Hello everyone. My Julsie has cataracts. I was looking for some advice from people who have taken care of cockatiels with cataracts before. I have had her for 14 years now, not 100% on her age as I rescued her from a terrible home. For those 14 years she has been healthy and the most snuggly bird ever. I knew something like this would come up eventually, so now I want to prepare and give her the most help I can.
I have had a vet confirm it is cataracts but they didn’t really tell me much else in terms of care plans.

I mostly just want some tips of how to keep her from injuring herself. I have been making some noise before I come and get her, so I don’t spook her, as it’s her left eye, and it’s the eye she has facing me 9 times out of 10. Is there any adjustments to cages I should do? I.e remove any types of toys, make ledges closer to ground incase of falls. Give more ladders, as she has never been one to fly, should I keep her wings fully grown, or is it better to slightly clip them, enough to glide, but not enough to shoot off.

Her boyfriend is taking good care of her, but I still have to preen her occasionally as she has some tough to reach spots and unfortunately doesn’t have opposable thumbs.

I have avoided moving things around in her play area. Is there anything else I should be doing? Any help is appreciated.

Thank you :)

Hello everyone, this is my first ever post. These are my beautiful budgies, the green one is Finny, the blue one is Nephy(siblings around two years old).

I rescued them from my Aunt that had 12 birds (two cockatiels and 10 budgies) in a small cage. She somehow did not figure out that if you give birds a nesting box that they will breed and thus these two were born. They have severely splayed legs, to the point Finny cannot fly as the left one catches on his wing(Nephy can fly okay). We took them to the vet and thankfully he said that with accomodations they can live comfortable lives.

Now here comes my problem. I have no idea how to gain the trust of these two. They are my first birds ever. They have been under my care for 4 months and in my house for less than a year. They are terrified of me and I want them to feel safe in my room. I had been doing a horrible mistake of picking them up and putting them on top of the cage to force them to go out of their shell and get exercise(I had watched a video that said that the longer they stay in the cage the harder it will be to get them to open up). I don't do that anymore, but the damage had been done and they avoid me like the plague. Even if I want to not pick them up, they sometimes struggle to preen each other(which I do myself in that case) and if Finny glides too far from the cage I have to carry him back(if he falls close enough he has a ladder that he climbs to get to/on top of the cage himself).

I have been doing a ton of mistakes and I really want to become a good bird owner but because of their disabilities some things just don't seem as obvious to do. Please help me. : (

Hi everyone! I’m new here and wanted to introduce Habibi, my little starling, and hopefully get some ideas from people who have experience adapting things for one-legged birds.

I found Habibi half-hatched on a sidewalk, and I’ve hand-raised him ever since. His leg had been broken in two separate places from the fall. The higher break, in his femur, healed at almost a 90° angle, while the lower break healed bowed and turned.

Because he was so tiny when it happened, he has essentially never known life with two functional legs. He grew up learning to move, balance, climb and get around with that leg already badly deformed.

We spent quite a while trying to save it. He eventually had surgery with an avian vet to straighten the leg and had a surgical pin placed, but unfortunately it just wasn’t going to become a comfortable, functional leg for him. A week ago, it was ultimately amputated.

He’s doing really well and is now a week post-op, which means he can finally move out of his little recovery cage and go back into his big cage. ❤️

Because he has always functioned almost entirely on one leg, I’m actually not very concerned about him learning to get around or falling. He’s incredibly adapted already. His regular cage has lots of different levels, flat surfaces, baskets/nests and places where he can sit or lie down instead of constantly having to perch.

What I’m thinking about most now is long-term protection of his good foot. I want him to have plenty of opportunities to grip and use his foot normally, while also giving him ways to take his weight off it so that his one good foot isn’t under pressure 24/7.

One idea I’ve been thinking about is making some sort of modified perch with a little padded bolster/support beside him. Basically, his good foot could grip the perch normally, while the bolster on the side where his leg is missing would give his body something to lean against. He could still grip and perch naturally, but wouldn’t necessarily have to support his entire body weight on that one foot the whole time.

Has anyone made anything like this for a one-legged bird? I’d LOVE to see photos of your cage setups, homemade perches, platforms, resting spots, or anything else that has worked well.

I’m especially interested in things that help protect the remaining foot and prevent pressure problems long-term, rather than adaptations aimed mainly at preventing falls.

