Cockatiel with lame leg/foot

Question
two days ago I came into the living room and found my 8 year old female Cockatiel sitting on the floor.   I picked her up and noticed she wasn't using her right leg/foot.   I made a soft bed for her on the bottom of her cage with food and water nearby but it has been 48 hours now and she still isn't offering to use it.  She has been laying eggs the last few days but ignores them after as usual so I remove them after a day or so.  That shouldn't have anything to do with her lame leg should it?   She is moving about and pushing her brooder box around like she normally does.   I am very greatful for any advice you can give me.

Answer
Hi, Jo,

If you allow your tiel free roam in your home, it's possible that your tiel hurt its leg/foot on something, such as getting her nails/foot/leg caught in something (fabric, string, or other), and in the process of trying to get loose, she pulled a leg muscle/tendon or shoulder muscle.  It often takes a week or longer for a parrot to recover from something like this.  It takes time for this to heal.

In addition, if your tiel is laying eggs, the problem could be related to this.  She could be egg bound or having egg-laying related problems.  In this case, she would need to be taken to an avian veterinarian immediately, as egg boundness can be life threatening.  I don't understand what you mean when you say she is pushing her brooder box around.  Nesting/brooder boxes should be affixed to the cage so that she cannot move the nesting box around.

If your tiel is laying eggs, you should leave any laid eggs alone (do not remove them) until she abandons them on her own.  To do otherwise means your bird may (and probably will) continue to lay and lay and lay until she has a full clutch of about 6 eggs under her.  They aren't fertile anyway if she hasn't mated, so nothing lost.  Removing them just confuses and frustrates your bird.  When she's allowed to abandon them on her own in due time, this is less stressful for your bird.  

If you are in doubt about what is going on with your bird, I recommend you take your bird to an avian vet for an evaluation.

Chrys