My sunconure will loose his leg

[NeilBirney]

Hi everyone,
So my beautiful Charlie, 26 years old, has had leg trouble for a couple of weeks. He has been in treatment and this morning we wanted to get him ready for the vet when......we found him with his leg chewed off immediately we rushed him to the vet, he was in poor condition. Now we re waiting for him to get fit enough for the amputation.
I would really like to make him as comfortable as possible for when I bring him back home.
Have you guys got any advise on a „ special needs cage“ for my handicapped little best friend?
Thank you
Neil

 

[Karen]

I'm sorry I don't have any recommendations for you but I'm sure other members with special needs birds will be posting with ideas.

I am sending positive thoughts your way and hoping for the best for Charlie that he regains strength quickly so he can be made as comfortable as possible.

 

[NeilBirney]

Thank you , Karen, he has been with me for so long and now I just wanna make sure I help him as much as I can

 

[TinyFeathers]

I'm so sorry this has happened to you and your bird. Let me see if I can tag someone.

@Brittany0208

 

[NeilBirney]

Thank you so much, I appreciate every help I can get to make my little boy comfortable

 

[taxidermynerd]

I'm so sorry this has happened to you and Charlie. I'm afraid I don't have much to volunteer, but we do have some members with special-needs birds in similar situations. I'll tag some for you.

@hrafn @Brittany0208 @iamwhoiam

 

[NeilBirney]

Thank you so much, I appreciate it

 

[Lovebirdlover]

I’m so sorry to hear that. My conure recently lost mobility in her left leg and only uses it to balance so I had to change her setup as well. I made a new level to her cage so she had less of a fall and padded it with a yoga mat and put newspaper on top.

I have lots of platform perches in there along the sides of the cage and rope perches running from one side of the cage to another so she can shuffle along. Any wood perches I have I wrapped in vet wrap so it is easy to grip. I’m not at home at the moment but I will take some pictures for you when I’m home so you can see what the setup is like.

I do however have photos of the level that I put in and her first cage setup, it’s changed a bit now that she’s getting used to her leg.

 

[NeilBirney]

That’s some great ideas for Charlie’s new house, thank u so much!
I hope ur little one is feeling better! Has she permanently lost mobility in the leg?

 

[SandraK]

Check out things like cork perches which are flatish, platform perches and check into Critter Cage. Criter Cages only have a perch or two but they come with accessories like platforms and ladders which can be turned into ramps if you wrap them w/vet wrap or the wrap used on horses hocks for showing or jumping. My handicapped fids like ramps and the non-handicapped use them as well. You are likely to find that he'll get used to them. I hope your young man get's better soon and can be saved. I forgot to mention that rope perches are good too, especially if you get the bigger rope ones. They're not as likely to make what's left of his leg raw and his beak and other foot will get a good grip on the rope.

 

[NeilBirney]

Haven’t thought about a crittercage, great idea, thank you.
I already have rope perches, was now thinking of maybe getting flat perches so he can kind of walk around?
But he always loved using his beak for climbing

 

[Zara]

So sorry to hear about your bird Neil, how unfortunate. Wishing Charlie a speedy recovery.

Some good ideas have already been posted, namely, wide but short cage, adding extra padding, so lining the cage with a non pil fleece or towel, putting perches low to start with, cotton perches or vet wrapped perches, platforms, ramps etc.

I didn´t wan´t my bird to miss out on using a swing, so I lowered it (it hovers just above the floor) so she can swing and play and fall off and be ok. I also got her a (rat/hamster) wooden bridge, she likes to climb over it and under it and play.

 

[NeilBirney]

I really like the idea of using critter items to make life easier for Charlie.
I guess he will need some time to adjust, the operation will be between now and Monday, as soon as he has the strength. So I wanna have his new home ready for him to recover

 

[Lady Jane]

@hrafn just went through this with budgies and made an excellent comfortable handicapped bird cage.

Sending good thoughts for your bird healing and accommodating to the leg loss without issues.

 

[NeilBirney]

How did u make it comfortable for him? And how is ur little friend now? How did he recover?
I’m so worried for my little one

 

[Lovebirdlover]

@NeilBirney

She’s doing better every day! She dislocated her “hip” joint and even tho we had her in a cast it did not heal properly so most likely she will not be able to use it to the best of it’s ability again but that does not stop her! She climbs using her beak and her good foot and hangs upside down like nothing ever happened!

Your Charlie will be fine, it may just take a month or so for you both to figure out what works best

Here’s those photos I promised of the setup. I vet wrapped most of the perches/platform as it gives her a better grip!


You can barely see her but she’s hanging upside down here looking for treats

 

[NeilBirney]

I’m still trying to locate her
That looks like a lovely home u made for her
Looking forward now getting Charlie’s new home ready, got some real good ideas.
Can’t wait to post pictures of my little man next week and his new home

 

[parrotluv]

Well my guess is when she first comes home may have a collar to prevent her from chewing at the surgery site. You main thing during the healing phase is to keep her low and no climbing until healed, so something set up like an aquarium with some little low style stands so she can perch and perhaps towels under her paper to cushion her if she does fall. Dishes will need to be placed on the ground as well.

 

[Fuzzy]

I'm so sorry about your Sun Conure. Like Kennedy I made a platform for my disabled Amazon. I made mine using untreated pinewood slats, covered with firm upholstery foam, topped by a towel, tea towels, kitchen towel and sometimes newspaper. You can see how the slats work in this pic. They run right through the length of the cage:

Chico can't open his feet to walk on platforms, but platforms my help your little one.

 

[SandraK]

I really like the idea of using critter items to make life easier for Charlie.
I guess he will need some time to adjust, the operation will be between now and Monday, as soon as he has the strength. So I wanna have his new home ready for him to recover

There is also a type of padded material to make your own ironing board cover which is padded but the ironing side has a silvery cover which is very easy to wipe clean. You could use it at the bottom of the cage in case he slips or falls.