Splay legged/Spraddle Legged Birds

[marie83]

Hey everyone.
I also have a bird with REALY BAD splayed legs- a Blue & Gold Macaw.
I just posted about this too....

He can't stand, walk, OR perch, but just kind of hangs on the side of his cage. BREAKS my heart !!!

I really need some advice on what to do to make him as comfortable as possible.....

Can you put some platforms in his cage to give him a break from clinging? I'm thinking maybe the type chinchillas and degus have in their cages but a bit bigger.

[caeser's owner]

I have a splayed legged parakeet. He had a hard time walking on my tile when I brought him home but does great on the carpet. His leg is so bad, that he is most comfortable standing next to a wall for his leg to hold onto. As others have said, he was unable to use the plastic perches that came in his cage. I was afraid that he would have to live his whole life in the bottom of the cage but I finally figured it out. I cut branches and twigs off of our tree and put many in the cage, at different angles. This lets him jump around the cage, always having a triangle to put his splayed leg on. He gets around really fast and can eat out of his dish and everything. I have owned many parakeets over the years, and I have to treat him differently. Typically, you can push your finger under your birds belly, and he will climb onto your finger. My bird can't do this, unless I keep my thumb out for his splayed leg. I have just had to approach things different with this little guy.

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for taking in this special little guy! It was very kind of you to do so. And yes, they do just fine. I had two budgies with severely splayed legs (it was both legs and they pointed upwards at an angle as the 'arms' of a V) and, even though they could not perch (they actually rested on their bellies), they did just fine (they had mates and everything). As you figured out, it's just a matter of taking into account what they can and cannot do (you solved it by putting up branches providing 'side' perches for his bad leg while I gave them platforms lined with paper towels).