pennygirl
Checking out the neighborhood
- Joined
- 12/6/17
- Messages
- 2
- Real Name
- Kaelin
Hi,
I just recently adopted a 25 year old male cockatiel from a local rescue. I have already taken him to the vet and got his blood work done. He is in good shape now. He mostly eats pellets with fresh food along with a little seed and nut thrown in there occasionally. He is partially blind in both eyes, is arthritic, and I'm waiting for all of his flight feathers to grow back in (they were clipped). I have 5 birds and he is the only one who I keep caged most of the day. Why? because he can't see and falls off the table that has several play gyms and other toys. He can't catch himself when falls. He usually just flaps his wings crazily and lands on his tail feathers. He is not the most graceful bird. This is probably because he was kept in a cage his whole life so has absolutely no idea how to fly.
Now here is my question: Those of you with senior birds, how do you enrich their environments? He has toys in his cage but can't move around very well so he just stays on one perch that is close to his food and water. I hate leaving him caged as all my other birds are flighted and have their own room. Is there anything I could do to make his life more pleasurable?
At the moment he is hanging out on the play stand but only because I am in the bird room. So I only let him out under strict supervision. I assume this is what I should be doing. I would love any recommendations. Please shoot them my way.
Thanks!
I just recently adopted a 25 year old male cockatiel from a local rescue. I have already taken him to the vet and got his blood work done. He is in good shape now. He mostly eats pellets with fresh food along with a little seed and nut thrown in there occasionally. He is partially blind in both eyes, is arthritic, and I'm waiting for all of his flight feathers to grow back in (they were clipped). I have 5 birds and he is the only one who I keep caged most of the day. Why? because he can't see and falls off the table that has several play gyms and other toys. He can't catch himself when falls. He usually just flaps his wings crazily and lands on his tail feathers. He is not the most graceful bird. This is probably because he was kept in a cage his whole life so has absolutely no idea how to fly.
Now here is my question: Those of you with senior birds, how do you enrich their environments? He has toys in his cage but can't move around very well so he just stays on one perch that is close to his food and water. I hate leaving him caged as all my other birds are flighted and have their own room. Is there anything I could do to make his life more pleasurable?
At the moment he is hanging out on the play stand but only because I am in the bird room. So I only let him out under strict supervision. I assume this is what I should be doing. I would love any recommendations. Please shoot them my way.
Thanks!