ZivaDiva

How awesome that you are helping! I'm in Los Angeles and thought about taking her for a few seconds but I already have 9 birds and I think that's enough for now. I hope she finds a forever home soon. I will put the word out. Any idea if the cage is included?

Stevie update - it's been over 2 weeks since Stevie has had a night fright and/or gotten her leg caught in the bars. No new injuries or having to untangle her from her cage. She's in with a 2 1/2 month old male, Lindsey. They pretend to hate each other at this point but seem to be working towards happily ignoring one another. I've rearranged the cage a few times making it easier for her to move around. Her favorite thing is to sit in her jungle nest which is like a hanging cuddle cup AKA a birdie hammock. She sleeps in it and spends a lot of time during the day in it. There are 2 hanging and her and Lindsey argue over them all the time. Lindsey wants to join her and she doesn't want to share. At this point, I'm leaving things as they are. They are out when I'm home and they both enjoy walking around on my bed and the carpet. I'm hoping it stays this way and she doesn't get caught and injured any more. Greywings - the reason we've been considering amputation is because she gets her leg caught between the cage bars and gets stuck and injures herself. Katana - thanks for the offer. I haven't checked PM's yet. Gwen - thanks so much for the info. I'm still tempted to move her into an aquarium but will wait and see how she does. Stevie and Gabby look alike. What a sweetie.

What a great idea! 2 of my cockatiels were given to me by a former co-worker who would buy animals, keep them less than year and then give them away. She had never handled them and they were frightened. I kept their cage in my bedroom by the window so they could look out. They would often sit on top of their cage and look out and sometimes they'd fly off onto the floor. Sometimes, they'd step up and sometimes they wouldn't. They also often bit me. I let them be how they wanted to be as they are happy together and I didn't feel the need to tame them. I'd had a spinal tap and that resulted in a major leak of fluid from the needle site. I had the worst headache ever from the lack of fluid in my skull. My brain wasn't surrounded by fluid but instead was touching my skull. (I finally had a blood patch done and was back to normal quickly but it's the most painful thing I've ever experienced) Anyway, I was in bed and sobbing uncontrollably. The cockatiels (Stan and Bea) were on top of their cage. I remember hearing them fly off their cage but was so busy sobbing that I wasn't concerned about where they were. Then I felt something. They had flown onto the bed, walked up onto my pillow and were touching my tears with their beaks. I don't know how to explain it but they would touch the tear and then push it down my face until it basically disappeared and then get another one and do the same thing. They were so gentle and sweet. I thought it was the sweetest thing but was also trying to not roll over on them and hurt them as I was writhing in pain. I couldn't sit up to put them back so I let them stay with me. They brushed away my tears and sat next to my head and kept me company. I was waiting for my mom to come get me to take me to the hospital and when she arrived, we had to get them back in their cage. I explained what they had been doing and she looked at me like I was crazy. It was difficult for her to believe that the attack 'tiels would do such a thing but they had.

Hi Wingy, thanks for the suggestion. I highly doubt she'd go for that. She also still uses the foot to grip the bars and I'm not sure how she'd do with it covered up. I'm sure she'd be opening and closing her foot all the time. I will take a closer look at the site just in case there seems to be anything on there that we might be able to use. I think I'm going to put vet wrap around some of her perches so they are softer for her.

Gwen - thanks for your reply. How sweet of you to take such good care of your bird with a broken leg. I've been contemplating an aquarium as they are so much cheaper than an acrylic cage but she absolutely loves climbing the bars and she uses her beak. She has several perches of different thicknesses and 2 of the jungle nests that hang from the ceiling. She spends a lot of time in them and also sleeps in one at night. I was trying to figure out a way I could hang one in an aquarium if I went that way. Did you have a top on it at all? I guess I could use one of the screen tops. I'd like to hear what else you had in there and how you set it up. Last year I fostered 2 cockatiels that kept having night frights and chronic broken blood feathers and I kept them in a huge clear storage tub. I drilled a zillion air holes and holes to put in perches and to hang toys from the lid, etc and they didn't seem to have a problem with it. I'm starting to realize that I think of these things as cruel and as putting them in " a box" but in reality, a cage is kind of the same thing. I took them out and put them on a play gym on my bed whenever I was home and they were happy. I want her to be safe and happy so I need to really think about it and consider the different options. I have a one legged conure that is really happy and he obviously survived surgery and I wish I knew that's what would happen with her. If I could keep her from getting her foot caught and snapping off her leg, then I don't have to put her thru surgery.

