material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgie

[bug_n_flock]

material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgie

How safe are clothes? Like, if I were to take an old t shirt and turn it into strips, could I use it to tie a cargo net style hanging device to act as a framework for Legs to cling to and move around? The biggest hazards I see are chewing on any fraying edges, and potentially getting tangled in it. With strategic beads and toys tied in to distract her beak and weigh down the net so it doesn't tangle her as easily... idk, what do you guys think?


We want to have a few mobility devices we know she can use before we start to build her custom enclosure(s). If a toy doesn't work, we don't want to have planned an entire enclosure on the assumption "she can use X to help her get around" only to find that no, she can't. For now, she still sleeps in the travel cage and spends most of the day out on me, on Mr. Bug, on the couch, etc. We still are looking at options for a water dish for her(maybe a water bottle we are now thinking) and giving her water in a shallow dish a few times a day.



Sent from phone with sinus infection. Please forgive any weirdness in post

 

[SilverSage]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

I would use natural fiber rope instead, whatever the net is made out of. And maybe, depending on the severity of her disability, consider a sea grass mat instead of a net.


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[OutlawedSpirit]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

I use platform perches and hang a sea grass mat hammock for Squish, my disabled lovie. She is unable to stand on a perch so, I use platforms instead. Let me see if I can find a picture or two of her setup.

You can sort of see here. The are a couple perches in there now for Squash, her new buddy, another disabled lovie with a very severe scissor beak.

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[FlyBirdiesFly]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

I’ve heard of people wrapping wood platforms in fleece or vet wrap to provide better grip for disabled birds. Can Legs fly? There are also platform bridges made of logs that can be used to connect the main platform perches.

 

[bug_n_flock]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

Legs cannot fly. She usually can't stand unless on fabric. The reason I was thinking t shirts is that we are in the middle of nowhere and we only just recently made a bird toy stuff order and not only does that place not deliver to PO boxes(had to have it delivered 500 miles away and then driven here by my mom who was visiting), but they also only had sisel rope. Not my favorite to work with. Any suggestions of places with bird safe rope that would deliver to a PO box?


What is Squish's disability? Legs has pretty severe splay leg. I'd love to see more of your special birds.



Legs cannot fly. Her wings are clipped because she cannot walk unless on specific things, and she could get herself into quite a lot of trouble in our place since it is not finished yet, and we keep the windows open 99% of the time. The adult breeder budgies are not clipped, so we close the windows any time we are feeding/watering or messing with the cages at all. I may be willing to let her try flying once my foot heals and I can walk again. But if Mr. Bug(sorry, different nickname on a different site) were out doing farm chores, errands, or whatever and Legs flew off and got into trouble as it is now I would just have to sit here and watch. No thanks!


Those log bridges are great. Alex's cage is full of those and large diameter cotton rope perches(not a chewer of rope). Easier on his feet and his balance.


Legs is a pretty messed up flatbird, but she is happy and loves life. We adore her and her feisty but sweet personality.



View attachment 22424


ETA: she has both wings clipped even tho in the photo she didn't

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

This is a pretty good picture of Squish's leg. Her breeder originally thought she was just a bad splay, but when I took her in at about 5 weeks old, I could see that there was more to it.

In addition to her one leg being twisted in front of her, her spine is also twisted so that her tail sits almost 60 degrees to the side. Almost like a person with a really bad case of scoliosis.

She gets around enough to be happy, and she can fly. Any time she's out she flies straight to me. I never even thought about clipping her because she falls so easily.

I think once you get a cage set up, legs will adapt better than you think. With all the handicapped birds I've taken in, their biggest obstacle seems to be the one in our minds.

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[bug_n_flock]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

I hope so. Legs is still getting a custom cage since she did so poorly in the one her parents raised her in. She would get a leg or 2 thru the bars on the side or the grate at the floor and then panic and wing flap and we were terrified she would break a leg.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

I took a couple better pictures of Squish this morning so you could have more of an idea of her mobility issues to see if you think it would be even remotely comparable to Legs.

Her head isn't twisted like it looks in the second picture, she was just trying to remove my "band" for me, but the lower part of her back is always like that.

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[bug_n_flock]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

She is precious. Is she able to use her right foot relatively normally? Both of Legs' legs are out to the side like she is doing the splits. She can bring them a bit together under her, but rests with them flat and her on her belly.


View attachment 22447


Vs


View attachment 22448


(Legs on the right)

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

Her right leg she can get underneath her, and she can clench her left foot, but the rest of the leg is essentially frozen and she really can't move it at all. We've tried physical therapy in all of the leg joints from her hip to her foot, and her foot is the only part that has mobility. She will use that foot though. I've seen her hang from the top of her cage with her left foot so she could scratch her head with her good leg.

Can Legs grasp with her feet? If she can, I am certain she could learn to navigate around a cage by climbing the bars, especially if you got her a cage with all horizontal bars. I have a friend with an elderly amazon that can't perch due to severe arthritis so she gave her platform perches and covers them with fabric covers she has sown. It gives extra grip, which you said Legs can get around on fabric surfaces, but it also makes it much easier to keep things sanitary because as long as you make extra, you just change them out and wash them.

