Tony - how is Zaf doing?

[Macaw Lover]

I haven't seen a recent update and am always wondering how his leg is doing

[plax]

I haven't seen a recent update and am always wondering how his leg is doingHi Renee'...

Zaf is doing well! :). It's hard at times to keep him on his couch now though ...he often decides he'd rather walk around on the floor ;). And although he still favors his healing leg (he does have somewhat of a limp), he can, and actually does, run from one end of his couch to the other once in a while. The grasp of his healing leg's foot is still quite slight much of the time. But he has gripped my hand and arm tightly with it a couple of times, so I know he can do it! Other than that, he plays, he bounces and dances (his famous chicken-flap dance, etc.), and mostly he wants to be with me 24/7. He tries to be on my shoulder snuggled up against my ear continually when I'm sitting on his couch with him. So that's how he's doing :)

Thanks so much for your concern, Renee' :D

[Macaw Lover]

I am happy that things are going good for him and he is able to use that leg. Hopefully with time the limp will go away too.

[Blancaej]

I'm glad you posted this Renee'! I am so glad to hear Zaf is doing well Tony! :th_biggrin:

[plax]

I am happy that things are going good for him and he is able to use that leg. Hopefully with time the limp will go away too.Yes. I'm certainly hoping that's the case! His healing leg's muscle girth is much less than that of his other leg. But in addition to some muscle atrophy within that healing leg, he has been bearing nearly all of his weight upon, and anchoring his entire body with the other leg (for two months!). So the musculature in that other leg has developed to a point well beyond what it had been prior to Zaf's accident, as one would expect. As such, his atrophied leg as compared to his bulked up leg creates quite a noticeable contrast.

[Mare]

I'm glad to hear Zaf is doing better and the fact that he CAN grip is very good news :). I'm sure his muscle will return over time. I look forward to the day when we hear of him using his play stand like a monkey, again!

[plax]

Thanks Mare! He's a very happy bird... but consider the extra special treatment he receives ;)

[plax]

It's been 2 months since Zaf's accident. For those interested, here are a few clips of him using his healing leg and foot:


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[Cami]

:th_heart: Yea...I'm so glad he's doing better, he looks so good. I gotta tell you when I was reading about his accident the tears were flowing.

[plax]

:th_heart: Yea...I'm so glad he's doing better, he looks so good. I gotta tell you when I was reading about his accident the tears were flowing.Thanks Cami :calm:

[Honesty]

Those are great video's :) Zaf seems to be using his foot quite well now. You can even see him trying to open and close his foot while he is on the perch:) I have a feeling in time he will have full use of it again :th_chickendance:

[plax]

Those are great video's :) Zaf seems to be using his foot quite well now. You can even see him trying to open and close his foot while he is on the perch:) I have a feeling in time he will have full use of it again :th_chickendance:Yes, previously he wasn't able to move his toes like that at all. Those movements have been getting better and better. And, as I've mentioned... surprisingly, he did grip my hand and arm rather tightly with his healing foot the other day. I'm so very hopeful that with the physical therapy he insists upon providing to himself he'll eventually gain most, or even all of his grasping ability back! But I must also prepare myself for the possibility that his movement functions may never be quite the same as they once were :(

[josiesmom]

Tony, zaf looks great! I'm so happy to see him climbing and being silly again. You did great with his recovery.

[Debra]

Tony, those videos made my day! Thank you for posting them for us. He's looking great!

[plax]

Thanks Debra and Anita :)

[Macaw Lover]

:th_chickendance: :woohoo-dancing-bana :th_yah:

Time to get that little guy one of those KitchenAid all SS measuring spoons so he can use that to smooth out that lower mandible a little bit better.

After seeing these videos I can relax now for him (and you too)

[plax]

:th_chickendance: :woohoo-dancing-bana :th_yah:

Time to get that little guy one of those KitchenAid all SS measuring spoons so he can use that to smooth out that lower mandible a little bit better.

After seeing these videos I can relax now for him (and you too)Thanks, Renee' :)

And yes, I'm going to locate a set of the SS measuring spoons for Zaf. His lower mandible has always grown very quickly. Because of this, and since he's not a wood chewer, I trim his lower beak for him on a regular basis. If I didn't do that, it would form quite a long half-pipe and be quite fractured on its edge :(. Zaf realizes his rapid overgrowth problem and continually grinds on the SS bolts that I keep around here for him everywhere. They make great files!

[Macaw Lover]

Donovan is not a wood chewer either but has not had an over growth problem but I have only had him for 7 months now. He has an Animal Environments ring stand and the bowl holder he will use that to work on the inside of the mandible and them he takes the nut shell half and scrapes the round end on the top edge of the mandible. Kalea has not been able to teach him to use the spoons as she can maneuver it much better in that space. The light bulb has not gone on for Donovan (yet, I hope) LOL

[plax]

Donovan is not a wood chewer either but has not had an over growth problem but I have only had him for 7 months now. He has an Animal Environments ring stand and the bowl holder he will use that to work on the inside of the mandible and them he takes the nut shell half and scrapes the round end on the top edge of the mandible. Kalea has not been able to teach him to use the spoons as she can maneuver it much better in that space. The light bulb has not gone on for Donovan (yet, I hope) LOLZaf uses macadamia nut shells as well. But the various sizes of SS threaded bolts that I have here for him seem to work the best. I have a suspicion that he will readily grind on the spoons when I get them... he LOVES stainless steel anything! :)

[kendrafitz]

Love the videos!! So happy that Zaf seems so much better!

