# Limping Cockatiel!



## Abby (Jul 30, 2010)

Minnie, my female cockatiel, is limping. I didn't notice it until just now. She's completely leaning onto her right foot. She doesn't put any weight down on her left. When she walks, it is really obvious that she is limping. I'm really worried about her. I don't know what's wrong. I can't remember any specific falls or crashes or anything she had. The only thing I can think of is she's been sitting on her dud eggs constantly for the past couple of weeks, and I am wondering if her foot/leg is messed up because of it? But otherwise, I don't know. Do you guys know what could be wrong and what I should do? I asked my parents, they say we can take her to the vet tomorrow. Until then, what should I do? I'll be worrying about her all night, I want to make sure she can sleep comfortably. Should I lower perches? Add something comfortable for her to stand on? What should I do? What do you guys think?

I'm just really worried, so any help will be very appreciated!!


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

All i can suggest is make sure she is comfortable and make the perches are next to her food and water so she don't have to climb


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

She could be eggbound - an egg inside the body can press on the nerve to the leg and cause problems. Better talk to an avian vet right away for recommendations.


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

awww...I am sorry that she is having a hard time...yeah, when I read this post I thought of her being egg bound too. I hope not, it is good that you will be taking her to the vet tomorrow. Please keep us posted.


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## Abby (Jul 30, 2010)

Okay, guys! Here's what's been up.

I was having some problems with my mom at first. She wasn't sure if we should take Minnie to the vet, she didn't want to have to spend extra money if she didn't have to. We ended up going, and thank god, because if we didn't, she would've lost her life.

We got there and talked to the vet, told him what had been up. (This was all yesterday.) They tested Minnie's droppings, weighed her, all the usual stuff. They did some more testing, did an x-ray, and found that she had an unfertalized egg oddly situated in her. It wasn't facing the way it should've been, and it was stuck. It was sort of like being egg bound, but not exactly. It was putting a lot of pressure on her leg, therefore making her limp. (I know right? Who would've thought?) The vet said that they would keep her overnight and inject some calcium and other nutrients into her. They'd put her in an aquarium tank with a special warm light and hope that she would lay the egg. If she didn't, we would immediately have to go into surgery the next day. 

We payed around $180 just for all of today's work, and the surgery would cost anywhere from $300-$380. We would also have to pay for her to stay there and pay for all the medicine.

So, we left the vet office. I said my goodbyes to Minnie, and I went shopping with my mom. At first, it sounded like if the egg did not come out tonight, we wouldn't be able to pay for the surgery. Then my mom told me that we would do the surgery, but I'd have to pay for it. That would mean I would be in real debt for the next couple of years with my parents. I've been crying on and off all day, this whole thing had just really upset me.

However, late last night, the vet called with the news that she had layed her egg!! So we rushed over there, picked her up and got all the medicine needed for the next couple of weeks.

We've got an appointment in two weeks. At that point, the vet will check her out, make sure everything's okay, then help me step by step to switching to Harrison's Bird Foods (pellets).

The great thing is my mom has been so sweet and so okay with all of this! We are now going to finally be seeing a vet often, and be switching onto some good healthy pellets, and everything sounds as if it will be okay!

I'm just so happy right now, I can't even explain it...Everything has gone so well today. My mom is finally understanding the full extent of what birds require. I think after she listened to the vet talk about a lot of this, it has helped a ton. And I've talked to her about it for years to her. I can't thank him enough, he's been so helpful.

The vets told me they thought for sure that we would have to go into surgery. They said 9/10 times the bird would not lay the egg. I was so surprised when I found that out! 


Now, we are having to give her three different medicines a day. You know, with a thing that looks sort of like what you use to hand feed babies. (Can't think of the word right now.) Mom is going to help me with it because I'm nervous about doing it. ( I want everything to go well.) Apparently, the meds will help with stopping her from being in this egg laying mood. The vet said that since the egg she layed last night was her seventh egg in the clutch, that's usually a cockatiel's extent and they won't lay anymore. (We already had six unfertalized eggs at home.) However, there could possibly be another egg forming in Minnie's system that's from the same clutch, even though that is very unlikely. The medicine will stop all that and I will probably see her leaving her eggs alone in the next few days.

Thanks, guys, for everything! I will keep you updated on what is happening for sure. (How the meds are going, how the check up goes in two weeks, stuff with pellets)


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## Abby (Jul 30, 2010)

Okay, guys! Here's what's been up.

I was having some problems with my mom at first. She wasn't sure if we should take Minnie to the vet, she didn't want to have to spend extra money if she didn't have to. We ended up going, and thank god, because if we didn't, she would've lost her life.