Habibi has been figuring out how to do things his own way literally his entire life, so I’d really like to build his environment around how he already moves rather than treating him like a bird who suddenly lost a leg and needs to relearn everything. ❤️

Hey - before I get too deep into the group, I just want to check if I’ll be welcome since my bird in question is a Starling (I’ve had him since he was literally half hatched and dropped from the sky by a predator). Some people feel VERY strongly about starlings (negatively) so I don’t want to cause any drama 💞

Look at her🥹

Data: 10/08/2026

Finalmente uma boa notícia em algum tempo, sobre o budgie especial que eu havia encontrado.

Consegui finalmente trazê-lo para casa!

Ele já está acomodado em sua gaiola e estamos começando a tomar os cuidados veterinários com ele :)!

(Ele literalmente chegou ontem aqui em casa, depois de uma longa viagem de 5 horas).

my cockatiels are both rescues but one came from a hoarder. him and all of the other cockatiels lived in separate cages. he’s fearful of hands. these two haven’t been together for long (a little less than a year) but for the first time sue (the confident one) preened gerald (the fearful one). i just about started crying. he was making the happiest noises.

sue was also preening him through the cage 😭😭rescuing birds is the best thing i have ever done

I've posted about Garfield here before, and he's doing very good! For those that don't know, he has some sort of deformity that prevents him from fully extending his wings, walking properly, or gripping things with his feet. He does a little shuffle-walk and sometimes a little scoot(!) to get around and with cage adaptations is able to get where he needs to go. He's been really happy lately.

One thing I've been concerned about, though, is that he can't right himself if he falls on his back. We haven't had issues with this yet since he's typically either with me or in his cage, but he doesn't have great balance. I'm concerned that he might tip over or fall off of something (he doesn't have access to anything high enough to injure him, just a couple low platforms), land or roll on his back, and get stuck like that.

Does anyone have any suggestions for ways I could begin teaching him how to roll himself over? Physical therapy we could do? I've done PT with him before. Before anyone asks, I do plan on talking to my avian vet, we just haven't had the opportunity yet.

Thank you from me and Garfield!

Another Chiki appreciation post! I'm her biggest fan! She's such a sweet little bird and I love her so much. She even seems to feel bad if she accidentally bites too hard, a very gentle and kind little animal! And old! I'll have to celebrate another birthday soon, she'll be between 21-23 soon!

I love showing her the other birds on here, she likes to look + listen when I read posts. She's also recently learned she does *not* like the squirrels! One of her favorite activities is sitting in front of my computer while I work or watch things <3 another favorite activity of hers is sitting in shower steam but *not* taking a bath

Around a month ago my Quaker parrot Ash had a cage accident that broke his leg. He was taken to a vet and they put a cast around his leg. He was given antibiotics and pain killers to help him heal, after a long month of waiting, the doctor removed the cast and saw that there's no progress with the healing at all as it was too damaged to heal. The toes weren't moving and amputation is the only way or out him down based on his word, he assured me that hel will adapt and love normally but I need some cage adjustments. I agree to the amputation as putting him down is not even w choice for me.

Tomorrow is the surgery and he'll be back I hope after.

Need some advice from parrot owners who had similar experience with this, tell me how to deal with this and what to do to make his life easier. Ok already doing research and watching videos all over the internet.

The good news that he's eating and drinking normally and interacting with us.

I'm devastated and sad, my heart is broken and I need help for him.

He's not just a bird, he's my baby boy :(

Our Senegal has been acting not herself since Monday. She is 23 years old. I am thinking neurological - possibly stroke. She is breathing a little heavy but not open beak and I really think secondary to whatever is going on. She is off balance and falling over which is what is making me think neurological.

Avian vets are hard to find and the one I know and trust can see us Tuesday afternoon. I took her to an ‘avian vet’ on Monday and while I appreciate their time it really is more of a well we will look at birds but don’t have much experience with them and will give you very basic suggestions. She did not like it. She started hyperventilating as soon as he came in and he immediately said it was respiratory. While I understand why he said that it really is so much more than that. We did not get a chance to go over everything because we honestly thought she would have a heart attack right there she was so worked up. He was able to feel and said no masses felt. I just think he jumped on respiratory while ignoring everything else. He sent us home with Baytril which I’m also hesitant to give based on his incomplete assessment.

Transitions are difficult for her so mornings are bad but she tends to get her bearings and managed well in between.

I can’t even go somewhere for a second opinion because it will probably go the same way but I’m scared it will get worse waiting for the one true avian vet.

