Parakeet - ? bird injury

Question
Thank you so much for your reply. Wilmer seems to have adapted to his new surroundings, continues to eat well and he's even chattering & talking... I replaced the shavings with paper towels as he was very unsteady on them. This confinement appears to be working well keeping him quiet & hopefully giving him a chance to heal.
There is no obvious trauma, his leg and foot do not appear limp or broken and he's able to fly. I think I'm going to watch him for a few more days as I believe taking him to the vet at this point would prove more traumatic for him. Do you think 10 days is a good amount of time to wait for him to heal?

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Followup To

Question -
Hello,
I have a year old parakeet, who has his wings clipped to a certain extent but is able to fly a little. He is usually out of his cage for an hour or so each day. About 5 days ago, I noticed he was favoring his right side ie: partially weight bearing. The leg does not appear limp and he's able to grip tho he walks a little clumsily & sometimes will fall over. He had difficulty climbing in his cage so I have confined him to an aquarium. He is eating & although a little subdued he appears otherwise healthy. Is it possible his leg is broken? If so, do avian vets treat this? Should I take him (I hate to subject him to more trauma) or wait a few more days to see if he heals by himself.
Thank you in advance.

Answer -
Hi, Nikki.  Thanks for posting!

You should be able to pick up your parakeet and tell if his leg is broken or not.  If he is able to use his leg at all, it likely is not broken.  However, if this problem persists, yes, you need to take him to be evaluated by an avian veterinarian.  Don't wait too long though as time could make things worse and it's already been at least 5 days.  This might not be a leg injury...it could also be a shoulder or foot problem.  

The decision as to if you should wait will have to be made by you as you are there and can see what is going on first hand.  However, it's usually best to be safe rather than sorry when it comes to birds.

Birds injure themselves all the time in their cages, on their toys, etc.  Sometimes we don't even notice these little injuries.  When we do notice, it could be something serious or something that just needs time.  

It's good you've confined him so that he can heal better, although being away from his cage might be stressful for him.  Realize, too, that it's normal for an injured bird to behave like you describe until s/he starts feeling better again.  

Chrys

Answer
Hi again, Nikki.

I can't predict specifically how many days it will take for your bird to heal.  The number of days it will take is the number of days it takes!  Healing depends on many factors, such as the bird's immune system, how badly the bird was injured to begin with, whether any more injury takes place during healing, etc.  You know your bird better than I do.  Whenever you think he's back to normal, move him back to his regular cage.  You might want to move him to his regular cage once in a while just to see how well he's doing.  

In the meantime, paper towels can be worse substrate than shavings (never use cedar shavings...use only pine shavings when you have to use any).  I recommend using Rubbermaid drawer liners.  They are made of rubber and a bird's legs won't slip on them.  They are inexpensive and can be cut to any size, easily washable/disinfected.

It sounds like your keet is doing well.  Keep up the good work!

Chrys