My cockatiel keeps licking his left foot

[Birdilove]

my husband and I were out of the country to visit my mom for 20 days and left my cockatiel to my in-laws. My husband went back two days ago and noticed my cockatiel kept licking his left leg and putting it down and picking it up, and he said he appear a little red, but he couldn’t tell. He said it looks like it’s only one of his fingers, but I can’t be sure. I’m worried out of my mind because I won’t be able to go back in the next 20 days. I keep searching online but it’s making me worry even more. My in-laws said they haven’t seen her do that before. I thought maybe it was because his nails have not been trimmed since we left, but then why does she keep tapping it. Or could it be because of stress of not seeing us?? She was very attached to us and my husband said she is even more attached now that his back. Or could it be because she was it her cage and not let out as often. I’m terrified, I’m so worried because we live in a city without any bird vets. I’m scared it’s Bumblefoot, I’m scared it won’t heal by itself. I don’t know what could it be. She is my baby and if anything happens to her it’s going to kill me.

 

[expressmailtome]

Are you able to post a picture?

 

[Birdilove]

I asked my husband to take a picture of it and will hopefully share it soon.

 

[Birdilove]

He took a picture, could it be just an injury or something more? Bumblefeet? What do you think

 

[Tiel Feathers]

It does look red or sore. Is there anything rough in her cage that she could have irritated it on? Or could she have hurt it when she was out of her cage? My bird had the beginnings of bumblefoot from her safety pumice perch. It didn’t look quite like that, but the vet told me to make everything in her cage soft. I had only rope perches, others I wrapped with vet wrap, and I put a towel on the bottom of the cage. She also gave me antibiotics just in case, and it went away in two weeks. I would try making everything in her cage soft too. Keep everything very clean, and see if she’ll go in a shallow bowl of warm water.

 

[Birdilove]

Could it be because of her biting it? I have notice she also has lost some feathers on her breast. My husband said she has been very very attached to him ever since he had arrived so could it be an emotional problem?

 

[Tiel Feathers]

If she has been biting it a lot, she could be making it sore. That would point to some other problem like a skin irritation or parasite or something. It’s really hard to say. It’s not impossible that it’s emotional, but cockatiels don’t usual harm themselves like other parrots do when they are upset. Some do, but it’s not common. Is she loosing a lot of feathers in that one spot? Are they always sticking out like that? A vet would be the best option. Maybe there is one a couple hours away?

 

[Peachfaced]

Those are certainly wounds on her feet. She needs to be seen by an avian vet for her feet and the spot on her chest. Being on their feet all day will make those wounds worse. Ask him to wrap up her perches in paper towel to pad them. I take a bit of paper chord or polly rope and tie it so the paper towel stays put.

 

[Zara]

She needs to be seen by an avian vet for her feet

Agreed.
Another possibility is she got her toe caught in the cage bars and in the panic caused the toe to get hurt. Hard to tell, and I´m not a vet.

Could your husband take the bird to a vet? It may mean travelling to the next city, but it will be worth the journey to find out what is going on.

Making the perches soft in the meantime is a good idea to help give her some comfort.

I hope you can work something out.

 

[Birdilove]

Well you guys, unfortunately we live in Afghanistan so traveling isn’t safe. Bird breeders are somewhat knowledgeable, they told me to keep the bird super clean to prevent infection and provide lots of healthy veggies and vitamins drops. I would do absolutely everything I possibly can to help her. She’s my baby, and I love her more than life.

 

[Peachfaced]

I'm not a vet, but would a saline wash help to keep the wound clean?