African Grey Foot turning a brown color

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African Grey Foot turning a brown color

by Tane
(Virginia)

I have noticed my African Grey's one foot is turning a brownish color, the other is not. He is not sore and and he moves around fine on it. Could this be because he uses this one more to eat his veggies with?? Or is it a sign of a more serious problem?? I cannot find any information about it.

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African Grey Foot turning a brown color

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Oct 01, 2010

African Grey with foot changing color
by: The Avian Vet

It may be that there is food debris on her foot from holding food. First, wash the foot. If it comes off, then don?t worry. If it does not, then see a veterinarian. You should be taking your bird in annually for check ups anyway.

Dr B

Sep 28, 2010

African Grey Foot turning a brown color
by: Linda

Tane, this is a hard one to call. Unless his veggies are either a dark red or brown, there is no reason they would be making foot brown. Do you have him on natural branch wood perches or the wooden dowels that come with cages? If he sits on dowels, he could be developing arthritis in his foot, and it would move to the other one if he has to sit on the un-natural perches for much longer. Birds need to be sitting on safe wood branches because the changes in diameter across the perch give the feet and legs some rest from being in the same hold position all the time. You can find perches already fitted with the hardware many places on the internet, and if you like Manzanita, you can find that at http://www.manzanita.com, and the owner's name is Rick. He will also add the hardware for you for a little extra. You need to measure the inside of your cage width or depth, and he will cut perches accordingly. The inside and outside washers do take up a bit of room, so make sure you are measuring inside dimensions as the outside dims are a bit larger, and your perches won't fit.

If his foot continues to turn a darker brown, this can indicate lack of circulation, and this is a serious matter that will need to be handled by an Avian Vet. If he has not been seen by an Avian Vet in the last year, then it's time for a checkup as we recommend once a year checkups to make sure birds are in optimum condition.

Linda

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