UPDATE! Cockatiel leaning forward while sleeping

hellopearl

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Jul 2, 2021
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Hi! My cockatiel, Pearl, is 8 years old, and I came home 2days ago to what seems like a sprained left foot, he was limping and putting weight on just his right foot. So I removed his perch and tried to keep him warm and let him rest his foot as much as possible.

The past 2 days his foot has definitely improved, he can step up and walk properly and heā€™s still eating and playing like usual. But there are also times where Iā€™ll find him kinda all fluffed out and tired. And the way that heā€™s standing is just different. He likes sleeping on my leg with his head turned and buried in his feathers but today he was almost bending forward while sleeping (and it feels like he might tip over while sleeping).

Iā€™m planning on taking him to a vet but I was wondering if anyone could please help me in the mean time, he is walking and stepping up just fine but is displaying signs of lethargy. Any advice or idea on what might going would be would be very very much appreciated!! Thank you!
 

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zERo

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Hi! My cockatiel, Pearl, is 8 years old, and I came home 2days ago to what seems like a sprained left foot, he was limping and putting weight on just his right foot. So I removed his perch and tried to keep him warm and let him rest his foot as much as possible.

The past 2 days his foot has definitely improved, he can step up and walk properly and heā€™s still eating and playing like usual. But there are also times where Iā€™ll find him kinda all fluffed out and tired. And the way that heā€™s standing is just different. He likes sleeping on my leg with his head turned and buried in his feathers but today he was almost bending forward while sleeping (and it feels like he might tip over while sleeping).

Iā€™m planning on taking him to a vet but I was wondering if anyone could please help me in the mean time, he is walking and stepping up just fine but is displaying signs of lethargy. Any advice or idea on what might going would be would be very very much appreciated!! Thank you!
As you're waiting to take him to the vet he needs to be kept warm and with food and water in his immediate reach. You could warm up and water bottle and wrap it in a towel and lay it next to him. Give him anything he will eat right now.
It could just be a sprained foot but it could also be something internal that's causing his leg to hurt.
He needs to get to a CAV, when is your appointment?
 
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hellopearl

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As you're waiting to take him to the vet he needs to be kept warm and with food and water in his immediate reach. You could warm up and water bottle and wrap it in a towel and lay it next to him. Give him anything he will eat right now.
It could just be a sprained foot but it could also be something internal that's causing his leg to hurt.
He needs to get to a CAV, when is your appointment?
Hi! My appointment is not til 2days later and it was the earliest appointment I could get, I have also checked him for any bruising or injuries and his foot seems completely normal, heā€™s eating normally today too, would it better to place him on a flat surface and not on any perches? Thank you so much for your help!! šŸ„¹
 

zERo

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Hi! My appointment is not til 2days later and it was the earliest appointment I could get, I have also checked him for any bruising or injuries and his foot seems completely normal, heā€™s eating normally today too, would it better to place him on a flat surface and not on any perches? Thank you so much for your help!! šŸ„¹
Well if he's having lots of trouble balancing then a flat surface would be better, or place a perch a few inches from the ground.
 

bonitabird59

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When my amazon injured her foot, we gave her warm towels wrapped around a low-low-LOW perch. Just so that if she were to lose balance the fall would be maybe an inch onto.. you guessed it! More towels. I agree with the post above too, feed your tiel things you know hes nuts for. Remember, fed is best.
 
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hellopearl

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UPDATE: hi everyone, thank you so much for the suggestions! I brought him to the vet on Monday and the vet said he looks pretty good, strong grip, healthy weight and looks bright. She checked him for physical injuries etc and said he thankfully doesnā€™t have a fracture and it might just be a sprain that heā€™s luckily recovering from now. But she said if we wanted to investigate why he might be more lethargic than usual than blood tests and X-rays would have to be done.

I didnā€™t wanna stress pearl anymore than he already was so she told me to observe him first and if heā€™s still lethargic Iā€™ll have to bring him in another day. But she sent us home with 2 types of painkillers.

Based on my observation and some research I have a doubt that it might be because heā€™s going through a heavy molt so heā€™s more tired than usual, because other than the lethargy heā€™s showing no other symptoms and is eating, playing and walking well, even his dropping looks normal. Is anyones parrot also like that when theyā€™re molting?
 

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Laurasea

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I'm glad you had a vet exam. Was blood work done? Crop swab? Fecal check? Was this a certified avian veterinarian?

Because this looks like a sick weak burd to me. Even with a leg lameness ....I wouldn't really expect this....

I've had a bird break a toe, a burd strain a toe a burd loose a toe....and they never did this .

Has it improved? How many days of this?
 

Laurasea

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a heavy molt is a strain on a burd , and underlying health issues can flare up during this time.
Its hard to tell if burd is overweight with bring fluffed.

What is diet? All seeds can lead to fatty liver and heart disease. Low vitamin A leads to lowered immune function. Diets need to include veggies leafy greens or pellets .
 
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hellopearl

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Hi! Thank you so much for your reply! Yes sheā€™s a certified avian vet and apparently the best in my area, she didnā€™t do any blood test as she said he was too stressed out for her to do so. And he would need to be under some anesthesia.

But she did look at his droppings and she said it looks pretty normal, except that it needs more white. The vet also weighed him and heā€™s about 93g.

His diet consists of a mix of pellets (fruit blend & protein mixed in as well) and some seeds, we try to give him leafy vegetables at least 3 times a week.

This letharginess started exactly a week ago, right after he sprained his foot!

