Foot Favoring--what's happening with Peeps!?!

[sheeluhwhet]

Hello! Does anyone know any possible reasons why canaries would start favoring one foot? I noticed that he would occasionally put up his right foot, but then he would still fly and jump around all over my room. Here's an example of both:

I'm worried because it's not the foot with the claw problem (which appears to be doing fine by the way), so I'm not sure what's going on. Or am I just being overly concerned and he is just comfortable??

Of course it's a Sunday so ill have to wait until tomorrow to make a phone call to the vet. I JUST WANT MY BABY TO BE HAPPYY! D:

 

[camelotshadow]

They well parrots not sure about canaries but they put one foot up when they nap or rest sometimes.

Watch to see if it looks sensitive when she walks on it which it did not look like in the vid but did look like she was favoring it when she was perched..

 

[Serin]

Sometimes they may sprain a leg. I have seen canaries favor a foot for a day or two but never had to do anything as they soon were back to putting weight on it.

 

[finchly]

He may be fine. Check tomorrow and see if he favors it when walking. I do think they tend to hold up the same foot all the time which could lead you to think something was wrong.

 

[sheeluhwhet]

They well parrots not sure about canaries but they put one foot up when they nap or rest sometimes.

Watch to see if it looks sensitive when she walks on it which it did not look like in the vid but did look like she was favoring it when she was perched..

Hey @camelotshadow ! Yes, apart from the foot favoring he appears to display healthy behavior. He's quite active. I will defitnely keep watch and update. So far he's very active and chirpy.

Sometimes they may sprain a leg. I have seen canaries favor a foot for a day or two but never had to do anything as they soon were back to putting weight on it.

Hello @Serin ! He does have a habit of throwing his weight around, so i often hear his feet land against the cage grate, walls, and his perches. Could that be a possible cause?

I took a closer look of his foot just now while he was perched on my finger, and didn't see any signs of visible injury or blood on his foot. However I did notice increased flow on that foot. Is that a sign of a sprained ankle?? He's not limping so thank goodness at least.

He may be fine. Check tomorrow and see if he favors it when walking. I do think they tend to hold up the same foot all the time which could lead you to think something was wrong.

Hi @finchly ! I will certainly check again tomorrow. He's an odd bird. He was favoring his other leg last time--until the claw dissapeared, so sadly i don't have a point of reference D:

Thank you so much for responding everyone!!! I will post updates should anything progresses---im really hoping he'll be back to normal tomorrow. He's a hardy little bird after all!

 

[Clairecanary15]

Sounds like a strain to me..like the others have said. If we sprain an ankle or wrist it can take a few days..Id give it a week before rushing peeps to the vet.
A note on peeps missing claw too. ..one of mine caught his toe..the claw had been yanked round..ouch. Yes it looked sore and red but after acouple of days the claw had fell off and Ribbon was just fine. If I had removed him from his aviary it would have caused more stress than the claw itself and alot of wasted money. I have a medical kit at home for emergencies. If the issue is life threatening then the vet is called

 

[sheeluhwhet]

Sounds like a strain to me..like the others have said. If we sprain an ankle or wrist it can take a few days..Id give it a week before rushing peeps to the vet.
A note on peeps missing claw too. ..one of mine caught his toe..the claw had been yanked round..ouch. Yes it looked sore and red but after acouple of days the claw had fell off and Ribbon was just fine. If I had removed him from his aviary it would have caused more stress than the claw itself and alot of wasted money. I have a medical kit at home for emergencies. If the issue is life threatening then the vet is called

Hi @Clairecanary15 will do, I'm keeping close watch at the moment! I haven't called the vet yet, so i will wait.

As for missing claws, ouch! Though I'm glad to hear Ribbon is doing better--what an adorable name
As for Peeps, it accidentally got snagged in a towel and yanked out months ago while a vet tech was handling him fortunately, they were able to perform first aid and stop the bleeding on the spot. Sadly, I wasn't in the room when it happened. That was a stressfull week! A smaller claw grew out shortly after, but he either pulled it out or it fell off last month. Fortunately he didn't bleed much and he recovered rather quickly

 

[sheeluhwhet]

Update:

I walked in on him still favoring the same foot D:

Upon closer look, when he did put down his foot, it looks a little red and swollen. The hind toe looks like it's not gripping his perch the same way as his other one. I can see he's trying to shift his weight on his other foot it really looks like a strain.

He kept staring at me to let him out so I did for a bit

Then i noticed he started putting up his foot especially when he's singing and requires to anchore himself, or when he's moving less in general.

He went back to his cage shortly after, so I closed the door. Little buddy keeps staring at me to let him out though..

I normally let him out to fly when I'm home. Should I not until he recovers? Or is it still okay to let him out just for a little bit? The last thing I want is anymore injuries

 

[Clairecanary15]

Odear poor peeps...its tough being mum hey..mums knows best though.

Let him rest for acouple of days..give him some of his favourites while he rests and something to distract him to take his mind off being caged. Mine fly around mad and they do sprain themselves..if the cock birds fight then well im in a flap then lol. These canaries are very robust..it really is very remarkable what they can tolerate. One of my favourites Toffee lost her leg bless her due to a disaster by another breeder. She now has an adapted flight cage with her Willow (cock bird) and they have a chick...very robust indeed wow.

