# My tiel's left foot =/



## brooklyn12 (Jun 4, 2012)

My tiel brooklyn is about 5 years old now and around yesterday I started to notice she was favoring her left foot and standing on her right foot. I figured she was just resting since it was a bit late and a little chilly so she was trying to keep warm. Today when I took her out I noticed that when she would get comfortable she'd tuck her left foot again. Now I cannot recall her crashing or doing anything to injure herself at all but I am worried. 

We have her in her cage as of right now and she does stand on her right foot at times but she still climbs down on her own to go eat. She still closes her injured foot and uses her injured foot to scratch her face. She climbs to the bottom of the cage and plays with her cuttle bone and even when she was out she'd fly to me while I watch tv and climb all the way to my face to kiss me. She still puts pressure on her foot which I hope is a positive thing as it could be more serious. As my mom says her personality is still there ,she still chirps a lot and seems to be happy but she just has this foot problem. 

Any thoughts on if it could possibly be a little sprain or mini injury. Anyones thoughts I'd appreciate it very much.


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

Can you see the bottom of her foot? Is there any red bumps or spots? What type of perches does she have? I am wondering if she is getting bumble foot. If she was a budgie I would be concerned with kidney tumours as they are prone to them and they cause left foot lameness however not sure if tiels get that or not as I have never heard of it in tiels. If it was from a tumor I do not believe she would still use the foot to climb and scratch however. Just something to keep in mind if it does not improve tho. I personally would check feet and if all looks well would give a few days to see if she has sprained/bruised it and it recovers on its own, if not better in a week or so I would consider a vet visit .
Oh one thing I didn't think of is an egg, is she broody at all?


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## brooklyn12 (Jun 4, 2012)

She has regular standard cockatiel perches from what I know. I don't really know what exactly it is.
Yes I forgot to mention that. I have seen the bottom of her foot and looked at the top. She has no bruises, cuts, or any type of bumps. I looked for maybe some swelling and I did not see anything. Her foot looks normal from top to bottom. 
I had a budgie with bumble foot so i know how that looks and I see no signs of that at all thankfully.
Hm well come to think about it she has been on the bottom of her cage and she likes to make a nest with the napkins she manages to scoop up from under her cage (we use that instead of like newspaper). She has never layed an egg however but she does seem like she wants too.


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

But if she is acting normal and no signs of egg binding then not sure that would be it.


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## Brandon2k14 (Nov 26, 2014)

You should get her other perches like Rope perches and natural wood perches.


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## Brandon2k14 (Nov 26, 2014)

Maybe her foot got caught in the bars of the cage is there any redness.My cockatiel Rocko has a reddish bruise on his foot he must have hurt it somehow but can use it perfectly fine.


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## brooklyn12 (Jun 4, 2012)

Ok ill look into the perches. I've thought of almost everything and she is walking back and forth in her cage chirping because she wants to come out so I am hoping that it at the end of the day it is just a sprain of some sort and it heals on its own. 

Thanks for the opinions and ideas on what it could be. I'll continue to see how she is the next couple days see if her mood changes and of course see if the foot is better.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Tiels naturally tuck a foot when comfortable. There's no reason to think that's its injured if she's acting normal and using it when walking or climbing. It could just be that she's comfy and tucking because of this.


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## tasheanne (Dec 31, 2014)

They tuck their feet when comfy or going to sleep, it's normal. However natural wooden perches (like tree branches that you obviously need to disinfect with bird safe disinfectants and bake in the oven, etc. to get rid of the nasties before use) are a must. The perches that come with the cages when you buy them are crappy and your cockatiels feet will pay the price for using them. I mean, they ok to have in there but you need some others too, you can't just solely have the dowel ones that comes with the cage. They usually too small and too smooth, putting too much pressure on the same part of the foot day in and day out which causes serious issues. Cockatiels are on their feet all the time, they don't sit or lay down, so it's super important to make sure their feet are well looked after. 
I wouldn't reccomend rope perches generally because they tend to get chewed and then the fibres can impact their crop if you're not constantly keeping an eye on much they're destroying it. This can need surgery to correct which is pretty dangerous on a little bird and if it is really bad sometimes there's no saving them at all so you're better off with natural perches than with rope ones.


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## brooklyn12 (Jun 4, 2012)

Thank you guys for your opinions. I have already looked into better perches for my tiel. After another day of watching her she is still using both feet again to climb down, pace back and forth when ever she sees me and eat and play. When she does decide to just rest I still do see her at times leaning more towards her right foot and taking some weight off her left foot. So l continue to hope it is simply a sprain of that sort and it will just heal with time.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> Thank you guys for your opinions. I have already looked into better perches for my tiel. After another day of watching her she is still using both feet again to climb down, pace back and forth when ever she sees me and eat and play. When she does decide to just rest I still do see her at times leaning more towards her right foot and taking some weight off her left foot. So l continue to hope it is simply a sprain of that sort and it will just heal with time.


It just sounds like that's the foot she likes to tuck. I never really paid attention when my tiels did it so I don't know if they tucked one foot over the other, but tucking a foot is completely normal and actually a sign of a healthy tiel, not a sick one.


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