Young cockatiel foot won't curl

[Zara]

Hmm that´s sad. Sounds like he could have been roughed about a little and someone hurt him


No, Here you call and see if there is a bird available, if so then you can go get it, unweaned. Tiels, Budgies, finches, and epsecially lovebirds are readily available.
The little pet shop I go to for formula sells birds. They have various ages. I went once and saw a box of unweaned babies, but not as young as a baby you can get from a breeder.
Chain petstores sell adults only.

 

[Kodigirl210]

@Cockatielier - I got a scale from Amazon. They are fairly cheap. On average they run $8-$12.

Etekcity Digital Kitchen Scale Multifunction Food Scale, 11lb/5kg, Silver, Stainless Steel (Batteries Included) Amazon.com: Etekcity Digital Kitchen Scale Multifunction Food Scale, 11lb/5kg, Silver, Stainless Steel (Batteries Included): Kitchen & Dining

 

[Cockatielier]

Are you all still here? I have some pictures. I have some videos which are good but I'm not sure how you'd upload a video, maybe you can't. Let me try this.

 

[Zara]

I'm not sure how you'd upload a video

A lot of us upload to youtube then paste the link here.

 

[Cockatielier]

I watched your youtube and loved it. It made me think I want to chronicle this bird's journey on youtube. I have to figure out how to do it.

 

[Zara]

It´s very easy. Create an account and then first button in top right corner is ¨add video¨. Most of mine aren´t in order. I also have some private videos that I just share on the forum and aren´t public.

 

[Cockatielier]

A private youtube would be good, if I can figure out how to make it just private. Then I won't feel it has to be perfect before I upload it.

 

[Zara]

When you upload the video you can change it thre in a drop down menu. It is automacially set to public, but you can change to only you or unlisted. Unlisted means only those you share the link with can see it, for eg if you post the link here, we can see it but no one else. You can change the privacy for any video at any time.

 

[Ripshod]

He does seem to be putting weight on the foot which is good news. It does point to something neurological as a foot at rest will automatically clench and grasp.
When you get him home it'll be worthy trying a little physiotherapy, simply moving the toes through their normal range without force. If there's any resistance he'll maybe need an x-ray.
@Zara knows a great deal about foot problems.

 

[Cockatielier]

Thanks for that. When we go to manually curl his toes, he pulls the foot away, and he tries to bite your finger. I just talked to a vet's office about 20 miles from here, they deal with avian pets too, so I'm going to ask the pet shop tonight about the possibility of our picking the bird up tomorrow afternoon, taking him to the vet's, and then delivering him back in time for dinner. I think I have a small dog carrier around here I can use. Hopefully this won't be an issue.

Zara, I'm amazed your sellers let birds go unweaned. Our pet shop is like: NO! YOU CAN'T HAVE YOUR BIRD! for like 3 months now...

 

[Zara]

I hope the store let you take him, sounds like a good idea. If he´s pulling back it could be pain or just the usual ¨get off me¨. But the bite leans more towards he´s in pain.

And yes, that is breeders here. The chain pet shops only sell adult birds. and the little indy shop that I saw the chicks in, I didn´t want to ask.

 

[Kodigirl210]

There does look like something is wrong with the toe. It almost looks like it is broken which would mean its healing wrong if it is. It would also explain why he won’t let you curl it.

Baby birds bones set so fast it may not be possible to fix it without rebreaking it. I also can’t tell if the toes and the center of the bottom of his foot is discolored or if that is just the pic.

And once again, since you’ve already paid for the bird and they aren’t willing to give it proper care they had best allow you to take him to the vet.

If they refuse then tell them you’ll report them to the nearest humane society and to the local police station as every town has ordinances and all have ordinances dealing with animals. I hope you don’t have to do that but some people just care about themselves and look at animals as disposable commodities.

Hope everything turns right for you.

 

[Cockatielier]

Nope, they wouldn't let me take the bird to the vet. BUT she said it was scheduled to go home with us a week from tomorrow. So I guess I'll have to wait till then. Last feeding is tomorrow, and then they like to keep it for a week to keep an eye on it. Of course, they put a small food bowl in there so it can't sit in its bowl like it was doing, since they're trying to get it to stop babying its foot, which I find a little dubious, but anyway, I'm a little worried that no, it won't eat well, because it can't perch on its food bowl. UGH. Tonight when we visited the bird, I brought its food bowl to the table and let it munch munch munch. I also brought its water bowl so after it munched it had some sips. So I'm hoping in a week we get to bring him home. His foot looked just as bad as ever tonight. I told my teen not to touch its foot from here on out. I'm pretty sure it's painful.

