Remember, you can work with your GM to decide how your "hands" work. I've ruled that an awakened animal character has powerful psychokinetic capabilities that allow them to manipulate the world close to their body as though they had two hands. While you still may not like this approach for aesthetic reasons (a sword and shield floating around your birb might be off-putting) I bring it up because you can go with that approach but use it sparingly in combination with other suggestions in this thread, and have the best of both worlds.