Foot trouble

[philipw1084]

So I have a less than a year old sun conure (Mikey). he has a taller cage to give him ample room to play and feel "free" when he's in it. The problem seems to be that while playing with higher toys he would lose his grip and flutter to a perch. Unfortunately from this he has broken a lot of wing feathers (never blood feathers) usually half or all the way. He'll then remove them but this has of course made it so that he cannot really fly or even glide. This means that a few times he has fallen from his toy to the bottom and landed hard from what it sounded like. I have removed all the high toys and no perches are above halfway up (about a foot high). With the exception of his sleeping platform with his fluffy "bed" and a warm pad to lean against. All of this takes us to the current problem. He broke a claw on one foot and got a scratch too. The claw bled and I was able to stop that. Took him to the vet told me that from her exam she didn't see any abnormal movement of any parts of the foot so did not feel there was anything broken. She gave me some meds for him (Meloxicam) and told me to get a spray for his foot (Vetericyn) to help with pain while it heals.

I have been giving him the meds for 9 of the 10 days required and spraying his foot regularly. He has been very reluctant to use that foot at all unless he's climbing or eating in which case he stands on it and uses the other for food. He has been more "lazy" but will still "scream" when he's left alone or wants attention. He seems to be eating fine and will use the foot when needed. I am just wondering how long something like this takes to heal? I am willing to go back in and get it x-rayed if needed but I wanted to just make sure I am not being overly worried and give it enough time for him to recover if it's just a bruised hurt foot and not a break.

I should say that he does seem to be able to move it and will stretch it and can stand on it. I am just not sure he can curl the toes to really grab. He keeps it up close to him most of the time.

 

[noodles123]

Wider cages are way better than tall ones, due to their flight patterns etc. You always want wide over tall (although if you opt for wide, you should still elevate a cage if it doesn't come with a stand etc).


I cannot comment much on the medical, but make sure you are consulting a certified avian vet if at all possible (even if it means driving an hour or 2) because most exotics vets and regular vets do not have the background needed to successfully deal with the details of "parrothood". An exotics vet is usually better than nothing, but it's kind of like going to a family practitioner for a very specific ailment that they do not specialize in AT ALL.


Hammocks, tents and "fluffy beds" are health hazards and hormone triggers, so I would advise that you remove any cloth hut for hormonal and health reasons. Do remove it when your bird isn't looking, as they often like them a lot as they are like nest cavities.


What kind of perches do you have in there? Dowel/smooth perches should definitely be avoided b/c they can cause bumblefoot and potentially slow healing of a sore, due to the undistributed pressure on their feet (like a bed-sore, but for parrots). Think dragonwood, manzanita or custom-textured perches from a site like ParrotWizard.com

 

[Laurasea]

Noodles is right only a certified avain veterinarian, worth every Penny, abd wirth driving an hour or 2 for.

First off this is completely abnormal for your bird to be falling. Something is wrong.

Birds hide being sick, so this could be weakness from being sick..

What does your burd eat?

Do you weigh your burd? Useing a digital kitchen gram scale and tracking weights us so important. Most sick burds will lose weight, more than 3% weight-loss take them to a vet. Of course any symptoms are important and should be seen by a vet. To figure out % lost. Take weight loss divide by normal x 100 = % lost.

Can you share a pic of your bird and Cage? A quick way is to click go advanced under the text box, then hit the paperclip , choose pic, click upload on far right, when it fies, close window, and post, picture attachment will be a thumbnail.

Behavior
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-behavior/

Some sick burd info
https://www.littlecrittersvet.com/sick-birds.pml

A broken toe usually has to heal on its own. Not a lot can usually be done other than pain medication. But if a metabolic, or sickness is going on that needs to be treated. Your bird should nit be falling like this. Only very young newly weaned birds have a little trouble with perches at first say under 12 weeks.

 

[philipw1084]

OK I will try to respond to everything as best I can.

The perches are "natural" wood perches. Basically they are Y shaped branches that have the texture and shape of tree branches. Not one size and are not smooth. But I will look into the ones mentioned also.

The falling seemed to only happen with one toy that I removed because it seemed to be the only thing this happened with. He only fell if he was vigorously playing on it but it was at the top of the cage. There are no toys up that high anymore.

As far as food I started with seeds but now getting him on pellets. Looking for some that don't have added colors and other preservatives. I was thinking of seeing if he would eat Top's brand since at first reading they appear to be organic but will research more.

As far as weighing I have not. I do have a scale and will start keeping that in the routine.

On the topic of the sleeping area is there anything that would be recommended to give him a comfy place to lean and sleep or is that not even good for them? You are right he does love it a lot.

