17 yo cockatiel limping; Arthritis?

[Lefitte]

Hello, nice to meet you.
I searched out a forum in the hopes that I could get some advice from more advanced and knowledgeable bird owners. I've had my pair of cockatiels since I was 7 and they just recently turned 17. The male was from a pet store, the female I picked out as an egg from a breeder. They were fantastic parents for many years [sort of an accident, not really something we ever planned to do] and have now settled into a comfortable 'retirement'.

The last couple weeks, we've noticed something was wrong with our male, Pretty Boy's feet. He's developed really, really long nails over the past couple years and since I cut the quick last time we trimmed them, I've been nervous to do it again. We knew he needed his nails trimmed again so at first we thought it might just be the long nails that was making him slightly limp around. His first nail is incredibly long and the quick goes nearly the entire length so I can't cut much off of it. We've been watching him and decided that it wasn't the nails but his foot instead. We kept an eye on it and I thought it could be arthritis. Our female, Kiki, has a toe or two that don't seem to work all that well anymore either which I attribute to arthritis and old age.

Tonight, I looked in on them and saw that Pretty Boy was sitting on the perch, not standing but sitting slightly puffed up and shivering slightly but otherwise normal. He was still acting like normal. We took him out to look it over [and trim his nails while we were at it] and it seems the other foot that I wasn't worried about has a swollen joint?

I know we have an avian vet in town and I can take him if I absolutely need to but I'm afraid such a trip would seriously stress him out and I don't have any carriers but small pet/cat/dog carriers to put them in. I would have to take both, he loses it when Kiki's not in sight. Is it possible that it's just arthritis? It's been a little cold lately and I upgraded their cage last spring so it might be colder despite the cover which could making something like arthritis flare up. I'm not really sure how likely that is or even when I should be seriously worried. They've never seen a vet so I don't want to stress them out if I don't absolutely have to. I don't like to stress them out in any way because I know they are getting pretty old. Any advice?

A bird friend asked about perches. They have many different sized perches from the one he's on in the picture to different sized manzanita branches, to one of those green sandy perches that has large and small areas on it.

This is how he's sitting. I've been worried about the foot on the left, his right foot. It's a little dirty, don't mind that.
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Swollen?
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And a little raw?
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His other foot for comparison.
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[PlaxMacaws]

Hi Sara... welcome to our community.

Based upon your male tiel's age, along with your description of his symptoms and the photos you've provided, he may well be suffering from arthritis. It would be good and advisable to get the little guy assessed by an avian vet since other issues may exist as well, and because an avian vet can best advise you on treating any conditions he may have, including arthritis. I understand your concern of not wanting to impose great stress upon Pretty Boy. But I still think the best plan will be to bring him to the vet for an assessment - along with his mate in order to curtail as much stress as possible for both of them.

Since you're trimming his nails somewhat regularly, I would remove the 'sandy' perch(es) for now. Leaving rough perches in the cage may promote excessive foot wear (attrition), especially if your tiel applies more weight to his less inflamed leg due to the state of his other one. If things progress, he may ultimately end up with a condition know as "bumblefoot", which typically involves sores and massive swellings on the feet. You may also wish to consider getting him a heated perch. The warmth may soothe some of his discomfort associated with his leg/foot problems.

The other thing an avian vet will be able to offer is assessment of your overall environment, as well as advice on nutrition adjustments which may help Pretty Boy's foot condition and general health. Vitamin deficiency can certainly contribute to bone and joint problems and foot deterioration. What do you currently feed your tiels? If the majority of what they consume consists of seeds, it would be a good idea to add some better nutrition. Vegetables (especially greens), along with some fruits and whole grains, as well as some protein sources may help both of your birds deal with and maintain their health. Here is a reference on suitable food items: [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

Again, I think an avian vet visit is called for in view of Pretty Boy's symptoms. And as stated, I do understand your concern of imposing stress upon him. But it will probably be best to take him in before he progresses to a worse state... which will likely make things even more difficult for both of you. I'm guessing that some of our other members will chime in here with their opinions as well.

Please keep us updated on Pretty Boy's progress!

[spiritbird]

Good advice given to you. I get my birds nails trimmed at the vets office for only $10. It is worth it to have it done correctly. You might want to see if you can find a bird groomer that comes to your home. However, a groomer could not diagnose why the foot is showing signs of swelling.

