Ovaltine is back in the Finsterium, having received his last dose of steroids (and another dose of lactulose, since I had him in my hand) this morning. Unfortunately, he's pretty uncoordinated. I'm hoping some of this is from lack of exercise, since that hospital cage is pretty small compared to the Big House. But so far, he's been just as badly coordinated as he was before his 16 days of medication. He can't fly very well, and ends up fluttering-and-climbing up the walls, often falling to the floor before he makes it to a perch or a nest box. Poor little guy goes straight up under a nest box, bangs his tiny head on the bottom, and plops right down! He's spent a lot of time on the ground eating millet spray (why not when it's right there), and he's napped on the floor and napped while clinging to the wall.

The Finsterium is pretty big, so that "thud" gets a little unnerving, but I've already added two low perches, and I can add more as I figure out his patterns. And, there's nothing wrong with having a Floor Bird. The main things to watch out for are if the bird is reasonably content (i.e., not chirping constantly, trying to get places), and that none of the other birds pick on him. In those respects, he's doing okay. But the situation is a little distracting, since I keep looking for him, worrying. A permanent stay in the hospital cage is still an option, but I'll see how he does for a few days, before deciding.

The good news is I can put milk thistle in the communal water dish — it'll continue to help Ovaltine, and won't harm the other Finsters. They'll only get the big bath dish a couple of times a day, but that shouldn't be a problem. The bad news is that Ovaltine's beak is still growing at the tips, but is now chipping off in the middle. I took him back to the vet yesterday afternoon, and she seemed a bit concerned. Well, obviously, since he needs to eat with that beak. She trimmed it again, but couldn't do a perfect job. He's doing fine with millet spray right now, and I think soaked seeds are easy to eat, but I'll have to find some soft food that he likes. No luck so far, apart from those bad-for-livers eggs.

All in all, not great news. But at least he's not playing dead.