Video Potentially Blind Parrotlet?

[wavywavy]

I feel like I'm posting an awful lot lately, but I can't get over how excited I am to have other people to talk to about my birds now as well as having them.

Anyway, I hope I am on the right thread, and I figured I'd have my best chance of finding others with similar experiences on this one.

As some of you know, I got my pair of parrotlets home on Saturday.
I soon noticed something off about Poet, my American Turquoise girl. She is braver than Fable, her cage mate, which I wasn't concerned about and actually appreciated, however after watching her and interacting with her over the last few days I wanted y'all's opinions.

I first noticed that Poet doesn't head track like Fable does. This didn't seem off to me at first. She just didn't seem to care to follow my movements or watch me as I do things around her cage.
However, she didn't seem to show any interest in anything at all that was even held in front of her. No treats/food, no toys, nothing... unless I would lightly touch her beak or her face with said thing. Instant interest and she would be very happy.
I also quickly noticed that if anything was offered in front of her, and she was showing interest, but then the item was taken away or moved off to the side, she would lean forward and reach out in the direction the item was originally. She would "feel" around the air in a small area where the thing was originally, then give up.
I've tried leading her with treats she wanted to attempt to coax her to me or out of the cage to help her gain my trust, but she doesn't seem to be aware of where the treat goes unless I touch her beak with it again.

Poet also doesn't seem to be aware I have my hand beside her unless I lightly touch her chest to ask for her to step up, and she always is very thorough with her checking my hand before stepping up. She then will reach out and feel around for other perches or places to climb to.
Luckily, it seems that Fable, her cagemate, is able to tell her where things are. When something new is added to the cage, Fable gets chatty and then Poet goes looking for it.

I plan to make an appointment at my avian vet here soon, but I wanted some opinions on the situation (and if this is just quirky behavior or an actual possible blindness situation).
I tried to take a short clip video of what she does when I take millet from in front of her beak. Before filming, I actually walked away from the cage with the millet and she nearly went completely upside down searching for it before I got back with my phone.

Regardless of if she is blind or not, she has a loving home and she seems perfectly happy. Chirpy, and active. Just tends to close her eyes more often and takes longer to get around than her partner.

 

[Birdbabe]

Are her eyes cloudy? Or clear, vids very short,,,bumping this up for you!

 

[wavywavy]

Are her eyes cloudy? Or clear, vids very short,,,bumping this up for you!

She has one spot in the center of at least one of her eyes that look a little cloudy, but I can't tell if it's that or the way the light reflects off her eyes (because they are a dark red).
Sorry the video is super short, I wasn't able to transfer a longer one to my PC easily to post I'd take photos but she likes to close her eyes a lot If she sits still for more than a few minutes she's goin to sleep.

 

[AussieBird]

@Aves has a blind budgie.

 

[Shezbug]

Even though it’s a very short video it does kind of look like she’s having a bit of difficulty. Any chance of some longer footage?

 

[wavywavy]

Even though it’s a very short video it does kind of look like she’s having a bit of difficulty. Any chance of some longer footage?

Unfortunately the next longest video I have is only 10 seconds long
She is covered for the night now and I don't want to wake them up to get more footage at this moment, but I can try to take some more tomorrow afternoon.

This is the only other video I have atm and its a bit soft. She also only turned around for the millet once I touched her with it ;;

 

[Shezbug]

Some longer footage when the birds are awake would be really good. I think she is having g a hard time with her sight from the two small clips shown.

 

[Aves]

Nebula, one of my budgies is (probably) blind, and here some things I do for them:
•Sing softly when I approach
•Move slowly around them
•Keep the cage layout similar (certain toy spots, foraging spots, perches stay in the same spots, etc...)
These are pretty basic, because I don't know much.

 

[wavywavy]

Some longer footage when the birds are awake would be really good. I think she is having g a hard time with her sight from the two small clips shown.

