Young cockatiel foot won't curl

[iamwhoiam]

Thank you for deciding to take the 'tiel. I adopted a 'tiel with a broken foot which did not heal. She can perch and use the foot but sometimes loses balance and then complains. I also rescued a very young house sparrow who wound up having two broken legs with nerve damage and a foot being functional to the extent that he can grip a bit but can not perch at all. First vet I took him to wanted to put him down, second one splinted one of the legs to correct the direction of growth. My sweet Spee is now 10 1/2 years old.

 

[Cockatielier]

Last night I was looking at nerve damage online searches to see if birds ever regain the use of their feet, and one place mentioned that a bird with nerve damage may try to chew off their leg, in which case it would have to be amputated. At that point I don't know if the bird could function. I hope that's very rare for a bird to do that!

 

[Hankmacaw]

Don't imagine problems until they occur. Again, there are birds who have only one leg who get along fine with a little help from their friend (mom). There have been several birds on this forum who had one leg and one who had no legs - all adjusted and had full interesting lives.

My belief is that you can help, if not cure your baby's foot, by giving him some therapy and encouraging him to use it. And he will learn to adjust - he knows nothing else.

 

[Kodigirl210]

I actually hope the toe healed wrong versus nerve damage. A toe can be rebroken to correct it - nerve damage may or may not be able to be reversed with sufficient therapy.

I had to work with Sif’s feet to get her to use them properly. Hers were damaged by her mother. Eventually had to do 3-surgeries for partial toe amputations.

After I took her and before surgery she couldn’t perch properly or use her feet to eat. Now she can do both like a pro.

You also need to observe him closely. He’s probably walking very unnaturally right now. It’s going to severely affect the “hip” joints and the ankle & knees. He’s going to be putting more weight on the right side vs left.
That kind of tension can erode the joints faster and head towards early onset arthritis

Your little guy might find something like this clip helpful if it is nerve damage and he’s not in pain. He would need lighter rings but here’s something we did with Sif to get her to start curling and grabbing with her feet.

Hope the little guy gets home soon

 

[Cockatielier]

There have been several birds on this forum who had one leg and one who had no legs - all adjusted and had full interesting lives.

Wow. That's good to know.

Your little guy might find something like this clip helpful if it is nerve damage and he’s not in pain.

Those rings look great! That looks like good exercise.

This afternoon we visited Bertie. After an hour or so my daughter went to put him back in the cage. Instead of going in, he kept climbing further up her arm. It was pretty funny. But it was interesting how attached he already is to her. He won't come to me, only her. Thank goodness there was a cute little love bird in the cage next to his. As soon as he remembered that, he hung on the bars and focused on him/her. But when the cage door shut, he stared at my teen like: Go ahead. Maybe I'll be here next time, maybe I won't. Don't worry about me. I might survive. 6 more days!

 

[iamwhoiam]

It's too bad the store employees/owners won't have him checked by a vet. The foot issue happened when he was under their care and they should take care of it. It is great, though, that Bertie and your daughter have a connection and you did not give up on him/her.

 

[Kodigirl210]

Yes we had to be quite inventive. We used the rings and forage boxes. It’s different when you get a baby as opposed to an adult who already knows for the most pet how to do everything. My rescue Senny had less toes than Sif and used her feet to eat all the time. The only issue Roxie really had was being able to hold on if she was on my shoulder or something. Bertie may also have a little trouble hanging on if he can’t get the toe to curl. No worry though, everyone will just have to be a little more careful stopping and starting.

 

[Cockatielier]

The foot issue happened when he was under their care and they should take care of it.

Yeah. This is why I won't buy my supplies at this store. Except the transport cage. They have the cheapest cages I've seen around - 11x14 for $20 (just for transporting). So ugh. Fine. The cage. But that's it.

No worry though

Unfortunately, he does really worry me. I watch him use his beak at his store's cage to hoist himself around climbing with one functional foot. When he comes home he's getting lots of toys and opportunities to exercise his feet/toes as much as he can. It looks like those balls with the bells in them might also be helpful. And just running around on the floor. I watched a youtube of someone who always kept a cardboard box for their tiel to play in and shred. Any shredding is probably good exercise for the feet. I am so upset with this store and the way they have handled his foot problem. But once we're out of there we can move on.

 

[Kodigirl210]

Well I for one am not worried at all for Bertie. He had 2-hooman slaves willing to do everything to make sure he has a loving home and a good life. So if you won’t “not worry” then I will “not worry” for you LOL.

 

[Cockatielier]

LOL! Well if I don't worry then what am I going to do with my life.

Yesterday (Sunday) the teen went by herself to the pet store. I figured - the bird is really friendly with her only, and I went for the past few days to see if I could catch the owner there but that wasn't going to happen, so I just reminded her for the millionth time to check his food supply because I want to make sure they let him come home on Friday, and she assured me they know what they're doing. So she goes for her visit and what does she tell me when she comes home: #1 that the owner was there in the bird room chatting with people! And no, she did not mention the bird's foot because she's very shy. DOH. And #2, when the store was closing she was putting him back in his cage and there was no water bowl in there! She did tell an employee about that and saw them put a new water bowl in his cage. 4 more days!! Vet appt. is scheduled for a week from today.