I took her to the vet on Monday and he examined her leg. He said it's like a clubbed foot and she rests on her ankle. At first he said that surgery was too risky, not because of the actual procedure, but because of her being under anesthesia. He said the leg cannot be fixed and could only be amputated. He tried to think of ideas on a cage for her that wouldn't let her get her leg stuck, but couldn't really come up with anything. He said I could try a bamboo cage as many of them have the bars close together. I'm concerned she'll chew her way out or end up with splinters. I am going to do an internet search and see what's available. We talked about an acrylic cage but she uses her beak to get around so that won't work. By the end of the visit, he said he thinks amputation might be the way to go. He said he was a little nervous about doing the surgery on her and would have to do it on a day when he had no other surgeries so he could concentrate on her. He quoted between $700-800 for the surgery. He said to think about it and let him know. So, I took her home and then went out later that night. I came home around midnight and checked on all the birds and she had blood all over herself, the wall and her cage. There were pools of coagulated blood on the cage floor. I was surprised she was still alive and sitting up. I grabbed her and checked her foot but it turned out to be a blood feather that had broken straight across and was like a hose draining out her blood. I got the bleeding stopped and put her in her cage in a warm room. I am unable to pull a blood feather by myself and there wasn't anyone to help me at that hour and the ER's don't have bird vets. So, I took her in in the morning and she was given some kind of electrolytes to drink, kept warm and they let her stabilize for several hours before pulling the feather. I picked her up that night and they said as soon as she heard my voice, her crest went up and she came to the front of the cage. I took her home and she's still kind of wiped out and not as active but is eating, drinking and wanting her head scratched. I have no idea how she broke her blood feather but she does fall every now and then. The bottom of her cage is lined with towels but I have no idea what happened. That's the latest. I still don't know what I'm doing to do. I'm scared about putting her under but obviously don't want her to get her leg caught and severely injure herself. I just want her to be ok.

I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond yesterday and they only had the large expensive one in stock. I saw this thread and had to go look for one. I guess I'll try another store. I really want to try a chop diet for my birds. My mom has a VitaMix and I borrow it at times but it would be nice to have this at my apt. I hope I can find one soon!

I didn't watch the video as I can no longer handle that type of thing. I know what goes on and have seen many videos and awful things in person. I was a humane officer and I'm also vegan. I've been to slaughterhouses, etc. I personally don't see a difference between "pets" and farm animals. I'm glad you posted it because people cruising thru the site might learn something. I also feel guilty having my animals in cages. I wish my parrots could be released into the wild. I would miss them but the thought of them being able to have normal parrot relationships and flying free would be worth it. Some say captivity is better but I don't agree. It's possible they might live longer but I don't believe the quality of life is the same. Yes, they love us but that's not a natural relationship. It's because they don't have a true mate. I wouldn't lock my child up in a closet for her entire life because it's safer than the outside world. I hope someday we will see what we are doing to animals. For now, I try and rescue as many as I can afford and have time for. I have also thought about volunteering somewhere with birds. We have a local place that veterans work at but there is some issue about having other birds and volunteering there. I need to research further. I seem to remember that they didn't want us coming in and spreading disease. I am also concerned about bringing cooties home. I knew someone who volunteered somewhere and she would leave there and go to a friends house to shower and change. She'd take her clothes home in a plastic bag and go directly into the laundry room and wash them right away. Right now I'm fostering guinea pigs but would like to do more. Thanks so much for the inspiration. I will look into more volunteer opportunities. Dawl, in your spare time, you should start a rescue called Barnaby's Place! :0)

YES!!!! That's such great news. And what a relief that must be for you. I'm so happy he's doing well and that he's with you.

