Bird balance problem

[Knight05]

I'll keep this really short cause I am tired. My CAG is 8 months old almost. It is clipped and not fully flighted. It falls like 5 times a day off perches and my hand even sometimes. It has extremely bad balance and cant seem to hold itself still other than when it sleeps. It is afraid to move on perches or climb up and down the cage because it slips all the time and loses it's grip. is this something that happens among babies much like human babies that try to walk and fall all the time? Or is this something else?

 

Can I help my bird gain better balance or do I just have to let it fall and give it time to self learn?

[siobha9]

Young CAGs do have problems with balance, and even older ones fall occasionally when they are excited about a toy or something. 5 times a day seems a bit excessive though. Is he just playing away happily on his perch and falls, or is he energetically playing and falls?

[Knight05]

He is just trying to get around honestly not playing at all. just getting from A to B is seeming like a tedious task

[lovemyGreys]

If he has had a bad wing clip this may be the cause of his balance problem, keep an eye on him if he is falling excessively i would suggest a vet visit to rule out any medical problems.what perches do you have for him to grip ? wooden dowel ones are no good for his feet, you need some cement perches, sandy perches etc that he will be able to get a good grip on.

[lovemyGreys]

Knight i think you have asked this question before ?

[Knight05]

Well I asked about bad balance before in a diff post but I never really got a solid answer on it, and it was regarding just a little bad balance now it's escalated into the bird actually like falling alot on a daily basis. Either way I've decided to go to the vet tomorrow to have her checked out since the common answer seems to be go to the vet to rule out bad wing clip or neuro disorder. I just wondered if there could be anything else. The perch I use is manzanite wood. I'll look into other perches but that still doesn't fix the bad balance on my body as well =/ hopefully the vet can give me a solid idea tomorrow.

[judygram]

I would take him/her in for a vet visit as something could be wrong, you want to rule that out and get a clean bill of health before you pursue other possibilities, don't take chances with your baby Spence, they are too precious. Let us know what you find our and how we can be of further help.

[lovemyGreys]

i think if it has worsened as you say, you are doing the right thing in taking your baby to the vet, well done you for being such a concerned owner.My fingers are crossed for a clean bill of health, lets hope the vet has some ideas please keep us informed as to the outcome.

The perch you have tend to be a little slippery,roughen it up a little with some sandpaper <br><br>Post edited by: lovemyGreys, at: 2008/03/18 14:39

[Knight05]

Well since my bird woke me up at the crack of dawn *Again* I took some semi decent quality video to kind of show her off in her morning I want to destroy some stuff routine and you can also semi get a picture of what I mean by the balancing things. Maybe based off the video you can point out a mistake I may be making or give another opinon based off the bird. I'm uploading them now should be ready in about 15 mins, will post a link it's in quicktime format though not sure how to change it so you will need quicktime to view it.

[judygram]

Thanks Spence for doing that so maybe we can see what is going on here but it still does not rule out a vet visit, you don't want to take any chances with your precious grey.

[Knight05]

Yeah Im going regardless this is more of a juse so you can see type thing. My appointment is at 5 pm so hopefully mr grey will let me get a nap in before we go (that's his un official non sexed nick name for now)

[lovemyGreys]

look forward to that video then

[judygram]

Oh you might if you play your cards right, Spence, I will be waiting to hear the results, but some of the tests you will have to wait for.

 

You're such a proud Papa:) B)

[Nekkyousha]

i duno my CAG is 5months old and an excellent climber and balancer. The only difference i can see is mine doesnt have her wings clipped, she flies wherever she wants, and uses them to hoist herself out of trouble if she does fall. i dont see gettin ur bird wings clipped as a good idea, it helps them for many other things not just flying :blink: each to their own, but i wouldnt expect her to be such a good balancer i guess make sure she has a soft landing

[Knight05]

Ya i didnt want the wings clipped it was a mix up between me and the breeder. I wanted it full flighted cause I don't believe in clipping even though im a new owner. I choose to take extra steps to make sure my bird doesn't fly away but let her be el-natural How long do clipped wings take to fully grow back? My

understanding is they molt once a year or so and thats when new feathers grow back

 

Also ladies and gents here is the videos I promised.