Once I see a new video of my favorite blue guy dancing I will be even better!

Rosie, Ashie and the rest of the Fitz Farm send you lots of kisses Zaf!!! You are the sweetest little guy and seeing you so much better makes us all so happy!!

[plax]

Love the videos!! So happy that Zaf seems so much better!

Once I see a new video of my favorite blue guy dancing I will be even better!

Rosie, Ashie and the rest of the Fitz Farm send you lots of kisses Zaf!!! You are the sweetest little guy and seeing you so much better makes us all so happy!!Zaf and I thank you kindly, Kendra :D

[Mare]

Loved seeing Zaf moving around so well, he is such a cutie! The bolt kind of threw me for a loop, though. I was afraid he might hurt himself crawling around it but obviously, he knew what was going on! I guess this is why my cockatoos chew on wood so much? In their case, I was thinking it has to do with something more than just grinding down their beaks but now I'm not sure..hmm..

[plax]

Loved seeing Zaf moving around so well, he is such a cutie! The bolt kind of threw me for a loop, though. I was afraid he might hurt himself crawling around it but obviously, he knew what was going on! I guess this is why my cockatoos chew on wood so much? In their case, I was thinking it has to do with something more than just grinding down their beaks but now I'm not sure..hmm..Thanks Mare. Zaf get injured on a grinding bolt? Not a chance! He's an old hand at bolt thread grinding ;). He's been using grinding bolts for many years, loves to grind on them, and does so many times per day :). Zaf has always been obsessed with silver-ish metal objects. He's afraid of nearly all other play things - but I've been working on that with him for years (with some recent progress since his accident :)). As far as metal, obviously I only allow him un-coated, safe metal things to play with. Ultimately, though, when it comes to SS bolt usage, Zaf's quite a pro!

[Blancaej]

I love the videos Tony! Zaf is doing great and I'm sure it will only get better from here. Thanks for keeping us posted!

[plax]

I've been letting Zaf climb around the inside of his cage (supervised, of course), as well as hang around on top of it. His stride now seems very good when walking across the flat barred top. While he was up there today, I was handing him some unsalted whole cashews. He actually held each one with his raised left foot to eat it while standing solely on, and supporting the full weight of his body with, his healing right leg and foot! He did this with each nut that I handed to him, almost as if he had never been injured! Zaf is a left-footed parrot (most are), and today his nut holding/eating technique has been exactly as it was before the accident... effortless!!! I couldn't be happier about this development :th_biggrin:

[Minamommy]

It's wonderful to watch Zaf on the videos!! He looks wonderful and happy. It is a testament to the wonderful care you give him. I'm so happy for you that he is getting better.

[Debra]

Tony, that is great news! In no time at all he will be just like he was before his accident. Thank you for posting this wonderful update!

[plax]

Zaf is absolutely amazing me! He has been hanging upside down from the top of his cage from BOTH feet, and doing so without issue :th_biggrin:. He has also been gripping my wrist tightly with the foot of his healing leg!!! And as I mentioned before, he now stands on his healing leg and holds food with his other foot. But he still tends to favor his healing leg and foot to a point... he puts less weight on them than on the other leg and foot when he's standing in one place, and most of the time he keeps the toes of the foot more relaxed than those of the other foot. But all in all I'd say he's doing quite well :). He had plenty of cage time today!

[Macaw Lover]

Zaf, you are making your daddy one very happy guy. You just keep hanging upside down like that!

[Debra]

Tony, I am so happy to hear this! Zaffer has wound his way into all our hearts and we look forward to updates like this. I, for one, would love to see a video/pic of him hanging upside down and playing.

[plax]

Tony, I am so happy to hear this! Zaffer has wound his way into all our hearts and we look forward to updates like this. I, for one, would love to see a video/pic of him hanging upside down and playing.Actually, I'm not trying to encourage his hanging upside down just yet... since if he fell I'd never forgive myself :(. While I did consider grabbing my phone and shooting some video of him doing it, my priority was to be right there and have both hands free (just in case). He seems to be able to hang like that with no trouble -which shocked me- but I'm absolutely not inclined to rush him into things which may be a bit too dangerous for him at this point and could cause him additional injury. I'll try to get some video of him doing it as soon as my mind is a bit more at ease about it. I hope you understand, Debra.

[Debra]

I certainly do understand. His safety is more important right now.

[Blancaej]

It's so nice to hear Zaf is recovering so well! You must be beside yourself Tony!

[plax]

It's so nice to hear Zaf is recovering so well! You must be beside yourself Tony!Indeed I am, Blanca :D

[Macawfancy]

I read your thread and Zaf's improvements warms my heart. Great job to both of you.

[plax]

Thank you Joyce :)

[Pinkbirdy]

Loved seeing his videos [he such a sweetie pie] :) Have you always just had Macaws?

[plax]

Loved seeing his videos [he such a sweetie pie] :) Have you always just had Macaws?Thanks Terri. And to answer your question... I had a CAG about 16 years ago. I've also had Budgies and Conures at various points during my youth.