10/08/2026
Meet Popcorn, he’s a 26 year old male Umbrella Cockatoo we recently had surrendered to us, he’s currently staying with our foster as we get to know him and his personality. I want to use him as an educational opportunity.
Popcorn has an unknown past for the most part, we met him about a year ago when someone first got ahold of him, and then was soon after rehomed again. That home loved him very much but was going to be going through a lot of medical issues and wouldn’t have the time to care for him properly anymore, so they reached out to us.
I noticed right away that his feet looked terrible, almost looked like they were burnt, they’re not thankfully, but definitely irritated. At the time he didn’t seem to act like anything was bothering him so we sent him home with Jess and planned a vet visit within the week. His old owner said she had put h**p oil on his feet regularly, but never said anything about a previous vet visit regarding it.
Jess noticed he seemed very uncomfortable today so we got him into the vet same day. We did bloodwork and got some meds to help in the meantime. It’s likely vitaminosis or fatty liver disease. It’s so incredibly important to have your birds on a proper diet, it’s heartbreaking to see him go through this. Parrots shouldn’t be eating nuts and seeds all day, a base of healthy pellets, fresh veggies and a small amount of seeds or nuts is the recommended diet for most species. If this ends up being fatty liver disease, they believe it would be end stages of it. There of course is also a chance it could be something else, but we won’t know until the bloodwork comes back. Regardless, something is going on that we need to get fixed as soon as possible to make him comfortable again. He’s really a gentle soul and such a sweet boy.
Situations like this are why we have an emergency fund. We never ask for donations, but will always gladly take them to help birds in need like sweet Popcorn! Please keep him in your thoughts as we figure this out, he’s too young to be having all these issues.🤍💛