Cockatiel has lost his balance

[birdflew]

Juanjo my five year old male cockatiel has suddenly either lost his balance or is unable to use his legs properly. He can still fly but when he tries to walk he falls onto his breastbone and ends up lying on his back. This has happened very suddenly. He was in an aviary with other birds, but there is no evidence of fighting. The vet does not believe any bones are broken and thinks maybe a stroke or some form of paralysis?
Anyone else come across this?:(

[birdy_birdy9]

that is so sad. poor cockateil. i have never come across this myself but i am sure someone has

[dlaura]

How old is this bird? I guess if it is an older tiel it could be a stroke.

[Magnum]

A head or spinal injury can cause sudden paralysis to the legs. Is it possible that your Tiel crashed into something out in the aviary? When I was going into my avian vet's for bird handling and evaluation training, there was a Tiel there being treated for a head injury he sustained from hitting a light fixture. He was not able to stand when he first came in, but his therapy was improving his ability to at least sit on his perch. His prognosis was good and he was expected to be able to walk again. :) Is your vet an avian vet or a small animal vet? I hope your Tiel is doing better. Please keep us updated.

[birdflew]

hmmmnnn laura, it said on the original post that he is about five years old. He may well have banged into something, but he does not seem to be suffering any pain. He has settled a bit and it looks more like an inability to move his legs quick enough, he then puts his wings the opposite side to try to counterbalance. It looks really clumsy. He appears to be normal in flight and manages to land on the top of the cage, but struggles to move around, using his beak to manouvre himself across the cage and slowly trying to get his legs into position to grip and walk. As it happened so suddenly I can only guess that it was an accidental crash into something in the aviary.

[dlaura]

Sorry, birdflew, guess I got into the rest of the thread and forget the beginning. Shows you just shouldn't do things in a hurry. Magnum had some great thoughts. Did your vet recommend any type of therapy and how did the vet determine it to possibly be a stroke?

[nidgma]

Juanjo my five year old male cockatiel has suddenly either lost his balance or is unable to use his legs properly. He can still fly but when he tries to walk he falls onto his breastbone and ends up lying on his back. This has happened very suddenly. He was in an aviary with other birds, but there is no evidence of fighting. The vet does not believe any bones are broken and thinks maybe a stroke or some form of paralysis?
Anyone else come across this?:(

See "Lovebird Virus?" I am having simular problems with my bird, don't lose hope, force feed him and keep him warm and loved and exercise his legs regularly and he may get better like my sweet love bird is!!!

[birdflew]

Update on problem.

Juanjo seems to be a bit stronger at the moment, able to fly and land on top of the cage where he can grip the bars with his claws. It looks as though he has a problem on the right side, only able to move this leg slowly into position. He can move around the cage by gripping with his beak and manouvreing himself carefully. He has taken one or two careful steps on the ground, but limits this as he is still a bit unsteady. My opinion is that he has banged into something and has partially paralysed himself. Otherwise he seems fairly cheerful, having a wee whistle to himself the other day.