As for pictures I will see what I can do.

 

[philipw1084]

Also as far as the vet goes the first one I called was booked up so they referred me to the one I saw. The original vet that I called I am going to make another appointment with for good measure and is a member of the Association of Avian Vets.

 

[Laurasea]

Tops is a great pellet. Mine really like oven baked bites sold at pet smart I get the larger nutd size. Remember to follow a program and be careful that they are eating the pellets.

Fresh vegetables, I think are very important . Leafy greens like romaine, Swiss chard, bok choy, dandelion greens, mustered greens, are also full of nutrients. Bell pepper and chili peppers are usually liked pretty quickly. Fruits should be less than five % of the diet. I only offer a couple of times a month. Things like blackberries, raspberry, blue berries and deep colored fruits are best, cherry, plum, pomegranate, mango. Mine took to veggies easy, I offer in chunks and spread out in shallow dish or plate on top of the cage. Rhe6 rush out every morning to see what is there. Some people do chop, abd I might play with that a little too.

I use sleep huts for all my birds and have for 20 years. Not the fuzzy ones as the little micro fuzz can impact their crop..

 

[wrench13]

My regular people Dr. always says a sprain is sometimes worse than a break. Sprained my ankle once, a really bad one, and it took months before it was healed. So yeah if he sprained a muscle or ligament in his foot, it might take awhile to heal. Birds need fully functioning feets in everyday activities so that also means he is using it and not letting it heal as quick as he might. Still would pay to get a CAV to look at it. I would.

 

[WhiteFlight]

Excellent informative responses.

Two positive observations:

• "The problem seems to be that while playing with higher toys," philipw1084.

Reflecting a healthy exercise based engagement.

• "He has broken a lot of wing feathers usually half or all the way," philipw1084. He'll then remove them.

He is disciplined in feather management.

Comments:

• Once he has healed and resumed his playful fitness, his endurance will likely be inhanced through frequency.
• As stated, wider cages are safer than taller cages.
• Nesting overtones are less likely with males.

 

[philipw1084]

Thanks for all the advice. I have an appointment with another local vet clinic that does have an avian vet who is a member of AAV. I spoke with them today and she was booked until April but once I explained the circumstances they are going to have me drop Mikey off Monday morning and she will check him out and let me know. So a second opinion and possibly x-rays will give me some more peace of mind.

I am looking and shorter wider cages now and will make that change.

The bed will also come out and something safer found.

Other side note, is it normal for them to sort of flick their wings almost as if they are trying to flip something off them? Would this be possibly due to feather "stubs" from broken feathers itching or something bothering them in their wing? It's just very small flicks.

 

[Laurasea]

A baby bird will do this to beg for food. How old is he? How long have you had?
Sometimes mine will wing twitch, sort if as a greeting. A wing shrug is a greeting. So i think when mine give me a little twitch its like a hi. As they fo this when I walk over to say hi and give me a kiss.

Can yiu share a picture of your bird.

Great job in getting a second opinion.

 

[philipw1084]

Here is his cage and him today

 

[philipw1084]

A baby bird will do this to beg for food. How old is he? How long have you had?
Sometimes mine will wing twitch, sort if as a greeting. A wing shrug is a greeting. So i think when mine give me a little twitch its like a hi. As they fo this when I walk over to say hi and give me a kiss.

Can yiu share a picture of your bird.

Great job in getting a second opinion.

So I got him in October as soon as he was old enough and weaned. He was born in August.

 

[Laurasea]

Ok so not baby burd begging.
He is super cute!!!!
Looks like a nice cage, I'd add more fun stuff.
How much time firs he spend out of the cage?,
I hope he ends up being OK, I just don't understand the falling

I put perches on the sides, and even more in top than what comes with. And then I use ceiling hooks and fishing line to hang hoops and spirals and bird cargo nets jut over the cage. Birds enjoy acting like monkeys.

This has some fun foraging ideas
https://birdtricksstore.com/blogs/birdtricks-blog/toys-foraging

This is my movable stand with stuff attached , and in the background some if my hanging stuff. This sort of stuff i hsve above my cages , but the other burds are asleep right now. Just to give you ideas

 

[philipw1084]

I actually work from home so he's out of the cage not long after I get up and stays out all day. He usually sits on top and snacks and sleeps. I have another stand closer to my desk for him to be close too. Today he climbed down to the tray and then onto the blinds and all the way to the top. It was pretty cute to see him stick his head between the blinds to look out.

I am trying to find better sleeping stuff for him. I'm questioning that flat corner platform since his feet stay flat on it.