I'll be sure to grab some better footage tomorrow when I'm off work for y'all.
She definitely seems to have trouble when it comes to offering things to her and she has to feel around before moving around the cage as well. I'm more than willing to offer her accommodations if need be as well. Fable seems to be working as her seeing eye bird at the moment

 

[wavywavy]

Nebula, one of my budgies is (probably) blind, and here some things I do for them:
•Sing softly when I approach
•Move slowly around them
•Keep the cage layout similar (certain toy spots, foraging spots, perches stay in the same spots, etc...)
These are pretty basic, because I don't know much.

These are good tips!
I already always announce myself when I approach the cage or enter the room, and I move slowly around them currently in general because theyre not used to me yet and Fable (her cage mate) is flighty still and I'm working on gaining trust.

Thank you!

 

[Zara]

I think I remember @Matto having a blind linnie.

 

[TikiMyn]

Hm she does remind me of my blind lovie. She seeks like that as well instead of just looking. It could also be she just wants it back! One of my seeing lives acts like that.
Your vet will give you clearity I hope! This is a picture of what my blind movies eyes look like:

 

[MR. Mango]

Depending on how much difficulty she has you may wanna pad the bottoms in case she falls

 

[Matto]

Sounds like she might be blind. I have a blind linnie and, to be honest, it's easy to forget. She doesn't have much trouble with anything other than flying. We also have her in a small cage and don't change it very often. Very sweet girl. She likes to exercise by holding onto our fingers and flapping.

 

[Zara]

Xena (I always forget she is blind)

 

[wavywavy]

Hm she does remind me of my blind lovie. She seeks like that as well instead of just looking. It could also be she just wants it back! One of my seeing lives acts like that.

At first I definitely thought she was just being a goober about wanting whatever was in front of her back, but even if I move the treat off to the side still within her reach, she still searches for it. I've completely walked away and she's kept searching too. She also doesn't follow anything she wants while on a flat walking surface.
Your lovie is so precious
Poet's eyes are not that clouded for sure. I'll get more video of her tonight!

 

[TikiMyn]

Oh that definitely sounds like she has trouble with her sight at least! She flies as well? If she is indeed blind, seems like she is dealing with it very well, especially with support of her friend. She is a beauty, watched the video again now that I am home, and noticed that it looks like has red eyes? I am not well educated on genes, but with cockatiels I think red eyed birds have higher chances of problems with vision. Either way, she is terribly cute and looks to be doing well!

 

[wavywavy]

Oh that definitely sounds like she has trouble with her sight at least! She flies as well? If she is indeed blind, seems like she is dealing with it very well, especially with support of her friend. She is a beauty, watched the video again now that I am home, and noticed that it looks like has red eyes? I am not well educated on genes, but with cockatiels I think red eyed birds have higher chances of problems with vision. Either way, she is terribly cute and looks to be doing well!

As of right now, the shop I got her from (a local shop that works with a local breeder and hand-raises the babies), clipped her wings for their safety while being handled by customers in the shop. I planned to let their flights grow out because I've always preferred to allow my birds to be flighted.
She takes a long time to decide if she wants to jump off a perch, and acts like she wants to glide somewhere but when she does she usually glides down to the floor of the cage. Most of the time she resorts to climbing around on the bars and reaching out like in the videos for perches (even if one isn't close enough to touch).

She does have red eyes, as does her cagemate, but her cage mate is a Fallow(which has red eyes naturally), and her eyes are much lighter than Poet.
Poet is thought to be an American Turquoise and doesn't seem to present any sign of being Fallow (and she's not lutino or albino) as well, so her having red eyes is strange.
I appreciate it and thank you! She seems to be fine, and her cage mate is really good about helping her out. It's so cute that Poet will search for her and when she bumps into Fable, she puffs up and makes happy noises!

 

[wavywavy]

Please ignore my stupid baby talk and loud bird voice as well as my breathing lmaooo I didn't realize the phone was so close to my face.

Its also a big deal Fable (her cage mate) took millet from me. She went from running from me if I even reached in on the other side of the cage to this since Saturday. Baby steps !

 

[MR. Mango]

Aww such a cutie sad that she’s probably blind though, but it’s nice to see an energy that is unfazed by such!