Disabled parrot advice

[Farlap]

We are about to adopt a disabled parrot witha badly deformed leg. He's been like it since before fledging and it's thought to be a break caused by parenting accident. Does anyone have any long term experience of whether there could be problems in later life? It won't put us off adopting but its nice to know what to expect. He's
Only five years old now.

[marie83]

I would say that arthritis is probably going to be a much increased risk. I don't know of anything else. Why don't you speak to your avian vet about it and see what they say? They might be able to advise you on care for your bird that will decrease the risk then you can make informed choices.

In the meantime platform perches and soft perches will help the little bird get some comfort from time to time and give him a break from having to perch in a certain way.

[Farlap]

Thankyou for taking time to
Reply. He has a leg that faces 90 degrees wrong way from knee down and on the otherside one of the rear ties is also at a wrong angle. Over the phone it wasn't explained too well us but now I've seen it for myself I'm
A
Little
Concerned.

[laducockatiel]

Make sure to put the perches low, and definitely put a few towels down at the bottom of the cage just in case he falls. I agree with Marie, ask your avian covet and they will help you to care for your disabled bird (if you get him). Don't worry, we are here to help!

Regards,
Laducockatiel

[marie83]

I'm sure his current home/rescue place will be able to give you some tips on how well he can perch/get about etc too. See if you can visit and talk to them before you decide as well as talking to the vet. As Ladu said we will all help you with suggestions should you run into difficulty.
Even though he may have a few problems birds are pretty adaptable, do you know when the accident happened? you may find he is already very well adapted to his situation if it was a while ago.

Also run a search for splayed legs on here, there have been a couple of posts very recently about birds with leg problems, it may give you an idea of just how adaptable our little friends are and also give you some ideas on the type of housing and layout that may be suitable for him.

[Farlap]

Thankyou for you kind reply. He's been like it almost from day one so prob parent inflicted injury. I'll keep you posted.

[liz]

I have seen some pretty strange things in this forum including a Lovie with two splayed legs. He was an energentic happy little thing even though he couldn't accomplish everything he wanted.

Get him a vet check as soon as it is possible for you. Don't under estimate a handle capped child or critter. I have even seen a dog with no back legs learn to walk on the front ones.

[cmaygar]

http://www.birdchannel.com/media/bird-d ... s.aspx.pdf

This is a good article from The Bird Channel written by a veterinarian about leg and tendon deformity issues. Hopefuly this helps.

[Farlap]

Thankyou. That link was interesting. Well the special
Chap has arrived and is the
Most wonderful
Character. After a few days with him I'm beginning to see his
Limitations. He really needs soft perches. Does anyone know of such a thing. Is there a safe way to make them
Myself?

[marie83]

The only thing I can really think of is rope, but I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love it because birds usually LOVE rope perches. I hate it because I've heard many many stories about birds getting stuck in them and hanging to death + I've seen some really shocking photographic evidence. I now only allow ropes under supervision but i don't have disabled birds where the pros may outweigh the risks.

It's up to you really to weigh up the pros and cons. You can reduce the risk to your bird by-
Only using natural fibre ropes such as sisal.
Cutting all threads off that come loose.
Condition checking and replacing reguarly.

Are the platform/platform perches no good for his condition? You could always secure some sort of padding on them such as kitchen towell that you can replace easily and doesn't risk trapping his claws.