Limping?

[CavySpirit]

I have a 3 month old(hatched March 30th) green cheek and sun conure hybrid.
She's a good healthy bird but today when I got home from work I noticed she was slightly limping on one foot and did her best to avoid putting pressure on it when standing in one spot.

I examined both her feet and they look fine, one grips nice and strong but she avoids using the other as much. Her toes curl fine, but she doesn't want to curl them so much, and she can perch with it on my finger. She also used it fine but lightly when climbing up my shirt to get to some applesauce lol I studies both her feet and legs and examined them and they appeared fine. I saw nothing different between the two. I looked at the bottom of each foot, the tops, the claws, the toes, and gently felt her legs to see if the cause was maybe there.

Could her foot just be sore? Maybe she got it stuck on something and hurt herself a little? She has a smooth wooden perch in her cage and a small plastic perch(it's her bedtime perch because there's a little cuddle corner next to it lol ). Would those perches cause her any problems? She did have a natural branch perch, too, but I took it out about a week ago because it kept falling down. Oh, and she has a rough-textured perch next to her treat dish but she doesn't spend very much time there.

I'm just hoping this doesn't mean anything serious. I'm aware of basic parrot care, but I'm new to owning one c: So I'm still learning about behaviors lol

Any opinions based on past experience or knowledge would be appreciated! c:

Thanks for reading!

 

[wenz2712]

Maybe you should take her to the Vet just to get it checked out.. this will put your mind at rest.

 

[Ebella812]

i would make sure that all the perches are different widths. their feet can have problems if the perches are all around the same size. the ones that kinda look like tree branches work well. i would replace that one back into the cage again. but its always a good idea to take a trip to the vet just to put your mind at ease.

 

[AFP520]

Are your perches round wood dowels? If yes, ditch them for rope or other natural wood type perches.

 

[friedsoup]

I'd say keep a watch on it and if it last more than two days then a vet visit is in order but like all of us we hurt ourselves and favor that foot or toe or finger until the ouch goes away.

 

[Spiritbird]

Did you look at the bottom of her foot? They can get really sore pressure areas from smooth perches.

 

[Pedro]

Given her age i wouldn't think the perches are the cause, however it is a good idea to take the advise of others & replace the perches with natural tree branches. They are great exercise for little feet.

From experience with my own conures they seem to be getting tangled in one thing or another in their cage or on toys. By what you have decribed it seems he may have sprained his foot/leg. See how he goes for 24 hours if he is still limping off to the Vet. I know he is only young but there are other things like bone cancer or infections inside the leg bone.

 

[everdusk]

Oh! I hope everything turns out fine for your baby! I've never seen a green cheek sun conure mix!

 

[CavySpirit]

*UPDATE*

I took Lily to the vet for an emergency examination, since the avian spe******t wasn't there. They think she might have a soft tissue fracture.

I've kept her in her small carrier cage with food and fresh water(and her morning veggies of course) to restrict her movement and to prevent her from falling from a large height. When handling her, I do so gently. She mostly just sleeps on my lap.

After a bit of research and noticing her produce very dark black droppings, it seems that maybe she swallowed something bad. Or, if she does have a fracture or dislocating, perhaps the messed up bone is causing internal bleeding? I'm not sure if that's possible, but it's a thought. If she just swallowed something causing injury she might be keeping her leg up to avoid hurting herself more, internally. I'm also not sure if that could be true. I have a basic understanding of the avian digestive system, but I can't picture where each part would be in her aside from the crop. If she has a sharp object inside her, somewhere around her leg bones then she might be avoiding using her leg to prevent irritation, internally.

Does anyone know if those two theories are possible? I have an appointment scheduled with the avian vet tomorrow morning.

Oh, but I just remembered something. This morning I did share some blueberry applesauce with her, and her droppings turned black just recently, so perhaps it was the applesauce(it's a dark purple color). I'll keep watch of her poops and see if it goes back to normal color. Just in case, I'd still like to hear opinions about the two thoughts above.

Thanks!

 

[AFP520]

I fed my conure a piece of cherry and not more than 20 minutes later, out it came (looking exactly the same color)

It's probably the blueberry applesauce. Speaking of, I want this. Where can I get it? lol

 

[Didomum]

Hope she better soonas fare as the poop? Many time colour changes can be connected with something they have eaten. Blue berry does make poop change color. Beets does the same thing as with many fruits and veggies that have strong colour. Can't scare us sometime until we remember what we fed them.

 

[CavySpirit]

It was the blueberry applesauce. Soon after I noticed the darker color, her poop went back to normal c:

But, she did visit the vet and it appears that she's either got a tendon issue or it's a childhood cancer-like symptom. It happened to previous babies produced by the same two parents, they developed cancer. The vet said that she might have a tumor growing on a nerve and that's why she can't use her leg.

For now I don't want to make any assumptions. I am aware that I may have to put her down if she does have cancer. The two babies that died were part of a clutch of 6 total babies, so it's not 100% certain that's the cause but all the facts do add up. Then again, she does react when I touch around her leg/hip. If there was a tumor on her leg then it wouldn't hurt until the nerve got pinched, which would be very obvious. So, it might be a tendon problem that is causing her some pain and discomfort.

For now she's getting pain medication and I've been doing my best to keep her happy and comfortable. She made a huge millet mess in her downsized cage lol

I layed a piece of fleece on the floor and put the top of my guinea pig's metal wire cage on there. Then I placed a food bowl, water bowl, some millet, etc.. I also screwed on her favorite perch(her bedtime perch) along with her snuggle buddy and she's been using it happily. The perch is only an inch or two off the ground.

I'll be hoping and praying for her health!

 

[elambert753]

Hi CavySpirit,

Sorry to bring back an old post. What was the outcome? Our green cheeck conure is almost 12, but experiencing very similar symptoms. We were on a trip and she started limping one afternoon.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hi CavySpirit,

Sorry to bring back an old post. What was the outcome? Our green cheeck conure is almost 12, but experiencing very similar symptoms. We were on a trip and she started limping one afternoon.

Welcome to the forum, elambert.

CavySpirit hasn't been 'online' since 2012, unfortunately.