• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Cockatiel foot spasm??

Saharr98

Meeting neighbors
Joined
6/30/20
Messages
59
Hi everyone,
I have an 8-month-old cockatiel. I wanted to discuss something I have noticed in my bird a few times. I'm not sure if this is a health problem or others have observed similar things with their bird as this is my first time ever owning a bird.
I have noticed that my bird's foot shakes for a few seconds like a spasm and he taps his foot? He shakes his foot and then goes and preens it and then he continues to preen the rest of his body. He seems very unbothered by this and I haven't noticed any other signs with his foot like not being able to perch or walk.
I also don't see his foot being swollen or him acting like there is pain in the foot. This is not something that I observe every day, it happens very occasionally.
I would appreciate it if anyone knows if this is a concern or just a behavioral thing.
 

expressmailtome

Ripping up the road
Administrator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/15/10
Messages
49,992
Real Name
Matthew
Bump.
 

Shilpa

Sprinting down the street
Joined
11/27/20
Messages
327
Location
Wisconsin
Real Name
Shilpa
:bump4:
 

DesertBird

Rollerblading along the road
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
1/9/21
Messages
1,145
Location
NY, USA
I think I may have seen my budgies do something like this right before they start preening, but a video of the behavior would be helpful.
 

Saharr98

Meeting neighbors
Joined
6/30/20
Messages
59
I think I may have seen my budgies do something like this right before they start preening, but a video of the behavior would be helpful.
Hey I can't really take a video because it happens like 1-2 times for a second and I don't know when it's going to happen but I noticed that this happens only during preening. Do you know if this is concerning or normal behaviour since it only happens during preening?
 

DesertBird

Rollerblading along the road
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
1/9/21
Messages
1,145
Location
NY, USA
Hey I can't really take a video because it happens like 1-2 times for a second and I don't know when it's going to happen but I noticed that this happens only during preening. Do you know if this is concerning or normal behaviour since it only happens during preening?
Does it look anything like what the bird does in this video, about 30 seconds in?

 

Saharr98

Meeting neighbors
Joined
6/30/20
Messages
59
Does it look anything like what the bird does in this video, about 30 seconds in?

yeah, I would say it looks very similar. Do you know what this is? He taps his feet in a similar way and preens but I have only noticed this in the last month or so
 

conureluv

Sprinting down the street
Joined
7/10/20
Messages
487
Location
US
Do you have dowel:
7F7E9FE6-1246-48EE-BADD-4C49C21C2878.jpeg
or natural wood:
B1485DD5-F9D3-4C59-A74C-A10F659B0542.jpeg

All dowel perches can cause bumble-foot, an infection caused by (fact check me, Avenue people) pressure on the same part of the foot. With natural wood perches, each branch and part is different, giving their feet varied weight. If you have all dowel I suggest replacing them with rope or natural wood.
image.jpg
this is the setup I have, I do have two rope, one platform and three natural wood.
 

Saharr98

Meeting neighbors
Joined
6/30/20
Messages
59
Do you have dowel:
View attachment 374968
or natural wood:
View attachment 374969

All dowel perches can cause bumble-foot, an infection caused by (fact check me, Avenue people) pressure on the same part of the foot. With natural wood perches, each branch and part is different, giving their feet varied weight. If you have all dowel I suggest replacing them with rope or natural wood.
View attachment 374970
this is the setup I have, I do have two rope, one platform and three natural wood.
No I have a mixture of rope, and natural wood and then I had one dowel on the play stand. If you check the video posted by Desertbird it is the same thing I noticed in my cockatiel. Not sure if it is normal preening behaviour or something that is concerning
 

DesertBird

Rollerblading along the road
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
1/9/21
Messages
1,145
Location
NY, USA
yeah, I would say it looks very similar. Do you know what this is? He taps his feet in a similar way and preens but I have only noticed this in the last month or so
Okay, then I don't think it's anything to worry about. Just normal preening behavior.
 
Top