Reptile & Amphibian Forums

For the first time ever, I noticed my little girl holding one of her feet up in her feathers (somewhat like a duck). At first I thought that maybe she hurt herself- so I checked her out but everything seems to look fine. Do cockatiels do this if they are chilly? I've never seen this behavior in them.
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Katrien =)

*and Toby and L.O.

Is she sleeping when her foot is tucked up? Because that is how parrots sleep with one foot up in their feathers. I know it looks uncomfortable but they seem to like it.

If she does it while fully awake I'd be more concerned.

Is this a constant problem with the little guy? If his feet consistently feel cold to the touch, it probably warrants a vet visit.

PHaron

Well, I've not seen her doing it before- and she seems to only do it with her right foot. My other cockatiel isn't doing it. On the other hand she really doesn't do it often and it usually is when she is sleeping a bit.

One other observation on this gals feet- I've always noticed that compared to my other cockatiels she has much less 'grippy' feet. I've provided all sorts of different perch types and resting surfaces to encourage her using those little feet lots- and having her ideal perch. I've kind of figured it might be a bit of an arthritis type of thing since I really don't know her age- or have any idea at all for that matter (she was a rescue). Any thoughts on this?

I'm going to the vet ASAP anyway just to check out my Toby since he's been plucking a bit again. He seems to go through phases where its not much and than increases (he was also a rescue in bad shape when I got him). I've got a humidifier to keep their room from getting dry like the rest of the house when the central heat kicks on. Also I've been giving them both baths at the warmest part of the day- and I'll be adding a little aloe juice to the bath water soon here to help his plumage. It's also been recomended that I use flax seed- just a couple per bird in their daily diet. Any one have experiences with this? I'm a bit more hesitant because I've heard of flax doing bad things in some other animals and just wanted to know if any of you all have used it for your cockatiels. I know people use it for pigeons and such but... well anyway.

Feedback is good =)
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Katrien =)

*and Toby and L.O.