Limping

[Chikoo]

Rumi is limping on his left foot a bit. This started yesterday or so. I examined both of his legs and feet and they look fine. No odd twists that I could see, no inflammation. He can still move both claws just fine, but he needs a lot of support to step up, he will raise his right foot and lift himself up and kind of carry the other one over. I help him up. When he walks on the floor or counter top he is clearly limping on the other foot.

He is quite the acrobat in his aviary as of late, I wonder if he just got into some mischief and will be fine soon?

Chikoo had actually fractured her ankle not too long ago (my fault), I took her to the vet who bandaged it up with a stint, which came out about 5 mins after I came home. But she healed perfectly nonetheless. So I am assuming that Rumi will be fine in a few days or something?

 

[moni.k]

I would still suggest a vet visit. The quicker the better, I know it's Independence Day and most clinics are closed. But, there could be a bunch of underlying causes that we can't notice or see. Aww, hope Rumi makes a quick recovery. Please keep us posted on his progress.

 

[maillet]

As you mentioned he is an acrobat, I would likely monitor it over a couple of days more before you "stress" him out with a visit to a veterinarian. Climbing on bars is difficult on their feet, one could simply be sore...

An easy way to check this is:
(1) Find a SOFT fabric and line a perch with it. See if he gravitates toward staying on that perch for extended periods. If he does, the foot is likely simply sore & he is doing what comes natural to keep it more comfortable with an easier to grip type of perch. At my house, I use a banister with a blanket tied around. Whenever he plays a lot on metal bars, you can be sure he will head right there to "relax".

(2) Play a lot of "active" games with him like "Fetch". A sick bird will have no interest at all in learning new tricks, whereas a sore bird will likely play for a while then relax.

 

[Chikoo]

Maillet, thanks for the advice. Perhaps I should let him perch on my female's boing. He still spends a lot of time vocalizing, making happy sounds, and seems completely his usual self otherwise, eating a lot, etc. Just has that limp on the left foot...