 

[Zara]

Very sad they wouldn´t let the bird see a vet.

I'm a little worried that no, it won't eat well, because it can't perch on its food bowl.

My chick can´t either. She eats off a plate (a pickle jar lid) or a small glass jar I have on the floor for her.

Did they agree to some sort of reimbursement?

 

[Kodigirl210]

I’m sorry those people are flat out stupid and should not be allowed to sell anything let alone defenseless birds. I’ve never a bigger bunk in my life.

If you decide to sue them making you wait the extra week to take him to the vet would just add to your cause. It doesn’t matter what the paperwork says. You were guaranteed a live, healthy bird which he is not.

If you can manage try to visit him every night. They obviously won’t feed him properly and without the extra formula he’s sure to drop weight.

I feel so bad for you all. It’s a shame that they are such money hounds. Ugh!

 

[Cockatielier]

Did they agree to some sort of reimbursement?

I left my phone number for the owner to call me (the store is staffed by young people) but he never did. I just want to get out of there asap.

I told the teen that when she goes (she goes almost nightly - the store is about half an hour from here) to make sure to bring out its food bowl and let it eat on the table to make sure its weight stays up but in fact, I think I'll go and make sure he's eating while I'm there. The last thing I want is for them to say - he's not keeping the weight on, we have to keep him for another week... Naturally I will never step foot in this store after this is over.

 

[Kodigirl210]

Yeah totally-I certainly would if it was my bird.

And if the dang owner isn’t there why can’t they call him from the store. I get that they can’t give you his number out but they sure they heck can dial it and give you receiver.

Why don’t you try asking them to do that tonight. It would be good if you could just get permission to take him to the vet or home. I can’t imagine that the clerks care much. They’ve pretty already proven their willing to ignore everyone and everything.

And yep, save your scathing review on google until he’s home and you don’t have to worry about something else happening.


Chin up, fists out

 

[BeanieofJustice]

Thank you for that reply. We would be perfectly willing to care for a lame bird as best we could, and make cage adaptations for it. Poor thing. But, beyond that, we did sign a waiver when we bought the bird. I don't remember exactly what it said, but it was something about the store would not be responsible yadda yadda yadda. But hmm. We could probably push that issue further. I do feel sorry for the bird tho, and hate to think what would happen to it if we didn't take it. We paid $250 for the bird.

Thank you for being willing to take this special cockatiel home and being willing to take such good care of him/her, I think it's great that his/her disability didn't stop you or your teen! My Sam Axe has a wing that was broken and never properly healed, he does have more nutritional needs than an average macaw but with the great people's advice here and talking to my vet has helped a lot. Your little birdie is lucky to have such a good family. I hope you'll share the adventure with us. There are some great people on here who can help you with special needs birds.

 

[Cockatielier]

Chin up, fists out

LOL! Yup. I might do a review. Or I must just let karma take care of that place. I visited the bird tonight and had a longer look at its foot. I don't think it's in pain. But the foot is useless, he just hobbles on his heel on that foot. It must be nerve damage, and my diagnosis is it isn't going to get better.

I hope you'll share the adventure with us.

You mean someone will actually listen to my bird stories? Heaven! LOL. My teen and I are both bird people. I don't care that the bird has only one good leg, because he'll just hobble around the house or be in his cage, not out in the wild, so that's okay. My concern is if he is uncomfortable or it bothers him, hurts, or frustrates him.

I see youtube has some videos that are 10 hours of cockatiels - LOL! Are bird people obsessed?

 

[BeanieofJustice]

You mean someone will actually listen to my bird stories? Heaven! LOL. My teen and I are both bird people. I don't care that the bird has only one good leg, because he'll just hobble around the house or be in his cage, not out in the wild, so that's okay. My concern is if he is uncomfortable or it bothers him, hurts, or frustrates him. I see youtube has some videos that are 10 hours of cockatiels - LOL! Are bird people obsessed?

Welcome to AA!