[Lefitte]

Thank you for the good advice! It's very helpful.
I'll have to consider the vet visit, just to be safe, but I have to figure out how to shuffle some funds first. After learning about bumblefoot in some research last night, I'm afraid that this could turn into that so I removed the sandy perch last night. I also tried adding a makeshift platform with some newspaper in the rungs of their ladder which they never touched and still aren't touching. They've always been very very picky. They never care for any of the toys I've tried to give them and they are pretty strict seed eaters. They used to not even eat the sunflower seeds and other larger pieces in their cockatiel seed mix, just the small seeds so for a while we were feeding them parakeet seed since that's all they ate. The past could years, they've actually been eating all parts of the cockatiel blend so now we're feeding that along with a new millet spray every day. I also bought them some dried mix of mango, nuts, and papaya which we sprinkle over their regular seed a few times a week and they have learned to love it . We also keep a cuttle bone in their cage all the time. I had no idea that they had pellet diets for cockatiels and I always thought they seemed unhealthier since they would naturally be eating seeds in the wild, not pellets? I figured all that was really necessary for a good diet was a cockatiel blend with lots of variety with as little air in it as possible for freshness. I knew you could feed them some fruits and veggies but I had no idea the list of things you could feed was so big! Thanks for that link! I'm sure I can find [I]something they will eat on that list. The only thing they've really seemed to like are the carby foods that aren't good for them like bread and crackers [which they get maybe as much as twice a year and not more, usually only if we have a little bit left over so nothing big either]. I swear, the looks they give fruit... pretty ridiculous. Since they seem more accepting of new foods now, maybe I can get them to eat some leafy greens and other things.
I'll keep you guys updated! Thanks again!

[PlaxMacaws]

You're very welcome, Sara. Quality pelleted diets are specially fortified with many of the nutrients (specific vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc.) that have been determined essential for maintaining good health in psittacine birds. I assure you, cockatiels eat far more than merely seeds in the wild!

We'll be looking forward to updates on Pretty Boy :)

[Lady]

Hi Sara,
Welcome to P.P. :th_greet13:. I am sorry to hear about your Pretty Boy. I hope you get to the vet soon and he can get some relief. Their little feet are so important. I know how uncomfortable I feel when my feet hurt and I have to be on my feet all day at work. Once you get things fixed I hope you tell us more about your birds and some of the adventures you've had since you have had them with you for so long.

[Lefitte]

Hello and thank you! I'm going to see about calling the vet tomorrow [Monday] and talking prices and going from there. I'm also going to look into a different diet. I think they might eventually take pellet if I mix it in with their regular seed. Also going to keep a look out for fresh things I can feed them, especially dark greens.

And I made a slight error in their ages! They just turned 18 not 17. I wasn't thinking properly. Kiki's hatedate is in October or there about. I gave Pretty Boy a birthday in May but I have no idea what made me chose that and I can't remember how many months were between getting her and getting him so I just say that they're the same age. We're pretty sure they were the same age when we got him. He was pretty young, definitely under a year.

I've talked it over with my mom and we're going to invest in some different perches as well. A friend suggested a rope perch so I'm going to try to find one that'll fit them. We're also going to get some new manzanita branches that have more variety in size.

I've also been reminded why we keep the newspaper lining their cage under the wire... Kiki is a huge paper eater/chewer haha. I once had to turn in some homework with a messed up border and missing corner and explain to my teacher that my bird ate my homework. Luckily, she just laughed since I had something to turn in still haha.

Maybe I'll write an intro post later and write down some of the silly stories I have with them. Like their wedding day!

[Lady]

Sounds like a plan there Sara. Looking forward to both the introduction thread and the wedding thread :th_bounce4:.

[Lefitte]

So I went and bought them a rope perch, a cuddle hut, and some pellet food today. I mixed their 2lbs bag of pellet food with a 3lbs bag of their regular food, it looks like an awful lot more pellets than seed but I think it had a lot to do with size and the fact that their seed has pellet-y pieces in it already. Hopefully they like everything! I just added it so they're sort of at the bottom of the cage staring at everything.

The new additions:
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Don't mind my messy cage. It needs cleaned again.
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Boy's on the perch and Kiki's on the side next to him. That's Kiki's face in the closeup.

Hopefully they make good use of this stuff. I've been wanting to get the hut mostly so that they could have a place that was warm and secure but now it plays another role since they won't have to grip with their feet when they use it so it could provide some potential relief.

[PlaxMacaws]

Hi again, Sara.

I'm glad to hear you've picked up a few items for your tiels. Hopefully the rope perch will reduce foot-contact friction for them, thus curtailing further foot degradation and their ensuing discomfort.

As for the pellets, your fids may not take to them right away. Be prepared for the fact that often birds will initially reject new food items. Sometimes you need to be persistent. If they're not interested at first, they may begin eating and enjoying the pellets on a gradual basis. Hopefully they'll begin consuming them early on... but if they don't, patience will certainly help :)

Let us know how they get on with the cuddle hut!