Un-co Bob

[kezzaj]

So Bob has settled in really nice, he's a great bird and is chattering more and more each day but I've noticed he is very un-co.. He's always falling over or off his perches and stumbles around in his cage. When out, he isn't any better and trips around the place. I was hoping to not have to clip his wings but when he flies he doesn't stop. He will fly into everything. I'm really worried that he will break a wing or worse so I'll have to clip his wings. We've had him checked and there is no neuro problems so he's just a clutz. He can't stand on one leg and hold something (fruit or toys) in his other. Also means, with his falling, his tail isn't growing to full length, maybe I should change his name to stumpy?

Has anyone else got a vertically challenged bird?

 

[TessieB]

Unless you have a very young bird who's learning how to use his body, I'd go to another avian vet. If you do, be sure to get a video of your bird's behavior at home. Often, due to excitement and stress of the vet visit, your bird will hide some of his symptoms.

 

[Kiwibird]

Kiwi occasionally gets SO excited he'll run right off his perch (and since he can't fly, he drops like a rock and comes running for his mommy :roll eyes: ). But thats a rare occurrence.

I wouldn't say a bird who is consistently uncoordinated is a normal thing. How are Bob's nails? Overgrown nails can cause imbalance. So can inappropriate sized perches (too thin in diameter or too thick). I would say look around his environment for easy explanations, and it's also entirely possible Bob is just very young still or a klutz by nature. If he doesn't improve or the imbalance worsens, go back to the vet and say if he can't find anything "wrong" with Bob, then what does he recommend doing to improve his glance so he doesn't injure himself.

 

[MrSquak]

BoB looks like a pretty young bird...Tango was pretty uncoordinated when she was first learning to fly as well. Can Bob do turns and hover correctly?

Took Tango a few months to master.

 

[kezzaj]

Bob is 7 months old so is still finding his way. He can't hover or turns, just flies flat out and stops whenever he hits something.

He has gotten better as he has gotten older, I know the breeders were worried about one of his legs when he was younger, there seems to be no abnormalities though? His claws are ok though, not too long.

Thanks for the replies, I will have another chat to the avian vet next time of he hasn't improved

 

[MrSquak]

I remember when tango was about that age, she'd just take off flying in one direction until hitting a wall.

The good part was that she would fly so slowly you could catch her out of the air, put out your finger and trigger the perch reflex. You are left with a very confused looking bird on your finger trying to figure out what happened.

 

[Betrisher]

Yeah, I reckon Bob's just young. You might put his perches lower down so that if he falls, he won't fall so far. If you have him out on a table, for example, always make sure you put a cloth down for him to walk on. My poor Beakies were forever face-planting on my table until I realised it was too slippery for them (poor darlings). Put some climbing ropes and a ladder in his play area so he can get plenty of practice in using his body, legs and wings in getting about. At his young age, his bones and muscles are still gaining strength, so the more exercise he can get now, the better set up he'll be for later on.