Steve is favoring a foot to stand on, could he be in pain?

[LadySaphine]

So, Steve the Linnie has been a great little bird since the third day. He only nibbles at you, is very quiet, and loves to cuddle!

But my mom noticed that he stands on one foot a lot. The foot he doesn't sit on (his left foot) is never fully tucked into the feathers- it's only hovering above whatever he's standing.

What makes me think he might be in pain is his nail. When we got him, I noticed that a claw on his left foot wasn't really right... it was facing the side, parallel to the ground. I will try to get a picture son.

Should I be worried? He does it a lot but never complains. Any suggestions?

[Pajarita]

Birds don't ever complain so it falls to us to observe them VERY carefully to figure things out which you seem to be doing. If he doesn't tuck it into his belly, there is pain. Is his toe broken or deformed that his nail grows sideways? Can you trim it to make it more comfortable for him to use this foot? Do you provide different types (material, diameter, inclination, etc) perches? If so, does he appear to put down his 'bad' foot more often on any of them?

[LadySaphine]

We're going to be taking him to a vet next week to check it out. Yesterday we visited a PetSmart that was moving so a ton of stuff was on sale. We got him a natural perch, one of those sand perches, and a new toy.

His toe is not deformed, only the nail. It looks like it was twisted to the side. I don't know how to trim bird nails, another reason to bring him to the vet.

I haven't noticed him favoring a perch. We have a couple of those wavy-looking perches that have different diameters on them. The breeder told us that rope perches would probably be a bad idea for a linnie because linnie's nails grow much faster than most birds (already, Steve's nails are a bit sharper than when we got him). I might get one for him though, because if he's in pain the rope may be a bit more comfortable. We have a rope perch for Peanut and so far that have been no loose bits.

[Pajarita]

Please no sand perches! Those things wreck havoc on their tender soles and some birds have ended up with bumble foot from them. If you want something that would trim his nails naturally, use a pedi-perch, instead (but nothing will work on the funky nail)

[LadySaphine]

I should've questioned them but I guess I thought they would be fine. Luckily he's avoiding it anyways, so now I guess I wasted $3... I wanted a perch that would wear down the other nails anyways, he still needs one.

[Pajarita]

This is the kind I use if I use anything at all (I mostly use natural branches because most of my birds are not caged at all): http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Bird-Perc ... rches.aspx

I like them because they are uneven both in diameter and direction (just like a natural branch would be), they are safe on their feet (you put the smooth part up so their soles and toes rest on it while the claws rest on the rough part), they are light, easy to install, and VERY washable. The only down side they have is that some birds end up chewing them (they are made of plastic) but they are also not that expensive so it's OK, as far as I am concerned.

[Dave & Karen]

I have to agree on the pumice perches, all of our birds have them and use them, these perches are built with your bird's feet in mind and they're very safe.
All of our birds have a rope perch in their cages and they all love them for sleeping on, but you do have to monitor these to make sure they're not chewing on the cotton strands as they can easily get tangled up in the frayed strands and may harm themselves badly trying to break free. Also their nails need to be dull enough so they don't catch on the rope's strands or the same thing can happen where they get tangled, panic, and may go as far as biting their foot off to free themselves. So far only our has lost her right to own a rope perch because she was chewing on it and pulling the strands out.

For nail trimming, I've found those pedi paws things they sell for dogs and cat's nails work very well, they're very safe, they don't freak out the birds, and they sand away the sharp point of their nails easily without running into the quick. Not sure if a linnie's foot is big enough for it to work on them, but it works great for our , , , , and .

[LadySaphine]

Gah, I saw one of those pumice perches but the plastic looked a little too cheap for me. I'll have to get one later, for now Steve has his natural perch (and I would like to keep my birds out all day but now since they're in the same room together I don't want accidents while I'm gone.)

He has been doing it less, I have noticed lately, but now he puts his foot in his belly instead of hovering.

Managed to get pictures:





His inner toe on his left (it looks right in the picture) foot is the one. All of his other toes look fine.

[Dave & Karen]

That deformity on his toe nail shouldn't give him too many problems as he'll learn on his own to keep it out of the way, but because of it's location he may develope arthritis in that foot or toe just from normal use because it can twist on the joints in his toe when he walks or puts weight on it and cause more problems later on. It could very well be sore from twisting on the toe joints just by normal walking on a flat surface or walking or playing too long etc.
Definitely let a vet look at it and recommend the best way to address the problem, he may experience soreness often by walking or playing etc or even from landing on a perch or any surface where that nail could make first contact. Anytime he's keeping that foot up and off the ground is a sign that it's bothering him,
But by keeping that nail clipped short will drastically reduce hom much leverage this nail has to twist on the toe joints. being that he has black nails it's really hard to judge where the quick ends so best to let the vet do the trimming, also that way the bird will resent the vet instead of you if he don't like being trimmed or accidentally gets trimmed down too far. Either way, let the vet be the one who decides the best thing to do for his toe nail problem as it could lead to more problems later on, or it could be ok as is just by keeping it clipped short.

[LadySaphine]

Thank you! He wasnt' on a flat surface for too long- it was the only way I could get a picture! He got a lot of scritches for it, though!