Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 11/7/2006

Question
I've had my parakeet for 6 or 8 years. And a couple weeks ago I notice he holds his leg up and this week he sits on the bottom of his cage because his leg just hangs there. It the same color as the other leg. So he stays at the bottom of the cage now. So I feel really bad and I can not find a vet or anyone around me that might knows what might be wrong with my bird. I hope you can help. Thank You

Answer
Hi, Sue.  Thanks for posting!

Your keet could have injured itself somehow in it's cage, on one of it's toys, etc.  This happens quite frequently to our little birds and a lot of times, we don't even notice.  I don't know exactly what's wrong with your keet's leg bsed on the information in your post.  Obviously, it's bad enough that your keet can't perch, so s/he is staying on the cage bottom.  Is the problem getting worse or better (last week s/he was holding leg up and now this week s/he's on the cage bottom)?  If it's getting worse, you'll need to find an avian veterinarian to take your bird to for a medical evaluation and possible treatment.  Here's a website that might help you find an avian vet locally:  www.aav.org.  If none are listed for your city, call one closest to you for a possible reference closer to where you live.  You can also check your local telephone book for exotic animal vets who are certified in treating aves, check your local newspapers for parrot breeders who might be able to give you a reference to an avian vet, call local cat/dog vets for references, etc.  There's probably one around, but you may have to dig some.

Have you picked your keet up and thoroughly examined his/her leg to see if there is an injury, swelling, etc.?  If so, did the bird cry or otherwise react as if s/he was in pain?  If you haven't done this, you should so you can try to determine what the problem is.

If you can provide more details of the situation, what may have happened, etc., etc., I might be able to help more.

Chrys