 

[sheeluhwhet]

Odear poor peeps...its tough being mum hey..mums knows best though.

Let him rest for acouple of days..give him some of his favourites while he rests and something to distract him to take his mind off being caged. Mine fly around mad and they do sprain themselves..if the cock birds fight then well im in a flap then lol. These canaries are very robust..it really is very remarkable what they can tolerate. One of my favourites Toffee lost her leg bless her due to a disaster by another breeder. She now has an adapted flight cage with her Willow (cock bird) and they have a chick...very robust indeed wow.

Thank you so much @Clairecanary15
I just gave him his favorite scrambled eggs with brocc and kale. He's currently back im his cage, one foot up infront of the door--staring me down to let him out!!!

Peeps is an only-bird at the moment, so he doesn't have anyone to rough-house with. Though I think the outside birds do spook him occasionally when they fly by, so he would sometimes fly frantically in figure 8s when he's caught off guard. That may have been the cause

Your babies have the cutest names by the way! And I agree, canaries are resilient little birds. Despite having aches and pains Peeps still belts his little heart out. I hope he recovers soon so he can fly some more

 

[Clairecanary15]

Thats ok..we just want the best for our little feathered friends. Be strong with him..its hard though I know. I have a hen called Apricot in a cage alone she needed some rest. .I desperately want to put her back in the aviary but she looks better for the rest and a tailored diet to help her bad moult. I think when I got her that she was an older bird and not given the right nutrition. .im now putting her on the right path. .she kept nodding off in the seed poor thing. She looks much better now but Im not going to rush her back in

 

[Clairecanary15]

I actually think it affects us more when they hurt themselves

 

[BirdManDan]

We all only want the best for our fids. I would give it a bit more time to rest alone.

 

[sheeluhwhet]

I desperately want to put her back in the aviary but she looks better for the rest and a tailored diet to help her bad moult. I think when I got her that she was an older bird and not given the right nutrition. .im now putting her on the right path. .she kept nodding off in the seed poor thing. She looks much better now but Im not going to rush her back in
View attachment 279120

She is lovely! Glad to hear she's recovering well, please update when she's ready to go back as well!!

I actually think it affects us more when they hurt themselves

This it so true probably because 1, we love em. 2, since they can't communicate verbally, we can only go by observations and inferences--which can get blown out of proportion at times!

 

[camelotshadow]

Well, I think its best Peeps rest if his foot is a bit sore. Hopefully it will heal but keep watching & if need be vet.

So keeping Peeps in his cage would be a good medicine so he can take it easy & hopefully recover sooner

 

[sheeluhwhet]

Update #2:

Peeps appeared to be okay this morning. This video was before I gave him his greens around 8 am

His foot didn't appear to be as swollen and red yesterday, but I could still see his hind toe is still stretched instead of gripping the perch like the one on his other foot.

I noticed yesterday that he was favoring his foot for longer stretches of time--even when he was on his food boxes! However, apart from stretching his hind toe, I haven't seen him favor his foot while on the box.

I really wanted to see if he was doing better and just let him stretch out his wings, so i had moment of weakness and let him out for 20 minutes.
Near the end of that 20 min. I did see increaced bloodflow in his leg, and he started favoring the same foot again. I immediately put him back and gave him his veggies.

He flew all over the place and was singing, so he appeared to be displaying normal and healthy behavior. It might be the impact from when he lands that hurts him the most. I will not be letting him out for the rest of the day, but I will keep him company.

 

[sheeluhwhet]

Well, I think its best Peeps rest if his foot is a bit sore. Hopefully it will heal but keep watching & if need be vet.

So keeping Peeps in his cage would be a good medicine so he can take it easy & hopefully recover sooner

Yes, I agree. He needs the rest. On normal days hes out flying 5+ hours. He's so active and loud that I forget that canaries--as hardy as they are--are still quite delicate little birds.

It really sucks to have him stare at me whenever i enter the room because he always wants to go out, but its for the best the sooner he recovers, the sooner he can fly again!

 

[sheeluhwhet]

My son

 

[Clairecanary15]

You are doing well. It sounds promising that youve succumbed only once..well done you. I have watched the clip. What a beautiful bird you have and a gorgeous tail. He does look lost and confused. His toe, what you zoomed in on, does look slightly swollen but there is movement. If it was a vets visit peeps would not put any weight on that leg at all. Peeps has good movement and another day or two I really cannot see why he cannot resume his routine. If you want to air on the side of caution, build up his free flying gradually over the course of a few days.
In all honesty I have seen much much worse and you have nothing to fear. Peeps will be just fine and you will too

 

[sheeluhwhet]

Update #3:

Unfortunately I got called to work for the most part of the day, so I couldn't observe Peeps for very long until 4 pm..

I think not being able to get out like hes used to is getting to him as well. It kind of broke my heart when I noticed he's been chewing on his side feather.
Never has he made his sad 'peeeeeeeeep?' sounds so many times in one day either (it's how he tells me he want's to go out, or he was put back too soon) ...

I let him out for about 25 minutes so I could clean his cage and observe him. Near the end of the 25 min, he started putting up his foot again; though he was still active and loud despite that unfortunate conclusion.

Come to think of it, this behavior---of him jumping onto his food boxes--is very recent. I'm worried that this might be the cause of his injury...

Also, a broken foot would be much worse and obvious, yes?



My baby D: