# Help with New One-Legged Cockatiel



## mikkan77 (Apr 13, 2009)

Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has experience raising a one-legged cockatiel? My boyfriend and I acquired our little female, who was born with only one leg today. She is my first cockatiel, but my second bird (I have a five year old lovebird, that I handfed when he was about 6 weeks old) 

Seeing poor little Hobbs (short for Hobbles) in the cage at Petcetera we just had to rescue her. She seems healthy enough, apart from very shabby tail feathers, but the other cockatiel she was with in the cage also had some pretty sad looking tail feathers as well. I'm planning on taking both her and my lovebird to an avian vet for a check up next week but I have some questions about her in the mean time. 

Being use to my lovebird and his endless chatter is it normal for her to be so quiet?!! and she hasn't really moved from one perch in front of a mirror since I brought her home this afternoon. She hasn't even moved to acknowledge the seed, water or banana thats in her cage. 

We set up her cage so that while, the perches aren't so close together as to damage her tail feathers further, they are still near enough for her to jump up to I also bought her a happy hut (which my lovebird loves) in hopes she'll sleep there to allow her to give her one leg a rest. 

Her wings aren't clipped and she is extremely hand shy. According to the girl at petcetera they aren't allowed to clip the birds wings or handle the poor things. The girl also thought the female was about three to four months old, as she had been in the pet store for about a month 

I'm just mostly concerned about her water intake (as I saw her eating at the pet store at least today) and her lack of movement. 

I realize that shes scared and unsure of her new living environment but shes just so different comapred to when I brought my lovebird home.


Any suggestions on how to make the transition to this house easier for my poor one legged little girl?


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

It's very normal for her to be quiet, she's gotta get use to the "new environment/surroundings" so it'll take a couple of days at least, some may take a bit longer though. She won't eat just yet, but as long as there's food & water there available for her, she'll eat when she's ready - just thought I'd let you know so you don't think she's sick or something's seriously wrong, it's perfectly normal.. some will eat straight away, some will take a week or more before they start getting settled in.

I wouldn't clip her wings JUST YET, not until you know she's completely settled in and she's eating and drinking. Her being hand shy, you can fix that by offering her a treat through the cage bars (millet) keep doing that for awhile, if she gets freaked out don't worry, just leave it and try again later, once she has taken treats through the cage bars, you can open the cage door and see if she'll take a treat out of your hands/your palm. You can also put your hand in the cage if you want and just sit it there, so she knows it's not a threat/it won't hurt her.

As for housing, I'm pretty sure you're able to get/or build a little platform(?) or something for her to stand on. I remember someone posting in another forum about the same thing, and they got something they were able to put in the corner of the cage for their one legged bird to stand on so it wasn't always on the perch and could rest its leg. I can't seem to find it though!

It was half a circle which just clipped onto the inside of the cage. I hope you sort of get what I mean. 

The happy hut will help, in hope that she will use it. Other then that I'm honestly not sure what else you could do to help her. Maybe make sure there's a food dish and water dish close by so she doesn't have to climb or jump around too much to get to it. I'm sure she'll be fine though, so long as you make things as comfortable as you can for her.

Kudos for getting her though, she needs someone like you.


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## mikkan77 (Apr 13, 2009)

Thanks for the advice!! I will definitely look into getting a platform in there for her


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Watch that the happy hut doesn't start to make her hormonal. Often times they see it as a nest box and it can promote nesting behavior. If she starts laying eggs you may want to eliminate that.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

You're welcome. 

I've been trying to search for one that would either be easy to find and buy or easy to build..






























Maybe something like that? I'm still looking for something better though like the half circle one that fits in on the inside.

Edit:

This is what you need!! it's PERFECT










http://www.birdtoysandtreats.com/platformpads.htm

This site also has platforms too, not sure about them though..

http://www.kandscustomparrotsupplies.com/store/page20.html











There's one - they have them in different colors


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

You might be able to get her to start eating sooner if you hang up a piece of millet spray where she can easily reach it. Try some green veggies too, if she'll eat them they'll provide some moisture. This type of feeding is more natural and less scary than sticking one's head down in an unfamiliar food cup. 

Here's another type of platform perch:









from http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18907

Some people with disabled birds build ramps to help them get from one level of the cage to another. But she might be able to climb around in the cage well enough if there are enough horizontal bars for her to use her beak effectively.


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## babybreau (May 19, 2008)

Kudos to you for taking her in!!
You've gotten some great advice here already. 
Congrats and we can't wait to see pics!!