Thanks for the reply (again!) Her name is Stevie. My daughter named her after Stevie Nicks. I pulled her from the larger cage with the other pair and put her in a finch flight cage with the smaller bar spacing. That's what I originally had her in and she continues to get her leg caught. She curls up her foot when climbing so she can grab the bars and then it slips thru the bars and when she freaks out, she spreads apart her toes. Plus, the leg is curled inward so it just hooks onto the outside of the bars. She has a hammock, rope perches, branch perches and dowel perches in there but her favorite thing to do in the cage is climb on the bars. Mostly it's begging to come out but she also just loves going all around the cage. Over and over again. She does that plus sits on the highest perch (like most birds) and we say she's being a big girl. She was originally in a cage without perches higher than a few inches because she had problems perching and was very happy when she learned to perch. I am concerned about her perching on the wood because she often puts down the bad foot and rests on the ankle. I'm so afraid she'll end up with sores so I frequently check it. I am going to make an appt. with the same vet who did the amputation on my conure and see what he recommends. I'm really leaning towards amputation at this point but will keep an open mind in case he has other suggestions. I don't think the leg can be fixed and either did the breeder who she came from but I'm willing to listen to what the vet says. I'm already worrying about her recovery from surgery, etc. and am trying to just take it one step at a time. She's such a sweetheart and I want her to be free of pain and be able to cruise all around in a cage and not get injured. (I also want to be able to sleep and not constantly listening for her.)

I looked around and saw your other posts so I'm caught up.

I saw your original post before you got Barnaby and there wasn't an update so I looked around and found this. I'm so happy you have him and he's doing better. We know what would have happened if they'd kept him. I understand not turning them in for the way they cared for him since it was mostly just being uneducated but do you know if they have any plans on getting another bird? I would hate for them to bring home another one thinking things would be different. I can't wait to read your updates. Thanks for rescuing/saving him and being such a good mommy.

Is there an update? I just saw this thread and am not finding anything more.

Birdhouse - thanks so much! I've looked at the 1st one and they are really small plus she'd get her foot stuck in the bars on the side. Where'd you find the second one? It's acrylic with plastic (?) grating on the sides. That would probably be doable for her. I wish I would handy so I could build something.

Thanks so much for the reply. She can use her messed up foot and will often sit on a huge perch with her good foot and then uses the other one to grip onto the cage bars. The cage she's in has bars going both ways. She manages to get her foot stuck in both of them but most often in vertical bars when she hits a cross bar. The vet wrap is a good idea, thanks. I think I will wrap the entire thing and make it solid. Or, maybe just wrap the individual bars and make them so thick that she can't slip thru. What do you think? I do have some shelves that are solid wood for her but she likes the wire one. I think it's because she can grip the wire but it's obviously not safe for her that way. I'm trying to figure out if I put her in some kind of solid cage - aquarium, acrylic, etc. how she would get around. She sleeps in her hammock and uses the bars to move around and position herself on perches, food dishes, etc. I'm honestly contemplating having the leg amputated. I have a 1 legged conure and he's just fine. He had an injured foot that was removed and then got his leg caught in the bars and snapped his leg and that led to the amputation. He went thru drama and almost died from the blood loss and shock of the snapped leg. I'm afraid of that happening to her and I know it would happen on a 3 day weekend when I can't find an avian vet. But, I'm also afraid of her having surgery and the outside chance that something else happens to her other leg, she'd be out of options. So, I just am not sure. She's the friendliest little girl ever. She demands to be held and have her head scratched. I just want to do what's best for her. I also wish you could see her and help figure out what she needs. I'm at a loss. Thanks again.