5.5 week old CAG

[Sidney Swingle]

1.5 weeks ago i purchased a CAG, he is 5.5 weeks old. he is eating great, playing with toys, and very vocal. I noticed his little toe on his foot is turned under. I took him to a different bird vet cause mine was out of town. This vet kept yelling hes deformed take him back, wouldnt even lconsider fixing it or getting a good look. I made a appointment with my vet this saturday. I love him already, and dont care if his foot is different, I am keeping him,but if i can get it fixed and give him a normal quality of life i will do this. The breeder appologized, and offered a new bird, i said no. She offered to pay for her vet but hes out of town for a month. I have worked with rehibilitation on animals for a long time, and i know a bird is different but the sooner you wrap a baby while their bones are soft the better your chances are, correct? Also he is walking on his hocks or elbows even stand half and half, kind of teetering, is this normal for a 5.5 week old. I have a quaker that i bought near death at a pet shop, he was in a box with much larger birds and had picked at him till he was broken and bloody( he was on consinment and the owner of the store said wasnt his problem)( he had no feathers and was still pink) he is 6years old and georgous. he feet are crooked but you couldnt tell unless you really stared. but he never stood on his hocks even with broken toes. Is it normal? Iam at work and i leave in 3 hours after that can you call me its 940 859 1337

[Guest]

Hi Sidney,

WOW! I'm touched by your heart and love for this precious little one.

A Grey with a turned under toe can learn to be almost normal.....with the right help. The perches may need to be a little different and so on. One of Dr. Pepperberg's Greys (Wart) has a deformed toe. He lived with me for 6 months and he was so precious!!! He got around in his cage with no problem and not much was changed. You did the right thing in refusing to exchange. You gave this baby a chance for a happy life. BRAVO!

One thing I do need to say is that the breeder was VERY BAD in letting a 5 week old baby go out. They should not be sold until they are weaned, approximately 12-15 weeks old. Many things could go wrong, so you do need the support of a good breeder to turn to if some kind of emergency comes along. There are so many things that need to be taught...their socialization skills and their feeding skills and so on.

With that said, I do not know much about working with handicapped babies. I suggest that you GOOGLE the Long Island Parrot Society. They have a person whose expertise is to work with handicapped Greys. She would know better than I do. She would be able to help you determine possible ways to set up the cage to help him and so on. I remember an article in the GPR where a lady used a rabbit cge for her handicapped Grey....but he was more handicapped than you are describing.


You sound like the right person to be with this precious baby. And I know he will be in perfectly beautiful shape, just like the quaker that you helped.

If there is anyone here reading that has experience working with handicapped greys, please chime in.

If you need to talk, or to have brainstorm ideas, let me know. 212-888-1784 I can help you in any general strategies for working with your baby....but since I'm not a breeder, I do not really know the age periods of different developmental levels up to the weaning stage.

Does anyone out there reading have anything to add?
GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-

[snipeorod]

When my wife brought Chili home I noticed one of his toes was a bit curled in and had no claw. I called the pet shop and she said he was born like that. I never even thought about taking him back either. He gets along great. A few months back I visited a breeder in Vacaville Ca. and she had a grey that was handicapped. He was missing all of his toes. Apparently his parents had bit them off. She mentioned some parents do that. I observed this grey for 30 minutes in his flight cage. he was able to perch....he was able to fly and land perfectly on his perch and I was amazed at how he was able to hold his food and eat just like any other bird I have seen. It was as though he did not know he was not supposed to be that way. I felt bad for him when I first saw him but when I saw how normal he got along I felt much better. I think your grey should be fine. Just give him lots of love which I am sure you already do.

[Maggie-]

I think the message here is that you did absolutely right in demanding to keep your baby and in seeking help. You will find that he can get along better than we think.

Please keep us posted. Okay?

GREY'T Blessings!
Maggie-

[sidney]

i have done the physical therapy 4 times a day sometimes everyday, ive banaged his feet everyday as instructed by my vet, his feet are certainly stronger. Now i see its not his feet its his legs as the vet instructed. When i put his feet on my fingers where they belong as to perch his legs point totaly out to the side, as if our elbows would do if we put our hands on our hips. He cant walk or balance enough to pick up anything with his feet, he cant perch. But we go back to the vet for check up if he can correct them i leave him for surgery, if not we will adapt.

Thank you for all your support, i needed this, my inlaws and some of my freind say i am being selfish he will never have a good quality of life, and some say hes a waste of my time. ( i think he takes alot of time but my girls and my husband are all supportive, i work with three guys ALL OF WHICH ARE SUPPORTIVE, (and he goes to work with me everyday) so these people are the ones im with the most and evidently the ones who know me the most and care about my feelings and whats most important to me, not how much time im taking from them. But i do worry am i being selfish. He plays with toys, plays and cuddles with us, very vocal, he will be able to fly, and he can eat with his mouth, so what if he cant use his feet, Right?

Wish us luck and pray pray pray, that he can fix it with surgery, i find out tonight if it is worth trying, not gonna put him through it if its not.
Surgery will be tomarrow if he can fix it, i cried all nite, dont want to leave him over night, hes been with me every second for a month, what if they miss a feeding, what if he gets to cold, what if they dont feed him right and he chokes. what about the antisteisa? Do they give birds anything for pain? I AM TERRIFIED!!!!!!

Will write tomarrow and let you know if we did surgery.

BUT THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT

[Guest]

May God bless you both! You are not being selfish. Look at the love and joy that he is bringing to you!

Do NOT give up. We are here for you. Be careful with the surgery decision because it is hard on them to be under anesthesia....but let him know you want him to live and you love him. He'll be strong for you and himself.

Love,
Maggie-

[sidney]

We opted out on the surgery for now. Thevet said he thinks he might adjust and work into it, his feet are changing do to the physical therapy and wraps and i think they look 100 percent already. but his legs...........will never look normal but if he can adapt, GREAT, if not the vet said we can always do surgery down the line. He said EXACTLY what u said, no need to put through all that if there is a chance he can adapt on his own, time will tell. All i am shooting for is that he will be able to stand on his own eventually, maybe not perch or walk, but to stand theres a lot to work with. I feel really positive youve all been great. keep the ideas coming.

PS Maggie my vet said he likes what you are doing, your info is 100 percent and right on track, 2 opions are always better than one.

[Guest]

Sidney,

I like your vet too! I've seen too many Greys that can't handle anesthesia and have died. It is important to do it when it is la matter of life or death....but if it's not, no need to put your baby through it. I'm thrilled to hear of your decision!

It will be wonderful if your baby can eventually stand...but even if he can't, he still has a happy, high-quality life with all of that love you are giving him. You will become our resident expert for helping handicapped Greys. Your advice will be golden one day. Please keep a log and write down your insights so that one day, you can help others.

Meanwhile, did you ever contact the Long Island Parrot Society? A lady named Doreen Gluck is known there for working with handicapped Greys. I am sure she can add some advice too.

PLEASE keep us posted!
GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-