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Can a bird be mentally disabled?

Tia Cecilia

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Hi all,
So I've had my two green cheeks for a couple of years now. One of them seems to have a disability of some variety, and I was wondering if anyone else has heard of it.
Firstly, she has a really terrible walk, causing her to fall over her own feet a lot. Like, she falls over at least once (usually more) every time she goes from point A to point B. She's also extremely quiet (which I understand can be normal) but also just doesn't seem very engaged. She struggles with very basic skills such as extremely simple foraging. Really, the only way I can describe it is it seems as if she has a disability. She just isn't very aware of much, and doesn't seem to learn from experiences. She's just always been that way. Certainly, she is far from unhappy or unwell. She's very healthy and shows no signs of illness, has a great diet of vegetables, spends plenty of time out of the cage, and is very much in love with her boyfriend.

Has anyone else heard of anything like this at all?
 

AmyJas

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Yes, it is possible for animals to be mentally disabled. I would still get her checked out by a vet. It's also possible her strange behaviors could be caused by a tumor or something neurological, sight problems, etc. I'm glad she seems otherwise happy and healthy besides these behaviors.
 

Mizzely

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Sometimes neurological issues are just that and there is nothing else that can be done for it. Other times there is an underlying cause: tumors, vitamin deficiency, etc (for example, calcium deficiency can cause issues with their grip). So I personally would want to rule out the possibility of something that can be fixed before accepting it.
 

Zygodactylous

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Absolutely agree with the above. Kiddo needs to be seen.

I have a disabled bird who had a prolonged seizure while he was at the rescue, and he has had difficulty with basic birdery ever since. He's also partially blind from it. He's clumsy, doesn't seem to know he can fly, and if I move his food dish he loses weight because he can't find it.
 

Tia Cecilia

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I think this bird needs a full check up with avian vet if you have not done that yet. What is her background?
She has been checked by an avian vet when she was about 3 months old, when we still thought that her disability was just normal baby bird clumsiness. He said she was completely healthy. We haven't had a reason to get her checked again, she's now roughly 8 months old.

I got her from a reputable breeder, the same one I got her mate from. The breeder said that she was a little slow, but otherwise completely normal. Another strange thing I should add is all of her clutchmates died before hatching.
 

Shezbug

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I also think another vet check with the information you have about her background and her current skills/behaviours would be worthwhile for her.
 

iamwhoiam

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Definitely get her re-checked. You may want to consider going to a different vet. She could be a bit developmentally delayed but could be something else.
 

Lady Jane

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100% consensus among our members. Going to a different vet is a good idea. I hope you bird is ok. I would write down what some members suggested to test for.
 

Monica

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What tests did the vet do?

Makes me think of the cherry heads of San Francisco... they get roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) which causes neurological issues (aka disabilities) and possibly even death. Now, I'd be seriously surprised if your bird had roundworm, although there may be some concern about siblings not surviving and her having health issues. Further testing may be a good idea but she may always be this way.

You also mentioned "mate".... I'm not entirely sure what you mean by this, so will only say, if you have any plans on breeding them, I would highly recommend *NOT* doing so in case this may be genetic related... I mention this as it's no fun losing a bird at a young age and finding out that this bird lived longer than the bird's family did, indicating that somehow the death could be genetic related....
 

webchirp

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I would def take her back for testing. While she might seem happy, you may find something that is treatable and can enhance her quality of life. Given that the entire batch of babies did not hatch, I'd really want to know what is going on. Bloodwork, xrays and ultrasound would be my first step. If she has heart issues, that would cause the stumbling. Meds can help with that.
 

Bird Mumma

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Is her eyesight 100%? My cockatiel struggled with foraging before we discovered his eyesight was starting to fail.

He’s now completely blind (has a little light/shade recognition in the brightest sunlight) but is very happy. We have strict routines (eg after a drink in the afternoon I will hold a spinach leaf for him as he finds it difficult to eat on his own / when pegged to side of cage) which he loves and always keep his cage the same so he can find what he needs. He’s a little bit special but we wouldn’t have him any other way.
 
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