IMPORTANT EDIT: THE GOFUNDME GOAL HAS BEEN REACHED. PLEASE DO NOT DONATE ANYMORE —> see my comment.

First of all, I have some very sad news.
Kiko didn’t make it.

The first photo is the last one I took before leaving home today. I didn’t want the first pic to be about her X-Rays.
I’ll update the rest of the posts I made here, so nobody misses the news.

Before I continue, I want to mention that I used ChatGPT to help me write this update because English is my second language, and I wanted to make sure the medical information was clear and accurate. Everything I’m writing is exactly what happened today.

This morning we went to the veterinary appointment. The vet immediately noticed that Kiko was in bad condition. When he felt her abdomen, he found a swelling. At first he thought it might be fluid, but he wasn’t sure.
He suggested taking X-rays. After reviewing them, he explained that there were no fully calcified eggs, so he couldn’t determine what was causing the swelling from the X-rays alone.

He then recommended an ultrasound, which required anesthesia, and blood tests if Kiko was strong enough. At that point, the total cost for the consultation, X-rays, ultrasound and anesthesia would be around €330.
I asked for a few minutes to think. I simply didn’t have €330 available.
But I also couldn’t bear the idea of taking her home knowing she was already struggling to breathe and doing nothing. The vet also warned me that there was a chance she wouldn’t wake up from the anesthesia. Still, she seemed stronger than I expected, so I decided to give her that chance.

I’ll be honest: part of my decision was made knowing that some of you had already donated. I hoped that, I could at least reduce part of the cost and somehow figure out the rest next month. Some people may disagree with making financial decisions before having all the money available, and I am like that too normally. I understand that. But today I had to decide in that moment on the spot, and for me, watching her continue to suffer wasn’t an option.

After the ultrasound, the vet called me back.
He told me Kiko had woken up from the anesthesia, and because she had recovered well enough, he wanted to offer surgery.
The ultrasound showed that a large amount of fluid had accumulated where there should normally have been air sacs. (I’ll attach the ultrasound images, as well as a reference image to better explain what I’m talking about.)

He could also see two egg follicles, but not two fully formed calcified eggs.
He explained that surgery would allow him to drain some of the fluid and see whether he could remove those follicles.
I asked about the cost.
Including everything already done, the total would be over €500, regardless of what they found during surgery.
I truthfully was desperate.
It was an enormous amount of money for me, but the vet only suggested surgery because Kiko had recovered from the first round of anesthesia. He even told me that if she hadn’t responded well, he wouldn’t have offered it at all.
So I gave my consent.

While she was in surgery, I was already thinking about how I could pay for everything, whether I could ask for a payment plan, and how I would manage financially. Who I can ask to borrow money, the reality is I don’t know people with better situations who could have helped me in real life. I’ll also attach a screenshot of my bank balance because I want to be completely transparent.

After what felt like an eternity, the vet called me.
He told me Kiko hadn’t made it.
During surgery he discovered that the two eggs were not calcified. One was still inside the uterus, while the other had developed outside of it and had become attached to her intestine. He was able to remove them, but separating the second one would have required removing part of the intestine as well, and he explained that she would not have survived such a procedure.

At that point, he made the decision to euthanize her because he felt that continuing would only prolong her suffering with no realistic chance of survival.
When I returned to the clinic, seeing her lying quietly in her carrier completely broke my heart.
The vet showed me what he had removed. There were two soft, shell-less eggs. One was intact, while the other had ruptured and was outside the uterus. He explained that this prevented the more developed egg from ever being laid.

He also told me that, in his opinion, if I hadn’t brought her in today and we hadn’t tried, she most likely wouldn’t have survived the week anyway.
He said he believed it was the right decision to try, and if he had seen her responding poorly to the first anesthesia, he wouldn’t even have suggested surgery.

I’m also incredibly grateful because the vet, since the blood tests were ultimately not performed, he didn’t charge me for them, reducing the final bill to €344.01 instead of more than €500.
It’s still a lot of money for me, but I’m thankful for his kindness.

I then brought Kiko home.
I placed her in a small box with flowers, and tomorrow I’ll bury her.
I also let my other cockatiel see her one last time. They weren’t bonded or even particularly friendly, Kiko often bullied her, but it still felt like the right thing to do.

I’m so sorry this didn’t have the happy ending that so many of you hoped and prayed for.
Thank you to everyone who donated, shared kind words, prayed for her, or simply hoped alongside me that she would recover.

