can birds go blind? (1,241 views)

[Shelly]

over the past few months, i believe that Leo is slowly going blind. when he flies, you can tell that he is mostly guessing where things are. i have never heard of a blind bird, but i think he does have minimal vision. i think he is slowly getting used to it. he does have mental trauma from his last home, which doest seem to be getting worse with the blindness

[Bluekeet]

They certainly can go blind.

Here is a blind tiel doing step ups and he is managing just fine.


You would have to make some adjustments to his lifestyle, but if he is going blind making it work is entirely possible.

[Haimovfids]

As stated above, birds can go blind.

If Leo is really starting to go blind, you will need to make some adjustments to his cage. Add some ramps for easy access around the cage and food. Use fleece for the bottom of the cage (budgie poops rinses of very easily on fleece). You can wash them in the washer.
Each time you or anyone else approaches his cage use a cue word. Soon he will start associating this word with you coming close. He will know what to expect. Blind birds rely a lot on their hearing sense. Also, do not change anything in his cage, blind birds rely on feeling their way around the cage. If you move anything around, it will confuse him.

Good luck with Leo. I'm not sure if vets can actually tell you if they are really going blind or not. Maybe someone that knows would like to share some insight.

[Shelly]

i can't tell if he is bling in one eye or partially blind in each. in the cage, he does move around well since i have kept all the perches the same and i only switch toys. i always say 'hi' to them when i come in my room and when he is out and does land in a weird place or on the ground, he is very good about stepping up with a command (clicker training works wonders!). the only change, is that i do put him back when it starts to get dark out, or else he will get lost when he flies (last week i left them out when i went to work- the rest of my family was home- and i cam home to find him missing! i looked everywhere and i eventually looked under my bed to find him there! i don't know how he got there because i have a bed skirt and wire grids surrounding the bottom to keep my rabbit out

[deebee]

You've already had some good advice suggested so I don't think I need to say anything further except for you may want to not change things around for him. That is especially important when it comes to food and water too. Perches are going to be his main helper though so stick to what you're doing and don't move them around

There's a story at the bottom of this page if you scroll down to the bird Sterling that you may find useful ~ www.holisticbirds.com/pages/specialneeds1001.htm

And there's actually a Facebook page for people with blind birds ~ www.facebook.com/Care4BlindBirds

Hope those help a little!

[Shelly]

i will definitely be keeping everything the same for him. he really is a good boy and will wait for you to help him if he flies to a weird place

[Haimovfids]

He seems like he has trust in you. Is he tame?

[Bluekeet]

Even if he isn't all that tame, you could think positively and use his handicap to bond more with you. In fact, he will need to in order to navigate. Hopefully he isn't going blind, but if he is you can try to use it as a way to get closer. 

[Shelly]

he is semi tame. prior to the possible blindness, i would take him out and put him back and that is it for the interaction (same with all my other birds). now he will step up when he lands somewhere he is not supposed to be. i originally clicker trained him and Ace, and it worked wonders. both of them knew how to wave at one point (my favorite trick!)