# Feet/toes wrong way around



## ~SarahJayne~ (Oct 14, 2012)

So Waffle has always been clumsy. At first we thought it was just a baby thing, but she's now over a year old, and still has significant trouble getting around the cage, especially on the bars. The problem seems to be her feet. Her grip was always very soft, although she's starting to grip things firmer than she used to. She prefers to lay down when sleeping, as she has balance issues when on one foot. Her toes are the worst part. It's like she doesn't know what to do with them. Half the time she walks normally like the other girls, but every couple of steps her toes will end up the wrong way. When climbing ladders she climbs using the bone behind her foot. 

Pictures are below showing the issue, as well as a two of her standing normal for comparison. Is there anything we can do? I've been doing some reading and symptoms seem to match malnutrition in the first few days of life leading to developmental issues. She's a bit... 'special' too. Little things like if I go to give her scritches, instead of leaning her head against my finger, she'll 'miss' sometimes (like missing a high five). She has to sit in my hand for cuddles, as she'll often fall off a finger. She's like a permanent baby. Does anyone have a special birdy like this? Any ideas to make things easier for her, or to improve her coordination and feet positioning?


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

No. My cockatiel honey also has a nail going in the wrong way but I discovered that she broke it while climbing around the cage. I think you should ask a vet about that.


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

I noticed that if she has feet like that, she won't be able to climb properly and she will get hurt. PLEASE take her to the vet.


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## ~SarahJayne~ (Oct 14, 2012)

She's always been like this since we got her at approx 10-12 weeks old last xmas, hence the initial assumption of baby clumsiness. (She has improved though, just not at as much as expected) As she's grown, it's been becoming more and more apparant her development isn't in line with the other girls, which we got when they were a bit older. The toe issues are with both feet, so pretty certain it's not a break. 

I'm looking to book her in with the avian vet down south for her first yearly checkup at the end of the month, so will be asking some questions then. I'm just not sure there's much they can actually do to 'fix' the way she walks/perches, so am looking for ways to make it easier for her to get around safely, and encourage correct posture. I've placed perches close together so she doesn't have to climb the bars unless she chooses to, and have platforms for sleeping so she can't fall in the night. 

It's tricky to make it an enriching environment for the other girls, yet a safe one for her. She very much likes company, and follows Munchkin around all day copying her, so separating her in a different cage wouldn't really work too well. (She got very distressed when we moved Marshmallow to a separate cage right next to the main one when she was laying eggs, and kept trying to find a way to get through the bars to her.)


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

This is what I am currently using to help my 'tiel who dislocated her foot. Her toes lost the ability to grip anything. One of the toes are fused but I have seen some improvement in the back toes with grip. If you can withstand the bites and can get a good hold on her to complete the exercises you can try and build up some flexibility in the toes. Also doing perch exercises by having them step up onto one and back off a few times can help. 
http://www.exoticpetvet.com/breeds/physicaltherapybirds.htm

I think I see a red sore spot developing on her right leg, the back left toe. I can't tell for sure. It looks kind of like it has been rubbed too many times to me, which is how bumblefoot happens. You will want to keep an eye on it so it doesn't get infected or turn into bumblefoot. If it does turn into that you can get a cream from your vet to put on it.


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## ~SarahJayne~ (Oct 14, 2012)

Thanks Kiwi, that's a really useful link. I'll have to give her a go with the excercises. Luckily her bite doesn't have much force behind it, and she doesn't seem to mind when I touch her feet. I'm thinking the perch exercises will be our first step, as I really want to get it into her muscle memory which toes go which way when she steps.

I'll keep an eye on that back toe. I think she leans on it when she climbs the ladders, so I might have to wrap the rungs in something...


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

If you use different sized perches it works best because then she has to open and close her feet more for them. To me it looks like the problem could be the arch of the foot? She seems to be able to bend the middle of the toes fine. Or it could be some of the ligaments in the joint bones closer to the foot in those toes.

Be careful if you are going to bend and massage her toes. If you pull too hard their toes are tiny and bones are hollow, so you can break or injure them. It would be better if you had some kind of herbal pain killer for birds while doing that. Kiwi has her avian arthritis/pain reliever extract 30 minutes before I try anything so it doesn't hurt too bad. 

Also a good cream for sore spots and bumblefoot is Healx Soother Plus cream. I got it for Kiwi since she sometimes gets sore spots from the stiff joint on her toe. Completely safe even if they eat it. With their feet there is a risk they will try and wipe their foot by their eye with it, which can sting a bit then. I got some of that stuff in my eye after treating Kiwi's foot and it stung a little for about 10-15 minutes and then it went away, it was barely noticeable after a minute or two.


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## tielbob (Mar 25, 2013)

Kiwi said:


> ...Also a good cream for sore spots and bumblefoot is Healx Soother Plus cream. I got it for Kiwi since she sometimes gets sore spots from the stiff joint on her toe. Completely safe even if they eat it. With their feet there is a risk they will try and wipe their foot by their eye with it, which can sting a bit then. I got some of that stuff in my eye after treating Kiwi's foot and it stung a little for about 10-15 minutes and then it went away, it was barely noticeable after a minute or two.


Another mild cream I like is SSD (Silvadene, silver sulfadiazine, and other names). A vet can give you a prescription for it (needed in the U.S. and maybe elsewhere), or give you some to use. It has antibacterial and antifungal effects and is often used on people for burns. On tiels I've used it for wounds and bumblefoot sores.


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

My archie (GCC) has a paralyzed foot from when his leg broke as a chick. I like keeping things that don't swing too much in the cage and large perches with good grip available, though by the way he maneuvers around things you would never know he was 'special'. I also keep him flighted in case there's a fall.


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