New Baby Bird Toes got Stuck in Cage Wires :(

[Fred Jonest]

Hi, new guy on this board. New Conure owner also. Here's our story of the first 2 days:

We are the proud owners of a four month old Dusky Conure. We only have
him now for about 48 hours actually. Anyhow today I went out and closed his cage because I didn't want to leave him out
alone with housekeeper, so as not to leave her responsible for him.
When I returned 2 hours later, I discovered that he had gotten his
toes trapped in the wire wall of his cage. :(

We have an Italian made bird cage (I think more of a parakeet cage,
but quite large) with a garage-door style front door. This garage door
opens 90 degrees to form a shelf sticking out of the cage with a
perch. The door wall is normal bird cage wall style with horizontal
and vertical metal wires. Near the junction of two of these, there
comes out another wire, which forms part of the base of the perch of
this garage door/shelf thing. So there are several junctions of wire
here quite close together.

He managed to get his toes wrapped around this spot of the cage and
sort of twisted around and tangled and two of his toes/toenails were
stuck--it looked fairly painful although he was quiet. I managed
fairly easily to free his toes. He then stood on just the other foot,
tucked his hurt one up into his belly and went to sleep.

He actually slept for a few hours, like 3. He did at one point climb
up to the top of his cage to sit and sleep there. After another hour,
he finally decided he wanted to be picked up and he's now using both
feet normally and eating apples and seeds. I have do not think any
damage was done to his foot, as he appears to be walking normally now.

I also think he was quite tired--we only sat down last night to read
up on Conures and learned that they need from 11-14 hours of sleep a
day, presumably close to 14 for a baby like ours. With four small
human children of our own who are old enough to walk and talk and get
excited over a new bird, he didn't get nearly that much sleep his
first two nights here.

We got last night for him a sheet to put on his cage (we never covered
our budgies before and they seemed OK) and I think we will use that.
Is it smart to put his sheet on at 6:30 PM if the kids are going to be
up at 6:30 AM and want to play with him? Presumably he will
*generally* be able to nap in the morning, because most of the family
is out then, but perhaps he prefers to sleep all at once.

Thus far, anyhow, we are very pleased with our little bird and
enjoying him very much. :)

Thanks,
Fred

[jolly_rodgers]

Are you going to take your baby bird to vet to be sure his toes are okay? Being quiet is not always "okay" or mean he's not hurt. Just asking! Darlene

[birdlady49]

Not only a trip to the avian vet, but also finding a new cage. If it happened once, it'll happen again and the bird may not be so lucky next time.

[CraftQueen]

Hi Fred,

I'm so glad your new conure is ok. Most cages do have areas that come very close together and sometimes toes get stuck. This is exactly why birds can not be left alone for an entire weekend. You are lucky that he just waited to be rescued. Many birds panic by nature and will bite their foot or toes off to free themselves as they don't want to be a target for a predator. It's just their natural instinct, but your little guy was very patient for some reason. Sometimes our birds can get caught in their toys too. It is good to inspect the cages and toys when ever you pass by. congratulations on your new little guy.

[Fred Jonest]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I called the pet store owner and he agreed with me that it sounds like all is well--he was just traumatized and perhaps the foot became swollen a bit. I don't think we have a vet of any kind where I live--this is a small town. :)

Thanks.

[Beaks]

I really dont know who made up the whole 12 to 14 hour sleep thing but its wrong.

Parrots in the wild will roost just before dark and wake up just before it gets light (been there, seen that) so a good rule of thumb is to make sure they are sleeping the whole night (from dusk until dawn) and they will nap when they feel the need during the day(usually after meals)

Birds have internal clocks so covering them will not always help them sleep because their body tells them when its time to wake up and go to sleep.

also total darkness/covering the cage is not necessary, after all there is a moon and wild parrots seem to do very well with that light without any ill effects.(a little light also helps them feel safe because they can see their surroundings at night if they do wake up for some reason)

you really dont need to improve on nature when it comes to parrots.

[birdlady49]

Originally Posted by Beaks

I really dont know who made up the whole 12 to 14 hour sleep thing but its wrong.

I disagree, especially if it comes to slowing down the breeding clock or stress or illness situations.

Originally Posted by Beaks

also total darkness/covering the cage is not necessary, after all there is a moon and wild parrots seem to do very well with that light without any ill effects.(a little light also helps them feel safe because they can see their surroundings at night if they do wake up for some reason).

I agree. No one covers the birds in the wild.

Originally Posted by Beaks

you really dont need to improve on nature when it comes to parrots.

Humans aren't happy unless they're trying to improve everything out there. That's why we get in trouble so often!

[Beaks]

I was talking about normal healthy birds LMAO

Yeah humans love to screw things up LOL

[Fred Jonest]

Originally Posted by Beaks

also total darkness/covering the cage is not necessary, after all there is a moon and wild parrots seem to do very well with that light without any ill effects.(a little light also helps them feel safe because they can see their surroundings at night if they do wake up for some reason)

you really dont need to improve on nature when it comes to parrots.

On the other hand, there are generally NOT flourescent lights found in the forests in South America. My living room is a far cry from such a forest in fact so the improvement we are trying to make is on my home, not on nature. :)

I don't cover his cage ENTIRELY, but I darken it. I personally would certainly prefer that to sleeping under the lights. He also can always come out whenever he wants and sleep on top of the sheet if he prefers. :)