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

tielfan said:


> Some people with disabled birds build ramps to help them get from one level of the cage to another. But she might be able to climb around in the cage well enough if there are enough horizontal bars for her to use her beak effectively.


Hit the nail right on the head! that is a brilliant idea! that platform would be even better too.


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## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

If your cage has a lot of vertical bars, try bending some bamboo skewers through the bars to give her some extra help climbing. In this picture you can kind of see how we've got them on the door of our cage: http://www.silvermyst.co.uk/images/cage5.jpg You could put them all along the side of your cage, at the same spacing as the horizontal bars. The ones we have are just untreated bamboo. We got a couple of hundred for a pound or so. Good luck


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## Tielzilla (Mar 31, 2009)

try flat platforms...my hubby built some for our disabled finch and he loves them...bless your heart..also maybe a basket low down on the ground.....and put her food down low....I know of another lady with a one legged tiel who has done that and the little tiel loves them....bless your heart...


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

You got some excellent advice, Tiel fan posted the platform I was going to post  

I have one disabled cockatiel but It's his wing that causes him to be disabled, He can't fly because some one cut off the bone, So I have a lot of ladders around for him to get to where he wants to go , So ramps I think would work great for your girl.


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## mikkan77 (Apr 13, 2009)

Solace. said:


> Edit:
> 
> This is what you need!! it's PERFECT


I was able to find that platform in a local pet store  My only worry in regards to the platform is getting it into her cage and rearranging some perches while trying not to freak her out to much


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## SweetSimmy (Sep 1, 2008)

Aww she was born with one leg? i understand though. 
my boyfriend's cockatiel elly has most of her toes burned off. only one toe has a nail. 
shes usually pretty shy around people. but we ave her the perfect mate (whom he broke his leg when he was a baby) they are a happy couple

anyways im sure with lots of love and care, your female with get used to you soon


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## mikkan77 (Apr 13, 2009)

Mythara said:


> If your cage has a lot of vertical bars, try bending some bamboo skewers through the bars to give her some extra help climbing. In this picture you can kind of see how we've got them on the door of our cage: http://www.silvermyst.co.uk/images/cage5.jpg You could put them all along the side of your cage, at the same spacing as the horizontal bars. The ones we have are just untreated bamboo. We got a couple of hundred for a pound or so. Good luck


Im curious to try the bamboo skewers since I realized as soon as we got her home that the vertical bar cage hinders her mobility greatly. But my only concern with the skewers are because she has full flight feathers and uses her wings to help her jump up from perch to perch, how big is the risk she'll knock the skewers loose into her cage and hurt herself if I'm away at work :x I was wondering if you had an experiences where that happened? 





atvchick95 said:


> You got some excellent advice, Tiel fan posted the platform I was going to post
> 
> I have one disabled cockatiel but It's his wing that causes him to be disabled, He can't fly because some one cut off the bone, So I have a lot of ladders around for him to get to where he wants to go , So ramps I think would work great for your girl.


Aww poor little guy  But the ladders are an intriguing idea!! I'll have to get one and see how she takes to it 

Thanks again to everyone for your suggestions you all are great people


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## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

Ours are fully flighted and they haven't had any problems with knocking them out. When they hang on them the skewers sometimes slide down a bit, but they're easy enough to just push back into place. If you overlap them, that should limit it happening too.


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## Cheryl (Dec 27, 2008)

Aw, I hope everything works out for your baby! I have a cockatiel missing huge parts of his toes. For the first few months of his life he was unable to stand on a perch. Anytime he tried he would fall down. He couldn't even climb up the sides. I ended up putting ladders in his cage and he LOVED climbing up and down them. I think eventually he got the balance and strength and was able to learn to climb up the sides of the cage and stand on the perches. It did take him a while to learn though.
I didn't think he ever would be able to.
I'm not sure if your bird can climb up ladders that are at a slight angle. You may be able to try so she could get up to those platforms.. or you can just try the ramps.