We got there and talked to the vet, told him what had been up. (This was all yesterday.) They tested Minnie's droppings, weighed her, all the usual stuff. They did some more testing, did an x-ray, and found that she had an unfertalized egg oddly situated in her. It wasn't facing the way it should've been, and it was stuck. It was sort of like being egg bound, but not exactly. It was putting a lot of pressure on her leg, therefore making her limp. (I know right? Who would've thought?) The vet said that they would keep her overnight and inject some calcium and other nutrients into her. They'd put her in an aquarium tank with a special warm light and hope that she would lay the egg. If she didn't, we would immediately have to go into surgery the next day. 

We payed around $180 just for all of today's work, and the surgery would cost anywhere from $300-$380. We would also have to pay for her to stay there and pay for all the medicine.

So, we left the vet office. I said my goodbyes to Minnie, and I went shopping with my mom. At first, it sounded like if the egg did not come out tonight, we wouldn't be able to pay for the surgery. Then my mom told me that we would do the surgery, but I'd have to pay for it. That would mean I would be in real debt for the next couple of years with my parents. I've been crying on and off all day, this whole thing had just really upset me.

However, late last night, the vet called with the news that she had layed her egg!! So we rushed over there, picked her up and got all the medicine needed for the next couple of weeks.

We've got an appointment in two weeks. At that point, the vet will check her out, make sure everything's okay, then help me step by step to switching to Harrison's Bird Foods (pellets).

The great thing is my mom has been so sweet and so okay with all of this! We are now going to finally be seeing a vet often, and be switching onto some good healthy pellets, and everything sounds as if it will be okay!

I'm just so happy right now, I can't even explain it...Everything has gone so well today. My mom is finally understanding the full extent of what birds require. I think after she listened to the vet talk about a lot of this, it has helped a ton. And I've talked to her about it for years to her. I can't thank him enough, he's been so helpful.

The vets told me they thought for sure that we would have to go into surgery. They said 9/10 times the bird would not lay the egg. I was so surprised when I found that out! 


Now, we are having to give her three different medicines a day. You know, with a thing that looks sort of like what you use to hand feed babies. (Can't think of the word right now.) Mom is going to help me with it because I'm nervous about doing it. ( I want everything to go well.) Apparently, the meds will help with stopping her from being in this egg laying mood. The vet said that since the egg she layed last night was her seventh egg in the clutch, that's usually a cockatiel's extent and they won't lay anymore. (We already had six unfertalized eggs at home.) However, there could possibly be another egg forming in Minnie's system that's from the same clutch, even though that is very unlikely. The medicine will stop all that and I will probably see her leaving her eggs alone in the next few days.

Thanks, guys, for everything! I will keep you updated on what is happening for sure. (How the meds are going, how the check up goes in two weeks, stuff with pellets)


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

wow really did save her life  must been horrible what you went through
Im so glad she is alright


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## Abby (Jul 30, 2010)

I am too! I'm very happy. 

Um, I'm not sure why that last post was posted twice, though...sorry about that!


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

That is wonderful news...I am glad that you took her to the vet, very scary thought that she would have died...glad you and your mom went with the right decision.
Hope she is feeling 100 percent better soon.


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## Abby (Jul 30, 2010)

Just to give everyone an update, Minnie is doing great! We went in for a vet checkup a few days ago after giving her lots of meds for the past couple weeks. They said she looked great and everything was normal. She also stopped laying eggs!

So, we have started the process of switching her to pellets. Her first of being served pellets was yesterday, and of course, she did not touch them. But today, she's tried them several times and eaten some!

Our plan for the pellets is this: One time in the morning and one time at night, we give her thirty minutes of eating seed. Then we switch and put in pellets for the rest of the time, so she's just hungry enough to try the pellets but not to starve. My amazing vet told us that cockatiels aren't too hard to switch, unlike some birds. Minnie is allowed to lose 10% of her weight during this. She should be eating the pellets normally soon but if she doesn't, we have other options such as leaving her at the vets office and having them switch her. Until she switches, we must take her in three days a week to weigh her. Things are looking good so far with everything!

We also have my Sun Conure's first vet check up on Monday, and we'll also be switching him/her to pellets as well.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Wow this is good news! I wanted to ask, how many hours of sleep does she get a night right now?


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## Abby (Jul 30, 2010)

More, but she hasn't been really into a breeding mood, especially with all the medicine, so I'm not as concerned. If it appeared she was going to lay more eggs, I'd give her only 8 hours of sunlight a day.


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