Fledgling with Curled Feet

[cindy]

Thanks!

Non-bird people would think I'm nuts to spend so much time on one little chick, but as you can see, he's a perfectly good bird who just happens to have a foot problem. He's much more active and determined than his 'normal' sibling Eaglet. So here's hoping this works, and he gets enough ability to live the active life he's determined to.

Can he walk pretty good in the new shoes?

Not to worry about the non bird people....you are doing a kind thing for him.

[Nerien]

He falls over a lot, so I keep standing him up. Realized his biggest-toe toenails hang over the front, maybe that's what's tripping him up. Going to modify to cover that and see if it helps. But he is learning to shuffle along. Saw him somehow climb over the branch laying on the bottom for Eaglet to practice perching on, then dump on his face. If only he'd just stay still for a minute!

[cindy]

He has places to and people to see!! Good he is moving about, bet it feels good to him!!!

[30 Seconds to Bob]

Nice job with the shoes! Give yourself a pat on the back. What you did was much tougher than if it were on a day old chicken. Hope he turns out "perfect"! Bob

[Asym]

I read all the posts last night and this afternoon saw one of my orange weavers 'resting on a perch' as has been described above. he got his toes caught in a wicker basket and ripped off two nails! (one nail was still on the wicker basket). Poor guy. I'm sure it smarts.

[Nerien]

Hopper seemed to be tired today. Bet he was feeling the effects of his new leg position and lots of newly used muscle stress. Found him on his side a lot today. Their cage is on top of another cage, and it is a Hagen Visions (extra large), so I can't see into the very bottom layer unless I get up on a step stool, which is now permanently parked next to the cage so I can step up and look every time I go past as well as when I check on them.

But he will now eat his mushy egg-pellet-water goo right from the bottlecap himself if I hold it up for him, shoves his whole face and neck into it. I have seen Dad Rusty feeding him, but don't know if he gets fed when he is sideways, so figure the supplemental feeding is wise. He does shuffle along in his shoes, but trips himself a lot. But that's because he's moving, moving, moving.

He and Eaglet rest, nap, and sleep together. Except when he falls over, and Eaglet comes to snuggle, he often ends up sitting on Hopper, and even on Hopper's head. Wonder if that's what happened in the nest, Eaglet was always on top of Hopper, so he couldn't move & strengthen properly? Eaglet is doing well. Looks more and more like a real grownup bird.

They are four weeks old. Now when do I start to worry that Hopper just keeps his wings down tight at his sides? I see him stretch and spread his tail feathers, and body and neck, but his wings he just keeps clamped down tight. Am I going to be raising a flightless finch? Do I start physical therapy for his wings now?

[finchmix22]

I would gently stretch out his wings, to see if they will move. He may not be able to exercise them because of his difficulty with maintaining balance and an erect posture. I know another person here helped their fledgling learn to use their wings and begin to fly. Maybe someone remembers who had that finch. I think they did some sort of gradual exercises to get the fledge to learn to use his wings. You're doing a great job!

[Hilary]

I stopped breeding my societies when I found that I had a gene causing curled toes, and ended up with several finches with "bad" feet before I gave up trying to isolate where it was coming from. All have led happy lives (Bumble, the first, is now 5 years old) and have adapted, usually learning to perch on their forelegs since they can't grip. I've adapted by putting in a couple of broader plastic perches and using vet wrap (used to wrap horses' legs) to wrap favorite spots on wooden perches to make them softer and a little less slippery. I agree that it's important to watch that he's getting fed (and supplement if necessary), but to encourage him to wean and get eating on his own. The millet and eggfood are great for young ones learning to feed themselves. I'd watch the water - he needs to learn to drink but you may want to stick with shallow dishes until he proves that he can perch and not fall in to a deeper water cup. Best of luck!

[Nerien]

Now I just have to hold the little bottlecap of egg-pellet-water goo up in front of him, and he goes to town, diving face & neck into it to eat. So now I guess it's time to start moving more towards solid stuff & seeds. Got some hulled millet at the health food store, figure on grinding it up with some egg for starters, then maybe soak some to make soft seeds, then move to dry and regular seeds. Problem with putting seeds in is Dad and Mom. Had put a sprig of millet in down the bottom with the babies, Dad ate it. But they aren't out of the nest even a week, yet.

Hopper falls over all the time, but just lays there until someone does a check and stands him back up. Totally freaky, he looks dead just laying there each time. He keeps his wings clamped tight at his sides. I have pulled them out to the side a bit, they are very stiff and tight, but not immovable. He is not thrilled by me doing it.

Made a ring out of a rolled up paper towel to try and stabilize him from falling over (doesn't work, he pushes against it 'til he and it topple), so I spread each ring over the sides of this ring to hole them out a bit while I let him feed. I have to hold him up in the air, because if he can push with his feet, he pushes himself out of it.

So there I sit, holding a tiny little bird in a paper towel bumper, wings over the sides, little shoed feet paddling the air below, face and neck covered in egg-goo as he dives into the bottle cap to eat. Ridiculous.

