URGENT: older bird limping, weak ...

[simone]

I have a 13 year old blue crown conure
About four days ago I notice that he was limping and not using one of his feet.
It seemed like he didn't have a lot of feeling in it and couldn't hold his food like he normally could.
His previous owners had only large perches in his cage when I got him, and because of this his feet have always been really weak, and you have to hold his toes when you hold him or else he wobbles.
But when I noticed he was limping he wasn't using the foot and it's gotten progressively worse. Since he started limping I moved him out of his cage and into a box with towels padding the bottom of it and he's been living in there since (I read online that when a bird has an injured foot moving them a place they can't climb or put any stress on the foot will help it heal). He had been limping and moving around still all week and acting his normal self until earlier today. This morning I was cleaning his box and I moved him into his cage for a few hours to give him a break, and when I put him back in the box I noticed his foot seemed worse. He was having a hard time balancing and was hardly moving at all and acting really lethargic. I wouldn't have put him in the cage if he had been acting this way before so I think he was tired from balancing, but I'm still really worried and I'm looking for some kind of advice as to what I should do.
I live in Maine so the nearest avian vet is quite a ways away, and last time I took him in I paid $50 for 2 minutes with the vet. So I wanted to see if putting him in a box would help before taking him in again. He's still not balancing well and not using the foot and doesn't seem quite like himself. Does it sound like any medical condition or just a simple injury made worse by his age/condition?

[Cockatielsongs]

Get to a vet ASAP!
Don't stress him and do what your doing, make sure he has easy access to food and water and get him to the vet ASAP!!
Sorry but thats all I can say :/

[marie83]

Get to a vet ASAP!
Don't stress him and do what your doing, make sure he has easy access to food and water and get him to the vet ASAP!!
Sorry but thats all I can say :/

+1

[Pajarita]

Look at his foot first. Is it swolen? Is it red? Is there something like a sore underneath? Birds limp for different reasons:
- gout (swolen joints and toes due to uric acid crystals -caused by too much protein in the diet-depositing in extremities instead of been excreted) is very painful and causes them to limp.
- bumble foot (a sore or its beginning which looks like a red patch on the sole or under the toes) this is caused by having the wrong perches (inadequate size, too rough -concrete or sand, all perches having the same diameter)
- snagged, broken or too short (clipped) claw(s)
-broken toe

But it can also be due to eggbinding, internal tumors or infections, and even neurological in origin so yes, you need to take the bird to an AV or a vet that does exotics asap.

[Eric&Rebecca]

I agree with all of the above go to a avian or at minimum and exotic vet as soon as possible.

[paper_lantern]

I live in Maine as well, there is an avian vet near Bangor, there is also one in South Gorham and in portland. You NEED to take this poor bird to the vet. Parrots often hide just how much pain they are in, and a serious problem wont just fix itself without veterinary intervention. Money should not be an issue when it comes to caring for our babies.