Special Needs Baby

[birbmom]

Hi all,

As I said in my introductory post, I'm in the process of adopting a baby green cheek conure. She's a turquoise yellowsided baby, and as of right now she's about 2-3 weeks old. We're guessing that around the time she hatched, her parents must have hurt one of her wings because she only has one full healthy wing, and her second is a nub, barely there. She'll never be able to fly, but everything else about her is perfect.

Her name is Nylah, and I want to make sure I give her the best life possible. I'm currently shopping for perches and ropes and such to make sure she's not limited in mobility and exploration. I have about five to six weeks to prepare for her to come home with me.

Does anyone have any tips on how to best care for and entertain a Conure with a problem like this? Any specific perches, ladders, etc or toys that Nylah could benefit from?

 

[faislaq]

Our green cheeks don't fly for the most part. Scotty does if he's spooked and Harley has glided once, but that's pretty much it. Mostly they just climb around their cages and beat up their toys, so I don't know how much they really use their wings. Maybe for balance? but if your girl seems stable I wouldn't worry about it. She's just a perfectly normal fid who happens to not have a wing. If she seems wobbly, you might pad the bottom of her cage with a folded towel & you can cover that with newspaper to catch droppings, that way if she does fall it isn't so hard. A cage that's wider rather than taller is best for any bird, but especially for challenged birds.

It sounds like you're well on your way to giving her an amazing life! I can't wait to hear more about her and see her sweet self when she comes to live with you!

 

[WendyN]

 

[webchirp]

Aww congrats! I think you will be surprised how well s/he adapts. Might want a cushy floor mat if s/he gets startled off the cage when playing?

 

[Peachfaced]

Our green cheeks don't fly for the most part. Scotty does if he's spooked and Harley has glided once, but that's pretty much it. Mostly they just climb around their cages and beat up their toys, so I don't know how much they really use their wings. Maybe for balance? but if your girl seems stable I wouldn't worry about it. She's just a perfectly normal fid who happens to not have a wing. If she seems wobbly, you might pad the bottom of her cage with a folded towel & you can cover that with newspaper to catch droppings, that way if she does fall it isn't so hard. A cage that's wider rather than taller is best for any bird, but especially for challenged birds.

It sounds like you're well on your way to giving her an amazing life! I can't wait to hear more about her and see her sweet self when she comes to live with you!

Same here. Rupert can fly, and we've coaxed him so he knows how to do it pretty well, but he chooses to climb around instead. Your baby will be just fine. Keep the bottom padded and keep perches (maybe platform-style towards the bottom) and a ladder here or there. As long as you have horizontal bars on your cage, Nylah should be more than able to navigate on her own. She won't know she's any different.

 

[birbmom]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all the encouragement and advice. I'm so excited to spoil this baby with love. I'll probably have more questions, because that's just who I am, haha. I ask tons of questions and I like to be prepared, but I'm grateful to have found a friendly place to poke around.