Poor little guy. No feet, no wings, and so much energy and desire to move. Trying to figure out how to keep some kind of wing-spreader in place, cotton balls with a gauze wrap around his body?, to help him loosen up his shoulders. If he would keep his wings out even a little bit, he wouldn't have to fall over so much.

[cindy]

just an idea...make him a walker of sorts. Turn a dixie cu upside down cut a hole in the bottom, pad the edges put him though the hole and trim the bottom (the top edges) so his feet touch the ground....he doesn't have to stay in it all the time but when he is with you. Clear the area so he can't fall over things. The biggest challenge is making sure he eats and drinks enough and that he does not drown in a bit of water he can't get himself out of.

he is one special little bird, straight feet or not...what a trooper!!!

[Sally]

I am following this story with absolute amazement at the lengths you are willing to go to in order to help this little guy--kudos to you!

He could probably start eating more solid food now--regular eggfood that is not a mush, the hulled millet, a small piece of spray millet held up just for him, but as he eats more dry food, he will need to drink water. Babies get their liquid from the food that the parents regurgitate for them, so as he is weaned from the parents, it will be important for him to have frequent drinks, without leaving a bowl of water that he could fall into and drown.

[Dayna]

Youre such a great finch mommy. You have been doing such a great job you should be very proud of yourself and little hopper two shoes. He is so adorable. You did a great job with his shoes too. He is very lucky to have you for a mommy.

[finchmix22]

You are doing such a fabulous job! As far as him falling over all the time, Cindy's idea of a baby walker, for a bird, may work. You may need to use a flight harness, but you'd probably need to make or adapt one to his size. Those harnesses go around/under the feathers/chest and the breast/neck area. Then, he could be set up on a bungee, like the baby walker/bouncers, for active babies who can't walk yet. That way, he might be able to exercise his wings too.

I would also try holding him, but his legs/feet, so he has to try and flap his wings. Then, you can slowly move him up and down, to simulate the movement of air under the wings and pray he gets the idea. He is very blessed to have you as his birdie mommy and personal physical therapist!

[Nerien]

Thanks, all.

Took off the shoes this morning, since they were taped directly to his feet. At first he was standing okay, flat-footed, on the paper towels in his little portable basket net cage (we were in Christmas Tree Shops and bought two of those picnic wicker-basket plates with the little net tent that arches over the top, so I can contain him and carry him with me easily when he's out of the cage. Lined it with a paper plate & paper towels). But then he tried walking, and he'd fall over, and in struggling to get back up, he'd curl up again.

In the real cage, I could put him on a branch that is laying in the bottom of the cage for Eaglet to practice perching on, and Hopper would curl his toes around and stay on it for a while, but then he'd either try to move or lose his balance, and over he'd go.

So, after a while, I put new shoes on him. This time, I lined the tape that goes actually over his toes with a little tissue, to protect his skin. After a while the right shoe shifted, and eventually came off. So I put it back on again. In order to keep him still so I could apply the shoes, cardboard base with tape straps all over, I rolled him up in toilet paper and ripped a slit to pull his legs out, one at a time, to work on. But then I fed him between each leg so he'd forgive me for rolling him up.

He really digs into the little cap-dish of goo now, can almost just put it flat in front of him, but he goes so far in he ends up with food all over his front. It's not deep, he just leans way over. For tomorrow, have collected all the little caps in the house, so I can stack them and have the food and water up a little higher, so if he pitches over, he doesn't end up laying in them. Even with the new shoes, he falls over a lot. Tomorrow, drier goo and water for him to experiment with. The sooner he's eating on his own, the better. Dad Rusty is still feeding both chicks, but I'm not sure Hopper gets fed when he's on his side, which is a lot of the time.

His wings are just clamped down tight to his sides. I stretch them out gently, they don't want to go, and he's not thrilled when I do. So, while I have him out, I put him in the paper towel ring I made and stretch each wing over the side, but I have to hold him up keeping his feet off the ground or he pushes up and topples himself out. Will have to think about how to design a walker that will defeat his determination, the paper towel ring is the same idea, but unless I tape him in from the top, he just defies it.

Where do I get a flight harness? Do they make them so tiny? Every time I look in the cage and he's on his side, often in the corner or half-under a perch or something, I think he's dead, since if he's been toppled a while, he just lays there, still. If he's freshly fallen, he's still struggling. Eaglet likes to snuggle with him, only he often ends up sitting on him, especially his head. Either that, or he wants to be an only chick and is trying to smother him. Eaglet looks like a real bird now, tho not flying yet and sometimes tippy on the low places he perches. Hopper is still fluffy because he can't preen most of himself without falling over, tippy, shuffling on shoes until he falls and has to lay there, wings clamped tight and not functioning. Think he's going to be a "special" bird his whole life. Poor little thing, in his heart he's zooming among the top perches in the cage, doing loop the loops and everything.

[finchmix22]

I don't think they make flight harnesses that small, so you'd have to make one.
http://www.avianweb.com/aviatorharness.html
Here is a link to the harness.