An Old Red Headed Amazon

Question
Hi, I have had Henry for 3 years. And prior to me owning him he has had a lot of familys.  So much so that no one even knows his age. I say Henry is an old parrot because he has cataracts. We have no Avian Vets here where I live and the vet I take him to groom him always says he doesnt know anthing about them to give me a good answer. At any count Henry has just recently started to loss control of his right leg and right side. Because when this happens I have to hold this side of him up for him sometimes an hour till he gains control again. I noticed that his toes are curled up in like a ball on the right side and he has no strength at all in that leg for some time. Have you ever heard of this before? Is there anything I can do for him?
Thank You,
Patty

Answer
What a good hearted person you are, thank you for coming into the life of this beautiful Amazon. It sounds like Henry is certainly geriatric and arthritic changes wouldn't be unusual, or even his having had a stroke or some neurological problem.
What you still have to do is have him seen. I understand that avian vets are few and far between, but with the ever increasing popularity of bird pets, more and more 'regular' vets are becoming well experienced with avian care.  One our best caregivers is a 30+ years experienced DVM who not only specializes in bird care, but has been published.  She isn't a specifically 'avian' vet despite all of this.

 If you have a place that sells birds, especially parrots like this, call and ask them who sees their birds. Look into Pet Co and PetSmart in your area for who sees their birds; often, Pet Smart sponsors a chain vet clinic called Banfield and they should have someone who sees birds.  Look into breeders in your area - they certainly have to have a vet they use.

 Since these parrots live such long lives in captivity these days, problems that wouldn't occur in nature (like what you're seeing) happen. Because it happens due to us, and oddly most likely due to our good care and feeding of them, we owe them as much comfort as we can possibly provide.
 
 You might want to provide softer perches for him too, like rope perches and the softer natural wood types (instead of manzanita or dowels which can be too hard and too smooth for a good grip).
  
We've got more about birds, diet, care and so on at our site  www.4AnimalCare.org (click on the bird tab at top) and let me know how this goes with Henry.  My heart goes out to both of you.