One afternoon as I was happily going about my work cleaning cages and aviaries and preparing veggies for my birds, I received a phone call from my local pet shop. They had just had a new clutch of babiy budgies delivered. One of the budgies was, apparently, very severely deformed. I was asked if I would go take a look at her, and consider taking her in to preciousWings. Naturally I went straight down to the shop, where Amy showed me this darling little bird. NEVER had I seen such a splay on a bird! Her little legs stuck out at right angles to her body, she was in a permanent full side split. Amy said they were not prepared to sell this little bird because of her special needs, and did not want to return her to the breeder in case the invitable happened...... She wanted me to have the budgie, knowing I would tend to her special needs. Of course, I returned home with this odd looking little bird. (She was given, NOT sold to me)

So, now she needed a name! I wasn't going to give her a so-called funny name that made fun of her flat, spread out little body, I wanted her to have a name that reflected her unique beauty. As her little legs reminded me of a ballerina's beautiful tutu skirt, I decided that Tutu was the perfect name for my lovely new feathered friend!

As I always did when a new bird came to reside at Precious-wings, I took Tutu for a well-bird check up at the vets. I also wanted to know if there was any way her little splayed legs could be fixed and made straight again, However, it seemed that her condition was inoperable as it wasn't only her hip joints that were affected, it was also her knee joints. If the surgery could have been done successfully, the costs would have been around £650.00, which I would have willingly payed in order to enhance her physical well being. Many people would be shocked that Id even consider paying such an amount for a budgie, because they are all to often seen as cheap, easily replaced, and therefor easily disposable little birds. This attitude makes my skin crawl because regardless of size or cost, they are still living, breathing and feeling creatures, and deserve total compassion and care.

The hardest news I was given over Tutu that day was that her life expectancy probably wouldn't be the same as that of a physically normal budgie. This was because the fixed position of her legs meant that whenever she was at rest, she had to lie flat on her keel (breast bone). This would put unnatural pressure on her chest, and eventually cause her to start flattening out, and so compromise her breathing. However, regular veterinary checks would spot if that was happening, and of course careful observation by myself, so there was no way would this little bird be allowed to struggle or suffer.

In all other ways, Tutu was fine. She was a fabulous little flyer, and soon learned to hover and slowly lower herself down onto any landing spot with care and expertise. She even became so adept at this that she learned to land unfalteringly on the top edge of my laptop screen! As far as Tutu was concerned, she did not have a disability!

At first, I adapted a large cage for Tutu, to cater for her special needs. I put padded platforms in it, special padded ladders and perches to make life easier for her. However, after a while of watching how beautifully she managed with her splayed legs, I realised that I was in fact being over protective, and in being so, depriving of the chance to mix with a flock of her own kind, and live a full and normal life. So, I decided to let her try out life in the huge budgie aviary with the rest of the flock. Tutu managed magnificently! Oh how I had underestimated her!! She could balance perfectly on the perches, had no problems sitting on the edge of the feeders, and was not in the least intimidated by the other budgies. She just became a normal member of the flock, and in fact, became one of the flock leaders very quickly. Of course she was always very easy to spot, as she looked like a miniature helicopter flying around the aviary!

Tutu's world was as happy and normal as any budgies,  her so called 'disability' was only visible to human eyes. In her eyes, and in the eyes of the flock, she was 100% normal.

How much we can learn from these creatures!