But like mentioned, the vet said thereā€™s no physical injuries and it doesnā€™t seem to be a fracture. So Iā€™m really confused now about whatā€™s the right thing to do as scheduling for an appointment with the vet is very difficult, sheā€™s fully booked for the next week.

Its hard to tell if burd is overweight with bring fluffed.

What is diet? All seeds can lead to fatty liver and heart disease. Low vitamin A leads to lowered immune function. Diets need to include veggies leafy greens or pellets .
 

Laurasea

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Its very wise not to do blood work if too stressed! That's a good call by vet. We want answers but we don't want to cause harm looking for them!!

And anesthesia is a risk. It's a choice made when rewards are thought to out way risks.

Sometimes they have to just try things in tge dark, try without tests to figure stuff out. They deserve a lot of respect. Its hard to have a patient who can't talk
 
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hellopearl

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Its very wise not to do blood work if too stressed! That's a good call by vet. We want answers but we don't want to cause harm looking for them!!

And anesthesia is a risk. It's a choice made when rewards are thought to out way risks.

Sometimes they have to just try things in tge dark, try without tests to figure stuff out. They deserve a lot of respect. Its hard to have a patient who can't talk
Ohhh, would it best right now to just observe him? Is there anything I can do at all to help him? Because Iā€™m hesitant about doing blood work and X-rays with the use of anaesthesia especially when thereā€™s so many horror stories surrounding it :(

Again, thank you so much for your advice!! Iā€™ve been feeling really lost and stressed out by it
 

Laurasea

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It is ok to observe, and on more investigation that's between you and your veterinarian. Definitely never fear about speaking up voice concerns and worries.

It might be worth a round of antibiotics, like doxycycline, as that's a broad spectrum one thst covers many common issues and is much less likely to cause a secondary yeast issue or worsen any type if fungal infection if he had that. Or do both doxycycline round and a nystsin ( antifungal ) round together. To see if you get improvements. Sometimes doctors are will try that to see if it works, if there are risks with doing blood work ect. But I wouldn't do baytril, as this is much harsher on them , almost always causes a yeast infection would worsen any existing fungal if had, and doesn't cover things like chlamydia a common infection.
But any medication trials would have to be decided by vet, but nothing wrong with broaching the subject .

How is he today?
 
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hellopearl

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It is ok to observe, and on more investigation that's between you and your veterinarian. Definitely never fear about speaking up voice concerns and worries.

It might be worth a round of antibiotics, like doxycycline, as that's a broad spectrum one thst covers many common issues and is much less likely to cause a secondary yeast issue or worsen any type if fungal infection if he had that. Or do both doxycycline round and a nystsin ( antifungal ) round together. To see if you get improvements. Sometimes doctors are will try that to see if it works, if there are risks with doing blood work ect. But I wouldn't do baytril, as this is much harsher on them , almost always causes a yeast infection would worsen any existing fungal if had, and doesn't cover things like chlamydia a common infection.
But any medication trials would have to be decided by vet, but nothing wrong with broaching the subject .

How is he today?
Thank you so much for this!!

Heā€™s still the same, eating and playing like usual but the sleepiness is still there and he still fluffs out while sitting on the perch. Iā€™m trying to book another appointment with the vet for next week but seems like she wonā€™t be free until the end of next week

Iā€™ve also been trying to feed him more veggies & eggs!
 

Suha

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Thank you so much for this!!

Heā€™s still the same, eating and playing like usual but the sleepiness is still there and he still fluffs out while sitting on the perch. Iā€™m trying to book another appointment with the vet for next week but seems like she wonā€™t be free until the end of next week

Iā€™ve also been trying to feed him more veggies & eggs!

Hello! I was wondering how pearl is doing? Is pearl okay?

I have a cockatiel named Jojo, super similar situation, I noticed a slight leg sprain because he wasn't putting all his weight on it and then he started sploot-ing and sleeping leaned forward.

I was concerned so I went to the vet? They couldn't find anything wrong with him but did give some antibiotics in case. Its the only vet in my country so I couldn't really go for a second opinion.

He is his usual self albeit a little less active as he is resting more. But he is eating and drinking well.

So, I just wondered what happened with Pearl, as it may be a similar situation.

Thank you, and apologies for any inconvenience. I'm just super worried for jojo.
 

DonnaBudgie

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UPDATE: hi everyone, thank you so much for the suggestions! I brought him to the vet on Monday and the vet said he looks pretty good, strong grip, healthy weight and looks bright. She checked him for physical injuries etc and said he thankfully doesnā€™t have a fracture and it might just be a sprain that heā€™s luckily recovering from now. But she said if we wanted to investigate why he might be more lethargic than usual than blood tests and X-rays would have to be done.

I didnā€™t wanna stress pearl anymore than he already was so she told me to observe him first and if heā€™s still lethargic Iā€™ll have to bring him in another day. But she sent us home with 2 types of painkillers.

Based on my observation and some research I have a doubt that it might be because heā€™s going through a heavy molt so heā€™s more tired than usual, because other than the lethargy heā€™s showing no other symptoms and is eating, playing and walking well, even his dropping looks normal. Is anyones parrot also like that when theyā€™re molting?
My perfectly healthy budgie Rocky likes to take naps on top of my other budgies' cages and crouches down resting her belly on the cage. She has amazing posture on the perch the rest of the time and lots of energy. She just likes resting like this when she can. If the vet says there's nothing wrong I would take their word it it.
 

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