we can ask, where is this Jenday Conure that you've been looking at, at a pet shop, a breeder, or is it being re-homed by it's current owner? How old is it?

If it's being re-homed by it's current owner then you really have to question what is actually wrong with it, because people unfortunately will say anything to get rid of their pets and make some cash...It's disgusting but it's true...

And if it is actually some kind of orthopedic issue that it was born with and it has issues perching and it falls, that means that there are many other issues it also has, like standing, eating it's food (can't hold anything), possibly flying/landing, etc. So it's going to be a challenge for anyone...That doesn't mean you can't do it, but if you've never owned a bird before at all, it's going to be a bit tougher. If you're up for the challenge and you're willing to find a Certified Avian Vet (no "Exotics" Vets, must be a CAV to deal with an issue like this) and take the bird to the CAV immediately after bringing him home, and you have the money to take care of any other issues that they find after doing a complete Wellness-Exam with Blood Work, a Fecal Smear, etc., then if you think you can give it a good home and can afford to support a special-needs bird, then that's fine. But without knowing more about this bird and it's history, there's a good chance that you're going to end-up getting hurt, just like the poor bird...

 

[clark_conure]

I usually wonder about the human more than the bird.

A lot of great points above....I admire your willingness, but without a confirmed diagnosis and without knowing ahead of time, how much time you can devote to a bird plus the expenses of future medical care from even accidents let alone the root cause/reason, I'd let this one go to and old hand at parrot rearing.

 

[ChristaNL]

When it really is a birthdefect there is probably a bigger problem than 'just a leg'.
So: always make sure birds are tested before you even decide to take them in.

If you have all the time in the world and plenty of other recources (money, family/ partners, a CAV near you etc.) and some practical knowlege of parrotkeeping it would be challenge.
If you've no birdexperience... start with a problemfree (as far as that is possible) bird.
For your sake and the birds.

(You wrote 'as your first bird': that can mean anything from - you've never even seen a bird up close- to -you grew up surrounded by birds but never had one specifically as your own-. No idea where on the scale you are... )

A lot of birds have problems they did not have when they cracked the egg, but the circumstances after that.(clumsy or bitey parrents, clumsy human handling, imperfect nestsituations) etc.. NO fun for the birdy, but good news when it comes to possible diseases and other issues...

so it is always a good thing to let the CAV have a look first and get some testing done before you or anyone else decides anything.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I agree that a parrot with special needs would be better off with someone with much parrot experience.

Even when everything about a parrot is ideal it's a real handful for a person new to parrots.
There is so much to learn.

I COMPLETELY agree. I know that a lot of bird owners do NOT like the term beginner bird because of what some think it implies, but its not that at all. EVERY bird deserves the love attention any other bird would get and deserves and needs proper housing, food, water and ESPECIALLY out of cage time. But some species DEMAND or require more time and attention than other birds.

For example, if you provide a budgie with a huge cage it can fly around in, and give it say 1-2hrs a day out of cage social time with you and provide it with lots of toys, it'll be fine. Try that with a sunnie or a cockatoo. Won't work. Not if you're home a lot. When you are home, a sunnie or a too is going to want to be with you outside of their cage. Having Skittles free-flighted has presented both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is the sacrifices and accommodations I have to do as a result. But the opportunity is that caging him is not an issue. If I want to put him in his cage for an hour or two so I can get some things done, its rarely an issue. If fact, sometimes he even does this on his own. But given that I don't work or go out for more than a few hours each day, I just wait til after I put him to bed to do the things I can do at night but can't do with him around.

I've owned birds for over 30yrs. I first only had budgies and then added cockatiels to the mix. I got my first (and only) conure in 2011 and I am STILL learning things despite the years I've owned birds and the intense research I've done.

I used to take in rescue (basically 'unwanted') birds and stopped that about 10yrs ago because it became too much work. At one point I had 4 budgies, 4 tiels and one dove. I kept all the budgies, found a great home for one of the tiels and the dove, while one of the other tiels passed away. Now its just me and Skittles and as much as I want another conure (a pineapple green-cheek) I know I couldn't do it. Mostly due to Skittles. It would be more unfair to the new bird than to him, but he's so jealous and bonded to me I can't see adding another bird as a realistic possibility. If it weren't a living thing or I had my own home and would have the space to make adaptation possible then that'd be different. But as it is, I have Skittles AND live in an apartment and anyone who knows about sunnies knows they are NOT apartment birds but I've made it work. But make no mistake it required a LOT of changes and sacrifices on my part. Sacrifices that would likely be too much for most people but were not a deal breaker for me.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

One added thought, to the OP. I do want to say I admire your thoughts. Often times people are trying to rehome a disabled bird (or seeking one that is not), while you are thinking about this one. I just hope that in the end the bird ends up in the most ideal situation for its needs. Please do keep us posted.

 

[TheSoggyBagel]

I would be very concerned about verifying that this birth defect was indeed congenital and not viral. There are many vertically transmitted viruses (mother-embryo) which are viral in nature and contagious (e.g., PBFD and PDD, to name a few). Many people assume that these diseases will always show themselves in typical fashion, but that is just not the case. They are very sneaky and can even be asymptomatic...SO, if you go that route, make sure you have a ton of testing done before bringing the bird home...You do not want something like that in your home if you can avoid it, because the diseases can linger well after a bird has passed as a result of them.

Bringing home a sick bird could be disastrous long-term if the root is viral.

FOR EXAMPLE-- here are some facts about PBFD (and why you definitely don't want to deal with it)--I am not saying yours has this, but this is a fairly common illness:
smallest known parrot virus; can be spread by invisible carriers--birds can be contagious and asymptomatic for many years; extremely contagious; deadly; vertical transmission (mother-embryo) occurs; extremely resistant to most disinfectants; spread via fecal matter, oral secretions, and through feather dust/dander; stable on surfaces for years (including air ducts, carpet etc); incubation time ranging from a few weeks to 10+ years; possible false negatives when testing birds due to carriers.

I really appreciate you taking the time to write this! It definitely offers a good perspective. The bird I’m looking at is from a pet shop (I know, I know, not the best place to be looking). It has been stated that the bird was tested for PBFD, but admittedly I am a bit hesitant to trust a pet store. That being said, the people who have been taking care of her have said that they’ve noticed improvement in gaining strength in her foot... maybe she would be able to work through this?



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[TheSoggyBagel]

One added thought, to the OP. I do want to say I admire your thoughts. Often times people are trying to rehome a disabled bird (or seeking one that is not), while you are thinking about this one. I just hope that in the end the bird ends up in the most ideal situation for its needs. Please do keep us posted.

Thanks! I think that’s why I’m so drawn to this bird... I want her to have the home she deserves. She’s really a sweet bird. But I want to be able to meet all of her needs, and if I’m not able to do that, then I would just feel awful having to rehome her. Better to not adopt her in the first place


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[clark_conure]

I think you made the right decision and that is just as brave as taking on the challenge when another life, or quality of life is at stake.