help love bird with crazy legs!!

[arkansas_chick]

yes i looked up the cause of this, and it said that mostly its from a slippery surface when theyre babies. The lady had them in a wooden nest box and the shavings didnt even cover the bottom. I know she didnt mean to do this to these poor birds but it still burns me up to think that this could have been prevented. Such a sad situation. I hate that i cant fix it, but I am really thankful for the help. After seeing what an inexperienced breeder caused these 2 birds, I dont really see me letting them raise any babies. Or not in the near future anyway. Also if i dont put the nest box back in, will that discourage them from nesting? They mate like crazy. I currently have a very shallow box in the cage with lots of shavings, for the little crippled one. The parent birds never get into the box, so im hoping they wont try to raise any more.

 

[verthandi]

If your avator is also the state that you are in, here is a list of the Avian vets. You are actually fortunate to have 2 in your state. Avian vets are hard to find sometimes.

Dr. Nancy Belknap, DVM
New Hope Animal Hospital
103 E. New Hope Rd.
Rogers, AR 72758
&(479) 631-0880
(479) 631-9849 (fax)


New Hope Animal Hospital Dr. Heather F Hilvert
Hilvert Veterinary Services
(870) 421-2579 [email protected]
Mountain Home, AR
Dr. Hilvert makes housecalls


The foot that is nearest the camera? can you make the foot straighten out at all? If so I might make a bootie for it to try to help make it functional. It may not be able to use it for walking but they do use them to pick up food and play with toys and it might be of some help if it learns to climb. Birds like this can have ramps made in their cages and platforms to sleep on instead of perches. I also wonder if a sling for part of the day might help. It is tough to do much when they are older, but it might be worth a shot.

You might want to check your local pet store for a calcium/D3 vitamin supplement and give it to the chicks and the parents, splay leg can be caused by low calcium and the parents not being in optimum condition to breed. But do some research on line, as too much calcium can also be harmful. Cuttle-bones are not a great source of calcium but will do if that is all you can find.

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

Love birds will mate and lay eggs even without a nest box. If you keep taking the eggs, she'll keep laying replacement eggs, which can make it hard on the female. I would let her lay the eggs and pierce them or coat them with cooking oil so they don't hatch. She'll sit on them and when they don't hatch...she'll give up. This may help break her breeding cycle - but, chances are, she may start laying again in a few weeks. It is just the way a well bonded pair of lovebirds behave. You can do the entire process all over again if she does start to lay. Sitting on the eggs that have been "Doctored" is not as hard on her body as constantly laying egg after egg. That for certain will depleat her body and put her at risk.

Another thing you might try is to change them to a large cage. Change everything in their current enviroment. I would build or buy the largest horizontal cage I could afford. Let them fly...and have freedom of movement. It'll build them both up and may distract them away from nesting - for awhile.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Joni