Last Updated on by Mitch Rezman
Margret T. wrote:
I brought Rufus, a cockatiel, to the vet and she did not really solve the problem. He’s been lethargic and only wants to eat and nap. He’s got a splayed leg, so he’s kind of lopsided and messes up his feathers a lot.
I thought maybe flight was too taxing because of the state of his ratty feathers, but to be safe, I brought him in to be checked.
The vet ran all the tests to confirm he had no infections or anything. She said she could do an x-ray, but that would only determine if his air sacks were damaged and we wouldn’t be able to do anything about that, anyway.
Rufus can fly laterally, but he can’t get much upward lift. And when he does fly short trips, he’s winded. There’s a slight clicking when he’s winded.
But when he’s chillaxing, he’s fine. He eats. He poops normally. He enjoys petting.
His parakeet friend hangs out with him wherever he puts himself. They all have a bedroom. He’s been like this for months, and it’s not getting worse.
Not getting better. I give him vitamins and flax/chia/hemp seed mixtures in his pellets.
He has access to fresh broccoli and cilantro salad every day.
I even see him nibbling once in a while. I don’t know what else to do to help him get active. I also have no idea how old he is, since he is a rescue. If he’s just old and needs to take it slow,
I’m cool with that. I just don’t want him to be in discomfort. Any ideas?
Dear Margret
Sometimes there is little we can do other than be there for our pets who are older or infirm. Without us to watch that they are safe and have food and water, they would not last very long.
We currently have a large cage with parakeets, all rescues. Ages vary widely.
The two oldest keets have been with us for at least 6-8 years and who knows how old they were when we received them.
Jam, a chubby yellow keet can’t fly very well. If she ventures out of the big cage (we open the door for a few hours daily when we can be there) she usually can’t figure out how to get back inside and we will find her sitting on a low shelf under a cage, just sitting there.
She needs our help to get back home but of course, she still has to be chased a bit, and yes, she can still bite hard! Lucky, the green keet came to us as a rescued youngster, she seems to be a loner and has stayed small.
Also, not a good flyer, so she and Jam usually hang out in the same area of the cage even if they are not buddies, they comfort each other just by being there.
Vets are limited to what they can do for birds. They really can only do tests, lots of them, in hopes that something becomes clear, but even at that, as birds are mostly air sacs, they can’t DO much. Operations are so risky and there is zero promise that what they do will help. As bird caretakers, we have taken on some of the most delicate creatures there are.
It sounds like you are doing all you really can for Rufus. Keep him safe and comfortable, give him all he can eat, fresh water, and maybe a shallow dish to bathe in if he is up to it. His having a budgie buddy is great.
If Rufus appears to be in pain, you can make up a one-gallon jug of water with five 325 mg (5 grain) aspirins dissolved in it serving it as drinking water daily.
As for cockatiels. We have two. Barney who came to us in March of 2020. Then there’s Sweetie Pie who came to us a couple of months ago.
Barney came from a hoarding situation where his owner had passed.
The house cleaner called us asking us to take him. Mitch drove over with a small cage but the woman said no, that the place was too dirty, and handed him the bird in its cage which was FULL to the brim with debris and who knows what else.
When he came home I crawled into the car with the clean cage and transferred the bird into the clean one then threw the old cage directly into the dumpster.
Barney smelled really bad but within a few days, he cleaned himself up just fine.
Barney was quiet and whispered his words for a while, “Baby bird”, “Pretty bird”, but over time he found his voice again and now he is loud. LOL.
He is mainly a crabby bird, and won’t allow us to pick him up without flying off, we tried clipping him a couple of times.
That grounded him so we could handle him, basically just to get him inside his cage at night as he spends his days out of the cage.
However, once his wings grew back, he resumed his “you can’t get me”.
Somehow, we manage to get him in his cage nightly with both of us wearing him down as he flies back and forth until he decides “Okay, I will go in my cage”.
He is SO stubborn, after 4 years with us, it has not gotten any easier. Sigh.
Then we got a call asking us to take in another cockatiel.
A woman was out walking her dog and a grey bird flew onto her shoulder and would not leave. She said she could not keep it as she had a house full of cats.
She had stuffed him into a hamster cage and called us.
Mitch went to get him and brought him home. This one had no known name so I decided Sweetie Pie would work for now.
The first two days he spent on the floor of his cage alternating between eating and sleeping. I think we got him just in time.
By the end of the second day, he was up on a perch and looking much better.
He was excitable and flew off everywhere, obviously not finger-trained.
We clipped him so he would learn what his cage was, and that we were not bad people.
He also started to get finger-tamed.
Well, he was happy to be with all the other birds and LOVES our African Ringneck parrot Keto and sings to him all the time.
Keto was not so thrilled and bit his toe off. We had to lock Sweetie Pie up for his safety and to heal.
Barney (L) Sweetie Pie (R)
Once healed, we let him back out and he went right over to Keto and got bit again. Duh! So now we have a schedule for him to be let out and thankfully Keto is tired of him and doesn’t go for his toes anymore.
So, as you see, we now have two cockatiels, but Barney has NO interest in Sweetie Pie (of course), although Barney now has some company besides the parakeets during the day.
They don’t hang out together at all, as soon as Sweetie Pie walks up to Barney, Barney flies off.
I am counting the days until Sweetie Pie’s wings grow back and he starts to fly when Barney does. We shall see how THAT goes.
Birds of a feather don’t always flock together.
Margret Replied:
Thank you for your guidance. This has been the most helpful advice I’ve gotten.
Rufus has two parakeet bros (Moby and NewDoug) and another cockatiel (Pikachu) for the company. Pikachu is not particularly interested in hanging with Rufus, but Moby and NewDoug do, especially Moby who also has a hinky foot due to a testicular tumor.
Catherine replied:
Yes, a good Bird Bath spray like Natra BirdBath can help encourage a bird to preen and clean up, but if your bird is feeling tired or weak, he may not care for himself enough. You may need to use warm water to wash away at least the stinky butt, use a soft cloth to pat him dry and keep him warm until he dries.
Rufus is very lucky to have you in his life.
Written by Catherine Tobsing
Approved by Mitch Rezman
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