 

[Zara]

Unfortunately, he does really worry me. I watch him use his beak at his store's cage to hoist himself around climbing with one functional foot.

My birds climb all over the bars of their cage with their beak. Even those who has 2 perfectly working feet. It´s a bird thing, hense why horizontal bars are recommended on cages

 

[Kodigirl210]

Psh if you are like me, no matter how lovely your child is, and your daughter sounds like a gem, you expend plenty of worry on her. I am going through the sulky, “why do I have to talk to a bird that knows I love it” phase. Luckily she’s catching on as to exactly why she needs to verbally communicate with her baby tg. I have a feeling it will only be about 6 more weeks before our final bird joins the flock. And OMG, that must have been the most frustrating thing ever to hear he was there after all the days you went. Maybe they called him from the store and said you weren’t there so he came out? Either way, give him he_ll_o I order all my stuff from Amazon. I think I’d die without it lol. It’s terrible how used to conveniences we’ve become but on the other hand my babies get to have toys and stuff from all over. Here’s hoping the last few days go smoothly!

 

[Cockatielier]

Hold me back, I perchance looked on craigslist tonight and someone is offering their 5 mo. old cockatiel female (DNA tested) with toys and cage and food for $200. I have checked the internet and can't find a-n-y cockatiels anywhere around here, they are rare. When I realized my daughter's bird was going to be a one-human kind of guy, I started looking around just to see what else was out there... But tonight she told me I can't get a bird because then her tiel will chum with my tiel and he'll leave her in the dust. So, I never answered the ad... sniff sniff. Maybe I can entice her bird to sit on my shoulder when she's not around...

 

[iamwhoiam]

Hold me back, I perchance looked on craigslist tonight and someone is offering their 5 mo. old cockatiel female (DNA tested) with toys and cage and food for $200. I have checked the internet and can't find a-n-y cockatiels anywhere around here, they are rare. When I realized my daughter's bird was going to be a one-human kind of guy, I started looking around just to see what else was out there... But tonight she told me I can't get a bird because then her tiel will chum with my tiel and he'll leave her in the dust. So, I never answered the ad... sniff sniff. Maybe I can entice her bird to sit on my shoulder when she's not around...

The 'tiels may become buddies but then maybe not and maybe both of them will love interacting with people. You never know. I've had multiple 'tiels and even though some of them were friends with each other they still liked me.

 

[Kodigirl210]

You shouldn’t hold back. As @iamwhoiam says, just because there are 2-Tiels doesn’t mean they will get along. Plus as long as each bird is worked with individually, they will remain attached to their hooman counterparts. So I would say to daughter number 1 - you should be confident enough to keep your bird interested in you lol. And sometimes as a first bird, being the birbs only is too much. I speak from experience.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I don’t know why I never stumbled across this thread before now, but I’m so glad your little tiel will be coming home soon. I love how dedicated your teen is, and how she is already is bonded to the little guy. I can’t wait to hear what the vet says, and to get updates and pictures once you bring him home!

 

[Cockatielier]

I don’t know why I never stumbled across this thread before now, but I’m so glad

Hey! You stole my bird! LOL

 

[Cockatielier]

Okay guys, I just have to report, the teen just came home from visiting the bird. Apparently another long-term customer there mentioned to her that the staff worker had gotten angry when I expressed concern about the bird's foot and wanted the owner to call me. So it's highly probable she never even gave him the message. So I can't hold him fully responsible.

My teen is pretty convinced that Bertie's foot had been broken and not healed correctly. I wonder if the vet will take xrays. The long-term customer also told my daughter that she should ask the pet store to please trim Bertie's nails because they are way too long... I wonder if it's worth it to try calling the owner at this point, or just let it go.

You shouldn’t hold back.

Agh! You made me do it! I sent the person an email! Surely the bird is gone by now...

 

[iamwhoiam]

Okay guys, I just have to report, the teen just came home from visiting the bird. Apparently another long-term customer there mentioned to her that the staff worker had gotten angry when I expressed concern about the bird's foot and wanted the owner to call me. So it's highly probable she never even gave him the message. So I can't hold him fully responsible.

My teen is pretty convinced that Bertie's foot had been broken and not healed correctly. I wonder if the vet will take xrays. The long-term customer also told my daughter that she should ask the pet store to please trim Bertie's nails because they are way too long... I wonder if it's worth it to try calling the owner at this point, or just let it go.

Agh! You made me do it! I sent the person an email! Surely the bird is gone by now...

I think you should definitely make sure they relayed the information to the owner. The owner should be responsible for taking Bertie to the vet and having that foot checked. The sooner it is checked the better. If it is broken, once bones start healing it's hard to correct the issue.

 

[Kodigirl210]

Trust me I know the dangers of a multi-bird household as my CAG glares at me due to boredom and I’m sure I hear my Pippin screaming it’s bedtime. Well goodness knows if I have to prepare food for one birb is it really that different preparing for 4?