Tau is now a special needs bird

[Ripshod]

Tau has been with the vet for two days to assess him for seizures. The good news is he doesn't need meds for the seizures because he's not classed a 'prone' to them whatever that means. I'm just relieved I don't have to medicate him every day, those drugs will zone him out.
However, he does have a couple of issues that will affect him for the rest of his life.
Firstly he has physical damage to the retinas of both eyes, meaning patches of his vision are missing. He also has no focal control on his right eye, which means he can focus over 6 feet away, but any closer it's just a blur.
The other problem is his brain damage. He's lost a lot of his cognitive ability. In many ways this has affected his reflexes. Practically this may reduce his ability to fly. The vet wanted to clip him, but I refused for now pointing out that the vet said 'may'. If he does have a problem controlling his flight I will get him clipped. It'll be either a clip or banished to his cage 24/7 (and no-one wants that).
Talking of his cage I can't change it round any. If a toy needs replacing it has to be the same or a very similar size. His cage is now his safe place, changing anything will confuse him.
One other thing, that showed in his xrays, the metatarsels are distorted in his right wing. This is probably from a linear fracture that never showed after his cage fright. It won't affect his wing movement but his wings will look uneven when folded, which they do. That don't matter, it's just cosmetic.
And to top it off Tau lost another blood feather right there on the exam table. Glad the vet saw that.

 

[Zara]

Wow, poor Tau! I´m sorry he´s not doing so great.

Hopefully he will be able to somewhat manage with flight and won´t need to be clipped but we shall see.

Such a shame for such a young bird

 

[JoJo&Loki]

Ughhh sorry you and Tau are going through this. Good for you for standing up to the clipping suggestion, I hope he is able get around safely without it.

 

[Leih]

Poor Tau! I would say lots of animals do just fine with impaired vision, but I guess with the other issues it has to be tough for him. Does he fly okay right now? Does the vet think his vision has been a progressive issue? Ie he's had time to adapt while it's worsened. I had a cat who I thought was having seizures and at that time the vet ruled it vestibular. However, she did go blind a year later. I'm glad he has such a considerate human to look after him.

 

[Yoshi&Raphi]

Poor Tau.

 

[Skum]

Sorry your birds poorly. My 23 yr. old Cockatiel was having problems flying. I took him to the vet last week and she diagnosed him with beginning cataracts and arthritis in his wings. She prescribed Omega 3 oil and after only a week he's flying normally and is more energetic. Try it

 

[Ripshod]

All this damage was caused by a mahoosive night fright. He was thrashing round the cage for a while before I could get to him. He had some damage to his right eye when I first rescued him but his vision seemed good.

This is what he did in his night fright:

He had a huge tear on his belly too but that healed great.

 

[Cat The Great]

Wow poor Tau! I am sorry that he is having many health issues. I do know that regardless of how his health is in future, you are going to take great care of him no matter what.

 

[HolliDaze]

Oh my gosh... poor baby. Thank you for taking such great care of the poor guy! Hopefully he has many more years of happiness with you!

 

[Greencheek Lee]

Poor little guy, I had no idea they could do that much damage to themselves. So glad he has you!

 

[cassiesdad]

...OK...Tau is special needs now...but he has one very special thing going for him....You...

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Poor Tau, he can’t seem to catch a break. Oh wait, he has because he has you! I’m so sorry he has so many health issues. I hope the seizures are few and far between, and he adjusts okay to his vision loss. That’s really upsetting about having lost some cognitive ability, but I know you will help him be a very happy bird.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Poor Tau. That is quite an injury. It is possible that he can recover some of those lost cognitive skills.

 

[hrafn]

Oh my goodness! Poor little Tau!
That's an awful lot of issues for such a young fella, but he has one major advantage already: a loving and devoted parront who will do everything to help him.

 

[Khizz]

Awww poor little chap Sorry to hear he's struggling with so much. But now you know what it is and what to do next, so you can make him more comfortable and happy, and if anyone here can do that, it's you! Good luck

 

[metalstitcher]

I am so sorry you are having to go through this. Gracie suffered from seizures so I know how hard it can be. You are going to want to put something down like a folded fleece blanket and also think about getting platform perches. The fleece you can get for cheap at a craft store and I know they have coupons. Tweety Pies and I think Parrot Hotel are where I got my platform perches. Gracie had a hard time with her regular perches as she got older and the seizures started. Once the platforms where in she loved it. i had toys on each one a little heater for her to stay warm and she was happy as a clam.

If Tau loses his footing it would be better to land on fleece then get caught on a bar or perch. Have you thought about putting a night light up near his cage so it's not as dark so if he does wake he can see. I had a clock by Gracie's cage that glowed and helped her out a bit at night.

 

[Ripshod]

Tau's cage is surrounded by nightlights. There's also an energy meter display across the room that casts a lot of light, it's so bright in there I can almost read.
He is perching just fine, and gets around feeling with his feet to make sure his perches are there. If I move a perch or add anything he'll get stuck.
The grid at the bottom of his cage is really springy.i tested it with a 4oz weight and it bounced a few times, with 1.5inch deflection. Vet said that was okay. I also went in his cage a few months ago with a file and rounded off the ends of his perches and any sharp edges.
He has a platform (I always give all my birds at least one). He knows it's there but he prefers rope perches. He has fantastic grip and hasn't fallen for months.
I really feel for the little guy. When he does come out of his cage he knows where to launch from to land on the sofa, then a little drop onto a thick rug and he has the run of the room. He also knows that if he gets scared while out he can go under the sofa and perch on the wood frame inside. I'm not worried about this. When he gets hungry he'll seek out my feet and sit there pulling leg hairs for my attention.
Because he can't see me properly he's still scared of me but hunger takes priority. We've taken to stepping up on a perch for transport back to the cage, he will attack any finger/hand presented.
The little guy distrusts everyone now. It seems he doesn't understand what has happened so anything can be to blame - in his mind.
BUT, he'll still go to his favourite perch and sing his song. I can hear him right now, rattling the cage cos his breakfast is almost late. He takes comfort in routine.
He did manage to find a bowl of chop in the middle of the floor about a week ago, but that must have been by accident because it was the only time he's found the bowl and it was there daily.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

BUT, he'll still go to his favourite perch and sing his song. I can hear him right now

Awww!

 

[Ripshod]

A little change of pace today maybe triggered by his visit to the vet.
He came out to visit me managing an 8ft glide from a height of 3ft. He slowly made his way around the room following the walls, found the sofa, then found my feet (I've always sat in the same place) then did his usual preen of my leg (I'd call in plucking). I didn't have the perch handy so I offered my hand and he stepped right up.
I placed him at the other end of the sofa and he gradually made his way over to me, climbing the cushion next to me and stepped onto my shoulder.
OMG another miraculous change. He sat there for half an hour and paid attention to every single word I said to him, every single word. After the half hour he seemed to be shivering a bit (scared?) so I got him to step up again and put him on a perch outside his cage door. We spent another half hour just talking, calling each other when I went to make us a cuppa, and then he retired to eat.
I get it. It's like a coin. One day it's heads, the next it's tails, and it's totally unpredictable. One day Tau wants to be with me, the next I'm a big bad bear.

 

[Zara]

Do you think these changes could be a result of his injuries?

Nice to hear you had a good day with him