Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Everyone,

Recenlty, my umbrella cockatoo got out of his cage while I was at work.

He attacked my alexandrine parakeet through the cage bars.

Jazz (Alexandrine) had to have part of a let amputated.

Any suggestions on setting up his cage, perches, concerns, etc. would be greatly apprecaited.

Donna

We currently have a handicapped quaker. The previous owner to her to their local small animal vet to have her band removed (she was picking at it a lot) well the vet wasn't experience with birds and cut through the band into her leg. He tried stitching up the leg but it became infected and they had to take her to a "real" avian vet and have her leg amputated. You would be amazed at how well they learn to get around even with only one leg. We have also had other birds that were handicapped but this is the only one currently in and my son has developed a soft spot for her.

Anyway her cage has several rope perches which seem to be easier for her to climb. Then she has two wooden ramps that have sisal rope wrapped around them (watch for loose strings of rope so she doesn't catch her toes on her good foot) to help her keep her grip on them. Towards the top of her cage we have a plastic "sun deck" and a metal "wire" shelf on opposite sides. She sleeps on her sun deck and spends a lot of time hanging out on her metal shelf. She climbs quite well on the wire ropes but seems to slip a lot on the dowel type perches so we have taken them out completely. She also has a branch perch which she enjoys chewing on but doesn't seem to try perching on. Her food bowls are situated so that she can either perch on a rope perch or at the edge of one of the ramps and she will usually balance on her rope perches to eat or drink. She has no problem holding on to her food and when eating something a little larger like a nutriberry she has learned to balance it against her chest while "sitting". If your bird has just become disabled it might take a while to get used to it.

Also I don't know if your bird is fully flighted or if you plan on letting her/him be fully flighted but watch for landings. Ollie loves to fly around but can only land on a larger surface such as the top of her cage. She cannot balance for landing on a hand/shoulder as well. She also doesn't feel as secure when trying to perch on your hand, she will perch on the larger portion of our wrist or likes to be cradled in a towel or washcloth and is quite calm them. If she starts to feel insecure she gets nippy and wants to go back in her cage. She also seems to tire out more quickly (her health is fine besides missing a foot) since she has to do all her hopping on one foot so be careful to allow for her getting tired quicker than usualy and having to work up to longer playtimes outside her cage (if she was used to it before.

Thanks for the info!

I have him in a small travel cage right now but have decided it will be much easier for him to move around if I can get him back to his larger cage - he climbs very well when he can get to the horizontal bars - his larger cage has all horizontal bars...

I'm going online now to order some ladders and some platforms. I do have a "table top" perch - large, round, flat wood made from Cajeput wood. I also have a metal "corner platform perch" that has bars like the sides of a cage.

I thought I'd get some ladders too...

My Vet suggested taking some of the larger round perches and sanding them down so that they're flatter...I may try that too.

I'm not sure how to get him out of the cage - as you mentioned with your little quaker, he can't balance on my hand and he jumps off. I found out yesterday the one legged bird is faster than the two legged human!!!

Thanks again!

Donna

Yes they can definitely be quick even when handicapped. That is why we started using the towel method both to get her out of the cage and also to hold her when she is already out. Even though she was agitated by it the first few times she now settles down completely in the towel and seems to enjoy being snuggled in it for very long periods of time. The towel wrapped securely but not tight around her seems to give her a feeling of safety so she relaxes and allows snuggles and scritches then.

Also yours may start to feel more secure if you are able to let her balance on either the palm or flat back of your hand or else the wider part of the arm. Ours will sometimes sit like this as well even though she likes the towel better.

Hi,

I really hate the thought of toweling him because he dislikes it so....

He doesn't mind stepping on my hand. His problem is that he can't balance.

What I'm trying to teach him is that he can step on my hand and bite down on this perch and hold it in his beak for balance. I don't know that we're making progress.

Like I said, he's comfortable stepping on the hand (palm or back) it's just the balance issue....and maybe with time, he'll come to trust that I won't dump him on the floor.

This morning I managed to move him from his platform perch down to the perch in front of his food dish with him on my hand, holding the perch for balance.

I'm now having a problem with him plucking - I don't know what to do about it. He didn't pluck at the Vet's office but has started the day we came home (Saturday). All he does is sit on that platform perch and pluck. I know he liked being at the Vets because the Tech's all fussed over him and he got attention all day long...Plus, he had a crush on another bird down there....

I don't know if it's a combination of their hormonal time combined with the fact he had to leave his new love interest behind or what but I'm very concerned.

Donna