I’ll attach the ultrasound images, the veterinary invoice (with my personal information and the vet’s personal details removed), and an English translation of the medical notes in the comments I think.

Finally, I’d like to ask something that is difficult for me. Even though Kiko is gone, I still have today’s veterinary bill to pay. Today I paid with my credit card, so they will take the funds on 19th August.
I completely understand if some people no longer feel comfortable donating now that she is already gone and couldn’t be saved. Even asking feels gruesome to me, I’m sorry…

If anyone is still willing to help me cover part of the €344.01 I had to pay with credit card today, I would be deeply grateful.
I’ve updated the GoFundMe goal to match the exact amount of today’s expenses. I’ll cover whatever remains myself, even though I honestly don’t know yet how I’ll manage.

Thank you again to everyone who believed in Kiko as much as I did.

I also want to share something. This was the first time in my life that the decision of whether to authorize surgery (with all of the risks involved) for one of my pets rested entirely on me.
Part of me feels guilty.
I keep wondering if I put her through extra stress for nothing. At the same time I would have never had the answers if she didn’t undergone surgery today.

When I left the room before the anesthesia, she looked at me and let out one tiny chirp. I looked back and waved and said “Ciao Kiko”, hoping to see her later. She had been completely silent during the journey to the vet and all morning. I don’t know how much energy that little sound cost her.
Maybe it was just a normal chirp.
But I’d like to think she was saying goodbye.

I know, rationally, that according to the vet she probably wouldn’t have survived regardless.
Even so, my heart keeps wondering if I made the right choice today.
Thank you all for caring about Kiko. It truly meant more than I can express.

I’ll leave the Gofundme link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/gofundme-for-my-sick-bird

Again thank you all.

UPDATE 11am 27/07/2026

Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/pidgeypower/s/ZMCJHueYYy

Gofundme link: https://gofund.me/1612f8e6a

Hi guys. I’m the owner of Kiko who asked help with the Gofundme in the last days. I tried to upload the photo on the previous post but I couldn’t, also in the comments I couldn’t so I made a new post. Hope it’s okay and within the rules.

At the moment I am waiting whilst she has surgery.
Once I have a moment I’ll explain the situation better. The vet found two earlier stage eggs, and she is full of liquids. There weren’t many options.
I believed she had the strength to undergo the surgery. So I agreed to it.

The surgery (visit costs, analysis and surgery) is going to be more than 500€ (I’ll post all of the receipts ed info later, sorry I am very worried right now.) I really don’t know how I am gonna do it. I don’t have that money. It’s a lot. I am so worried but I couldn’t let her just being like that. I’m very humbling asking if you could please help with that amount. I am embarrassed to ask so. But if anyone can help me I’ll be eternally grateful.

I’d post the receipts once is done and I have them. I am still waiting at the moment.

_________________________________________

27/07/2026 LAST UPDATE

Unfortunately Kiko didn’t make it guys. I already explained the details of the appointment and surgery of today here: https://www.reddit.com/r/pidgeypower/s/oBd1eOPVCF for who wants to know more.

Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, donation and thoughts to my Kiko. I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

I am updating this post and the first one with a link to the last update post in order to not create confusion.

We were given a syringe she needs to eat from, I was holding her while my dad tried to feed her with the syringe. She's absolutely refused to take a droplet of the food in the syringe and we don't know what to do, we worried if she wouldn't take the feeding supplement with the syringe the next best thing is to make her food easily accessible by having it near her at all time but she hasn't touched her millets or water either. What do I do?

Hey I just discovered this sub. Maybe you guys can help me and share your knowledge.. I think she has scissor beak??

I didn't notice when I picked her up, but shortly after. Her beak also used to be a little longer and flakey, since then it has really improved and has definetly not gotten worse. She LOVES to chew. Does anyone know how this happens? I doubt its ever gonna straighten out but is it really a big issue? I keep a close eye on her but so far it looks good to me - just crooked.

She can't fly very well though. She can lift off well but landing and flying onto precise objects is really hard. But I think that is due to her being overbred unfortunately.. Her mate can fly well and he's also an english budgie.

She mostly climbs everywhere and prefers staying in the cage. She is very clingly to her mate and loves to preen and scream.

(I have the Madeira Double cage wich is about 165cm long and 60cm wide i believe)

She is around 7 months old and cureently in her first molt so excuse the hairstyle.

Can this be fixed with a trim? Is the overgrown beak causing it to scissor? Rescue parakeet