I'm hoping that someone either has come across a bird owner with a toeless parrot, or has one and has modified their cage. Hope is 6 yrs old and I just adopted her about 6 weeks ago. She has lived in a ok cage (size wise) with a wooden plank across the cage abt 5 inches from the bottom of the cage. If she's not on her plank, she's on the bottom of the cage or scalling the inside of her cage wall (I've even spotted her hanging upside down!). She has 3 of the flat grates at different levels that I've added. The one she sleeps on, I covered with a soft material. But this creates a problem with her tail feather getting dirty from the pile of poop that accumulates over night. She's not fond of baths, so I'm not sure what to do. I really want to expand her limited world by give her a cage designed just for her. She is also flightless. Her parents not only bit all of her toes off but also bit her wing tips off on one of her wings.
Any ideas?Click to view attachment
UZ posted a link the other day for flat slab rock perches ... they are fabulous!! www.birdontherocks.com
Perhaps something like this could work for your baby?
Perhaps something like this could work for your baby?
Thanks Frankie's mom. That's a great idea! 
a while ago birdtalk had an article on this. it was an amazon who lost his feet. I'd check google for special bird cages. there should be one, if worse comes to worse, a giant ferret cage would be good. its just a suggestion,
kudos to you on helping a little one in need.
kudos to you on helping a little one in need.
I'm glad someone mentioned the rock perches...They are GREAT my birds love them... Also You can get some wooden plank perches that I saw at PetsMart that are actually for chinchilla's and they should work pretty well...though she may chew them up for something to do. Or if you are handy with a saw and drill you can make your own plank perches using hanger bolts and wing nuts and a 2 x 4 cut to the length you want you can smooth the edges etc.
As for bathing her since she isn't fond of baths try using a spray bottle and turn it to a fine mist and spray it over the top of her and let it drift down over her. My birds liked to just be misted straight on, but they aren't afraid of the spray bottle so standing right in front of them and soaking them if fine with them...though mine prefer a shower with me.
The rock perches come in lots of different sizes and shapes and he makes corner ones as well as wall ones so you might contact John and tell him what your dealing with and the size of your cage and what kind of bird you have and he may be able to make some up special for your specific needs. I think they're pretty reasonably priced too for what they are...
Good Luck, I hope you find something that works for this special little bird.
As for bathing her since she isn't fond of baths try using a spray bottle and turn it to a fine mist and spray it over the top of her and let it drift down over her. My birds liked to just be misted straight on, but they aren't afraid of the spray bottle so standing right in front of them and soaking them if fine with them...though mine prefer a shower with me.
The rock perches come in lots of different sizes and shapes and he makes corner ones as well as wall ones so you might contact John and tell him what your dealing with and the size of your cage and what kind of bird you have and he may be able to make some up special for your specific needs. I think they're pretty reasonably priced too for what they are...
Good Luck, I hope you find something that works for this special little bird.
QUOTE (lepigardener @ Apr 19 2007, 05:30 PM) 
Thanks Frankie's mom. That's a great idea!
Sure thing! Thank Uncle Zippy, as John is his friend! I love our stone perch. We have a corner one, and they are having a sale now to buy 2 and get one free, so I am sure we will be adding more to our collection this week! Let me know how it works for you!
QUOTE (Taavi's Mom @ Apr 19 2007, 05:41 PM)
Jan! Thanks you, thanks you, thank you! I have spent a lot of time searching for a website about handicapped birds and had not come across one. I'm so excited!
Thanks,
Gayla
QUOTE (Quakermom @ Apr 19 2007, 06:00 PM)
a while ago birdtalk had an article on this. it was an amazon who lost his feet. I'd check google for special bird cages. there should be one, if worse comes to worse, a giant ferret cage would be good. its just a suggestion,
kudos to you on helping a little one in need.
kudos to you on helping a little one in need.
Quakerman-Thanks. I will see if the library has these magazines. Maybe I can locate the one about the Amazon. Thanks for your cage suggestions too
We have 3 birds with there feet "impaired" all of them adapted very well to regular cages, perches etc. Heck I think sometimes they even get around better than the other birds LOL. I only use wooden perches. I do not use any perches that are textured. We even use different size perches for them too. If you wanna have a look at them Click here.
My bird only has one leg. Even though the situation is a bit different, this is what I have tried:
- If you get a new cage, make sure that it is longer and wider then it is high. This gives him more room to play at the bottom of his cage. If it isnt already (I assume it is) but make sure that the bottom is solid. When my bird was recovering, I slipped a t shirt over the bottom of the cage to make it a little soft.
- It's been said, but flat perches are wonderful. I use vet tape (not the sticky kind, but the kind that only sticks to itself) on some leaping ledges and put them throughout the cage.
- Watch the bar spacing! I notice the little ledge hes standing on. Whatever grated thing that you put in there, make sure its either wide enough that he can stick his leg through without a problem or really small enough that he cant get his leg caught between the bars.
I hope this helps!
- If you get a new cage, make sure that it is longer and wider then it is high. This gives him more room to play at the bottom of his cage. If it isnt already (I assume it is) but make sure that the bottom is solid. When my bird was recovering, I slipped a t shirt over the bottom of the cage to make it a little soft.
- It's been said, but flat perches are wonderful. I use vet tape (not the sticky kind, but the kind that only sticks to itself) on some leaping ledges and put them throughout the cage.
- Watch the bar spacing! I notice the little ledge hes standing on. Whatever grated thing that you put in there, make sure its either wide enough that he can stick his leg through without a problem or really small enough that he cant get his leg caught between the bars.
I hope this helps!
My husband has made 2 x 4, and 1 x 2 perches for each of our 6 birds. You buy regular wood from the Home Improvement store. Cut to specificed length. We have a 2 x 4 in each cage which fits side to side and then 1 x 2 that fits front to back next to the food and water bowls. After cutting to the correct length, bake it at 200 degrees in the oven for about an hour to kill any micro organisms. Then my husband bores holes in each end and screws a 2 sided bolts in each end. Then we use washers and wingnuts on the outside of the cages.
Our avian vet strongly encourages at least one flat perch in every birds cage. To clean,it works best to wipe off with a clorox wipe, then spray with poop off and then followed up my wiping down with a clean rag.
Our birds tend to perch on these the majority of the time.
Our avian vet strongly encourages at least one flat perch in every birds cage. To clean,it works best to wipe off with a clorox wipe, then spray with poop off and then followed up my wiping down with a clean rag.
Our birds tend to perch on these the majority of the time.
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