I try to always take in special needs birds whenever I have the means, and it really is amazing what they can adapt to. I think if you focus on what Legs CAN do, and build a cage for her around that, instead of trying to build it around what she can't do, she will amaze you.

 

[noodles123]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

It kind of depends on the bird. If you did use t-shirts, I would make sure that they were 100% cotton and not some sort of weird polyester blend and even then, I would supervise closely, knowing that cotton rope is often discouraged due to intestinal blockage issues.

If your bird is the type to chew on materials (like t-shirts or ropes), then I would probably avoid using cotton. What you don't want is a slow build-up in the intestines from years of particle ingestion. As you already stated, tangled feet would be the another potential hazard. A super thin material might make snags more likely.

All cotton is going to have risks (as are most ropes and leathers--although hemp and sea-grass rope types are somewhat safer)..Side- note: pretty much any rope/material can cause blockages if ingested, but some materials are more forgiving than others (due to the nature of cotton rope toys, it tends to be a bit infamous).

Although I have seen felt-types of fabric in bird toys, I am not convinced that these fabrics are any safer, as many snuggle huts (very unsafe) contain that type of fabric and such huts have been known to cause intestinal blockages as well.

Bird toys in general are kind of "buyer beware" in most cases...I know I didn't exactly answer your question, but those are some things to consider.

 

[bug_n_flock]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

Her right leg she can get underneath her, and she can clench her left foot, but the rest of the leg is essentially frozen and she really can't move it at all. We've tried physical therapy in all of the leg joints from her hip to her foot, and her foot is the only part that has mobility. She will use that foot though. I've seen her hang from the top of her cage with her left foot so she could scratch her head with her good leg.

Can Legs grasp with her feet? If she can, I am certain she could learn to navigate around a cage by climbing the bars, especially if you got her a cage with all horizontal bars. I have a friend with an elderly amazon that can't perch due to severe arthritis so she gave her platform perches and covers them with fabric covers she has sown. It gives extra grip, which you said Legs can get around on fabric surfaces, but it also makes it much easier to keep things sanitary because as long as you make extra, you just change them out and wash them.

I try to always take in special needs birds whenever I have the means, and it really is amazing what they can adapt to. I think if you focus on what Legs CAN do, and build a cage for her around that, instead of trying to build it around what she can't do, she will amaze you.

Legs can grasp and hang by her feet. I would be willing to try a horizontal bar cage, but that is the type that she was born in and once she finally fledged, she would be 99×/100 on the cage floor stuck with her feet thru the bars of the grate. A few times she got stuck on the side of the cage and panicked, scaring the bajeezas out of us. She couldn't get around well enough to eat and drink from the bowls, and her parents cold turkey weaned her since she couldn't chase them to pester for food or anything.



Another thing to keep in mind about the cage situation is that I don't ever see her as a bird who will usually be in the cage. Between me and Mr. Bug she is pretty much only in the cage to sleep, and I don't expect that to change all that much in the future.








Legs likes to kill and destroy toys, but mostly wood and natural palm, jute, sola, seagrass etc. She leaves my clothes alone, except to use them to help her get around. We really don't buy many bird toys. Just put together HUGE orders of bird toy parts every so often, and it keeps me busy fiddling around making toys(can't do much right now on account of a broken foot and living on a farm). Currently I have something crazy like 3 big boxes of toy parts and a full box of completed toys waiting for the birds to destroy. Most toys are made with a particular bird's play style in mind. I know I can come up with a "safe" way to do something like this for legs, I just need to keep thinking about it.

 

[buurd]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

What an adorable baby :rollingba

 

[Arin]

Re: material safety questions/drafting "mobility toy" designs for special needs budgi

Her right leg she can get underneath her, and she can clench her left foot, but the rest of the leg is essentially frozen and she really can't move it at all. We've tried physical therapy in all of the leg joints from her hip to her foot, and her foot is the only part that has mobility. She will use that foot though. I've seen her hang from the top of her cage with her left foot so she could scratch her head with her good leg.

Can Legs grasp with her feet? If she can, I am certain she could learn to navigate around a cage by climbing the bars, especially if you got her a cage with all horizontal bars. I have a friend with an elderly amazon that can't perch due to severe arthritis so she gave her platform perches and covers them with fabric covers she has sown. It gives extra grip, which you said Legs can get around on fabric surfaces, but it also makes it much easier to keep things sanitary because as long as you make extra, you just change them out and wash them.

I try to always take in special needs birds whenever I have the means, and it really is amazing what they can adapt to. I think if you focus on what Legs CAN do, and build a cage for her around that, instead of trying to build it around what she can't do, she will amaze you.

Hey,

I have a severely splayed budgie (she/he is flat to the ground). You mentioned physio therapy for your birds and I was wondering if you could go into explicit detail for this as I would love to help my bird in even the slightest way if I can.

Thanks!