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## mikkan77 (Apr 13, 2009)

I've been watching her all day today and its amazing what she can do with one leg!!! At one point she actually climbed up the vertical bars using her beak as her other leg! It ws crazy, but it was probably really hard for her, which is why I haven't seen her do it since. She seems to be adjusting really well today, she's a lot louder then yesterday and moving around a lot more. She even screams when she notices your not paying attention to her anymore:lol: still no sign of eating yet, but I'm going to buy her some millet sprays in a bit to see if that tempts her


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## Duckie (Feb 13, 2008)

You so awesome to have rescued her! Can't wait for pics


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## olive juice (Mar 30, 2009)

mikkan77 said:


> I've been watching her all day today and its amazing what she can do with one leg!!! At one point she actually climbed up the vertical bars using her beak as her other leg! It ws crazy, but it was probably really hard for her, which is why I haven't seen her do it since. She seems to be adjusting really well today, she's a lot louder then yesterday and moving around a lot more. She even screams when she notices your not paying attention to her anymore:lol: still no sign of eating yet, but I'm going to buy her some millet sprays in a bit to see if that tempts her


I wouldn't worry too much about her eating/drinking...she'll do it when she needs to. I've had two birds (a cockatiel and a budgie) and both of them were timid about eating at first. My budgie, I'd noticed, only ate when he was covered for the first few days. Lots of animals don't feel comfortable eating around strangers...eating puts them in a state of vulnerability. Just give her time, and I'm sure she'll do just fine.  Also, if/when you cover her, be sure to be quiet and listen...you may hear her munching away after a few minutes!

Also, those platforms look like they'll help her out a ton. She's lucky to have been adopted by such a caring owner.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

mikkan77 said:


> I was able to find that platform in a local pet store  My only worry in regards to the platform is getting it into her cage and rearranging some perches while trying not to freak her out to much


That's great!

Are you able to take her out while you do it? put her in another cage if you have one or a box. That way she won't have any reason to freak out. Hope it all works out for you whatever you end up doing.


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## Cannuck2007 (Feb 29, 2008)

You would be amazed at how well these disabled or specialabled birds adjust. Our Squeek doesn't even know she is disabled. The cage shelves are a great idea for her as the biggest risk for a one legged tiel is the stress caused to the chest by resting on the breast bone too much. Venture in to the ferret section for cage supplies. They have tonnes of that stuff to choose from


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## mikkan77 (Apr 13, 2009)

Solace. said:


> That's great!
> 
> Are you able to take her out while you do it? put her in another cage if you have one or a box. That way she won't have any reason to freak out. Hope it all works out for you whatever you end up doing.


Bad news, the platform didn't work out so well or at least that particular one didn't. We added it to her cage and a couple of hours later we headed out to pick up some groceries, we came home to find that she somehow knocked down the platform and was perched on top of her water dish scared to go near it  needless to say I immediatley removed it. I'm thinking of just laying a little blanket for her under her happy hut (to ensure it doesn't get covered with droppings) on the bottom grate for her to sit on.

In other news though she lets me stick my hand about halfway into her cage without her so much as blinking at me  I'm hoping that within the next two weeks or so she'll allow me to pet her and give her head rubs. In the mean time, I'm quite content with seeing her hand shy-ness fade away day by day


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## bigmikey36 (Aug 5, 2008)

Chances are your bird doesn't know she's special to anyone but you either. Though i think its a nice idea to try to help the bird i think if you don't put a special perch in her cage she will develop the strength she needs to get around like she has no handicap at all. Nature has a way of helping us help ourselves when we have a bit less to work with than others do. I'm not trying to offend anyone thats posted i'm just saying the stronger her good leg is the better off she'll be in the long run and that is simply my opinion i mean no disrespect to you or anyone else thats posted i'm just offering a different perspective
Mikey


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

If you want to get her a platform to be able to rest on once in a while I would get one that will not fall off and stay secure like these ones http://www.parrotdiseperch.com/parrot/shop_details.php?prod=1328 or https://healthybird.net/store/produ...=1723&osCsid=9dc3415211e211cd664d1e98aab155e0 I would also put it higher in the cage, so if she falls she is less likely to hit it on the way down.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Those are great perches Spike! I like them far better then the hanging shelves that I've seen.


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## mikkan77 (Apr 13, 2009)

xxxSpikexxx said:


> If you want to get her a platform to be able to rest on once in a while I would get one that will not fall off and stay secure like these ones http://www.parrotdiseperch.com/parrot/shop_details.php?prod=1328 or https://healthybird.net/store/produ...=1723&osCsid=9dc3415211e211cd664d1e98aab155e0 I would also put it higher in the cage, so if she falls she is less likely to hit it on the way down.


Those shelves are awesome :O I think when shes more settled I might invest in one for her, but for now I'm just going to leave the cage set up as is so she can get used to it


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