Malnourishment, Balance, and Flight

[geminiman112]

So, our family has a parrot named Lucy that we adopted a few years ago. The previous owner didn't know what he was doing. Lucy didn't get very good food, had a bad perch, and her wings were clipped. We don't clip her wings and we give her food and she has a different perch, both recommended by professionals at our local bird store. She is about 14 years old. She's never been able to balance very well, and she has only ever successfully flown once. If someone could help me resolve this issue, please let me know as we would love to see her fly and have better balance.

 

EDIT:

Never mind. Our avian vet has told us that likely she has brain damage due to her owner's food choice. It is unfixable.

Edited September 5, 2015 by geminiman112

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

It is difficult to get a Grey, to fly, if they have never had the opportunity! I believe in letting a Grey learn to develop the chest muscles when a baby, and trim back, as they go into the terrible twos.

We practiced " flight", when Sophie was two. One to send off, one to receive. She did pretty well, but I knew she could do better. ( she also wanted to do better!)

Even though she was the ruler of our animal kingdom, a Grey, Amazon and sunconure, I was surprised, when one day, Kiki my Amazon flew out to me( she is an amazing flier). Kiki landed, which she normally didn't do, then Sophie landed next to her. Kiki took off, and Sophie followed. I knew something was going on, and I needed to to not be part of it. After doing this several times, Sophie landed, following Kiki's normal flight sounds. I thought it was Kiki. It was Sophie.Sophie had learned to fly. She was 12 years old.I a. . No matter how old they are, they can learn to fly, not sure to this day, why Kiki decided to teach Sophie to fly, but she did, nancy

[katana600]

Welcome to the forum. Bless you for taking Lucy home and giving her a better life. I have an older , rehomed Timneh African Grey. Our vet said not to expect her to ever fly but I thought that was due to her plucking her flight feathers and damaging follicles prior to coming to our home about 4 1/2 years ago. I would be interested as to why your vet believes Lucy has brain damage due to malnutrition. Miss Gilbert can not fly and also has balance issues but our vet hasn't mentioned possible brain damage. We are due for an annual visit and I may learn some more at that time.

[Greywings]

With Greys balance issues often stem for a low calcium diet, sometimes they just are unable to utilize the Calcium due to lack of Sunlight (vitamin D). I imagine that a poor diet would have long lasting health challenges that could affect a bird or a person for the rest of their lives.

"UVB light is blocked by all solid materials (glass, plexiglass, etc), so all indoor birds should be given 30 minutes to 1 hour of supervised time outdoors (as weather permits/when the temperature is greater than 70 degrees Fahrenheit) or have access to a full-spectrum light (including UV B wavelengths) for three to four hours a day. In areas where natural sunshine is limited (winter months in the northern hemisphere, indoor living area, etc.) full-spectrum lighting is recommended for African grey parrots. There are many types of UV lighting available, and they are not all created equally. Some more powerful UV bulbs have caused superficial eye lesions when kept too close to the bird. To be on the safe side, consult your avian veterinarian for the best lighting setup for your situation.

 

Calcium

Calcium deficiency is commonly seen in grey parrots. Hypocalcemia is the term used to describe low-calcium levels in the blood. Despite getting appropriate levels of calcium in the diet, many greys tend to have lower levels of calcium in the blood compared to other parrot species. Greys seem to be more sensitive to this slight hypocalcemia, which can lead to clinical signs, such as weakness, seizures or other neurologic signs. Seizures can become life threatening if left untreated. It should be noted that not all seizure activity is related to hypocalcaemia. Older greys under severe stress, such as during or after a trip to the veterinarian, can also have seizures. A physical examination and blood tests will help your vet determine the cause.

Hypocalcemia most often affects pet African grey parrots, and not wild African grey parrots. This is due to a lack of natural sunshine, which prevents conversion of vitamin D to its active form, which, in turn, does not allow for adequate absorption of calcium. Vitamin D conversion via natural sunlight or full-spectrum lighting occurs in the skin and uropygial (preen) gland. In addition to the vitamin D converted within the skin, grey parrots absorb the vitamin D in the oil produced by the preen gland, thus aiding in the absorption of calcium. Feeding our greys a diet of calcium-rich foods, along with providing access to natural or full-spectrum lighting, are important factors in preventing hypocalcaemia.

The best sources of calcium are dark green leafy vegetables, such as kale, turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, and dandelion greens, in addition to broccoli, carrots, endive, figs and okra. Kale is an excellent source of absorbable calcium, while spinach, chard and beet greens should be given sparingly since they are known to block the absorption of calcium. Other sources of calcium are baked eggshells, walnuts, hazelnuts, filberts and almonds." bird channel

[danmcq]

Greywings provided excellent information. Perhaps the issue is reversible if fed a proper diet over time and Calcium, D3 levels etc. are built up to correct levels. You can ask the Vet to perform a blood test to see where those levels presently are.

 

Thanks for taking in a Grey in need of a loving and caring home!

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Say WHAT? Brain damage? Just because her previous owners didn't teach her to fly, or Lucy didn't have an owner that fed her well, I don't see where she has brain damage! She has you! Now prove everyone wrong. Teach her to fly, develop those chest muscles! Give her healthy food. My Avian vet would FREAK if he saw this e-mail regarding brain damage. ( no.... he would just laugh!)

Your bird is a young teenager, and certainly is capable of learning. Sophie flew best around twelve! Nancy

[Greywings]

Pookie was unflighted at 21 years old when she adopted us. It took most of a year to get from dropping like a rock to short flight capable. Lots of wing flapping to build up those flight muscles and as she grew stronger I encouraged her with gentle tosses from my hand to our bed starting with a one foot gap until she was able to cross over 5 feet of space. Having a large King size bed gave her room for landing errors with out injury. Now she can fly really fly and maneuver, make trick landings and go where she wants. She has been with us for almost ten years now and like you would expect prefers for human slaves to come when called to taxi her to share some sofa time.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Greywings