 

Video #1 info: This is one showing the birds balance a little I was trying to play with her this morning but I was tired so excuse my voice. She isn't as bad in this video but you can see the off-balance part of it.

Link: http://s133.photobucket.com/albums/q65/Knightforeva/?action=view&current=Balance.flv

 

Video#2 info: This is just a random video of me playing with my grey and entertaining her after waking me up at like 5 am :woohoo: You can see some random footage of my bird. Excuse the mess my voice and my annoying comments I don't do 5 am well so I was out of it.

 

Link: http://s133.photobucket.com/albums/q65/Knightforeva/?action=view&current=EarlyBird.flv<br><br>Post edited by: Knight05, at: 2008/03/18 15:53

[lovemyGreys]

Well it can take up to a year or more for the feathers to grow back, they may come back when your greys has it's first molt.

 

The videos were cool, thanks.i dont see to much of a balance issue, your grey looks perfectly normal,happy, obviously you have concerns & im sure the vet will put your mind at ease, but from what i see i think your grey will be fine

[Knight05]

ok thx

[judygram]

He/she looks fine to me too, I had to wait until I got home to view the videos as I was at work earlier and unable to see them there. The baby is still youny yet and will be a little unsteady and clumsy.

 

Just waiting to hear what the vet said, don't keep me waiting too long you hear:whistle:

[Fletcher]

Keep your eye on his eating habits as a lot of chest flops could lead to digestive track injuries.usually there eating will slow down and there stool will be black in color an it wont show up on any well bird check ups or blood test.Do you track his weight if not thats a good idea as its a key to lots of injuries. Good Luck Sam

[bettyboop]

Hello , I just read an artical that says if they are low on calcium it can cause poor balance . I would cushion the bottom of cage , lower perches and go to the vet asap.

Bettyboop<br><br>Post edited by: bettyboop, at: 2008/04/29 02:15

[parrotlady]

Well done for booking her an appointment with the vet it is always better to be safe.

 

I think a large part of her balance problem will be due to the wing clip. We had a rescue come to us with a wing clip and she couldn't even balance on your hand, any movement and she would fall of. She also used to fall of her perches and we did as has been suggested. We lowered all of her perches and placed a folded up towel in the bottom of her cage and covered it with newspaper.

 

I'm happy to say her feathers have now fully regrown and her balance now is excellent.

 

There can also be many other causes of bad balance so it is good you are having her checked.

 

Good luck at the vets.

[judygram]

Leslie, aka parrotlady has probably nailed it with the wing clip and she should know as she has ten greys, I'd say that practically makes her an expert!!

[Toni]

I been noticing Alcazar falling off again.One night I was watching him sleep because I placed his cage beside me to keep me company while Im layed up well anyhoo I was watching him just remy him when I got him and all then all of sudden he just fell while he was sleepin. This has happened like six times past two weeks.Each time he's sleeping.

[Knight05]

Must be a good dream the kind that knocks him off his feet :laugh: sorry bad joke, your case sounds special but to all those who have replied about my problem thx. Chloe growing her toe nails back has increased her balance signifcantly already. She still flaps and gets off balance if I move too fast but rarely falls now. I do agree I think she got a bad clipping and she's just going to have to tough it out until her first molt then i think all out problems will be solved.

[dblhelix]

Having the nails at proper length is very important for their stability while perching. If you file them consider stoppig for a month or 2 and see if that improves what we perceive as balance. Kips nails are quite sharp, but you get used to holding her...most birds wil actually keep their nails well cared for and trimming is really only needed if they are overgrowing. There is a difference between overgrown and "sharp". Make sure you do not file/clip nails just to make the bird more comfortable to hold. When we got Kip around 6 months of age the breeder had the tips of her nails filed. They were not overly trimmed, but the tips were rather dull. Once we left them to Kip herself to care for them they are much sharper and her perching is rock solid. Plus, the length has not changed now in over a year having her...she keeps them at the right length herself and pretty sharp. We do have one of the cement type perches in her cage that may soften the tips a bit, but in general let the bird take care of the nails and only look to trim/file if there is actually an overgrowth problem.