# Lump on cockatiel and bacteria



## coolbird (Apr 29, 2012)

Hi,

I have two female cockatiels, quite young, 4 years old.
One of my cockatiels has recently been sleeping quite a lot and fluffed up.
This morning, I've noticed that there was a soft lump at the bum.

I took her to the vet.
She took a biopsy sample (didnt drain everything, as she said "she didn't know what it was") and found (via microscope) that the fluid contained normal contents, except that there was also visibile bacteria.
Culturing costs $100-200, xray 100-200... I can't afford that, unfortunately.

I can only think of four things: A cyst, bacterial infection, tumour or collapsed egg.

She hasn't layed eggs for years. She did before, but then stopped.
Her droppings are always running/large after her first egg lay. In the past, I've taken her to a different vet and she said that she was healthy (from examination). They are on a seed diet (with cuttlebone), but in the past they had corn/peas as well.

Now she's on anti-biotics. Im worried, and I'm currently treating her with the recommended dosage and putting blankets over her cage.

The vet said that it wasn't nessecary to isolate the birds. I was hoping that they would keep each other company at night.

Any input or help? Has anyone experienced anything similar?

I feel extremely guilty, since I haven't been able to play or take care of them much in the recent years, leaving them to my parents, since I've personally been extremely sick (non-infectious) and they've been taking care of me.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

It sounds like she has peritonitis. The fluid accumulation in the abdomen *must be* drawn out. There would be close to 20-30cc of fluid in there that can be drawn out at 10-15cc at a session. 

Since bacteria is present, what medication has been prescribed? Most vets will put the hen on Baytril or a broad spectrum antibiotic, but this is *not* enough. Injectable Pipercillin *must* also be used for effective treatment. Many vets do not prescribe this because they feel an owner is not qualified or incapable of doing shots. But I have painfully learned that without these shots, and the removal of fluids from the abdomen there is treatment failure and death from just an oral broad spectrum antibiotic.


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## Pumpkin (Apr 26, 2012)

I hope that you can save your bird 'coolbird'. God bless.


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## coolbird (Apr 29, 2012)

The vet hasn't ruled out egg binding 100%. The soft accumulation looks like a bacterial infection. She's mobile and hasn't layed eggs in years.

Clavalox palatable drops (broad spectrum)
12.5mg
0.1ml twice a day

Initial dose was an injection, now it's only oral (which she takes).

I thought that drawing out would be nessecary.

But the vet seems reluctant to do it without an xray. 

She's gotten better since yesterday (smaller lump), however, still looking sick.

I've been keeping them in the sun and turning a lamp on at night (does it bother them? too bright, burn?).

I can do shots, but on birds, it'd seem difficult.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*But the vet seems reluctant to do it without an xray. *
------------------------------------

I can understand the vets reluctance. What is done is a large bore needle (25 gauge ) on a 10cc syringe is carefully inserted into the abdomen and the fluid sucked out, 10 cc per session (this is done 1 draw, and then a few days later, another draw) The vet has to be exact on the location of the needle so that he/she does not nick an intestine or an organ. Maybe the vet can refer you to another vet that can do this. This needs to be done.

*Clavalox palatable drops (broad spectrum)
12.5mg
0.1ml twice a day*

Yes....this med will help. You should see an improvement in alertness within 1-2 days. If not and she is semi-tired acting the vet can prescribe 1 more antibiotic to give in addition to the Clavalox. (or is it Clavamox?)

Until you can find a vet to draw the fluids from her you might ask the vet to prescribe a duiretic such as lasix (sp) to her her excrete out excess fluids.

*I've been keeping them in the sun*

If you have a Home Depot you can get wither a Plant Grow light or a full spectrum bulb to put in a swing arm lamp to use as a source of lighting when she does not have access to real sunlight. The lighting will help also. You can put your lights on a timer so that they shut off after the sun goes down, and come on at sun-up.


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## coolbird (Apr 29, 2012)

thank you very much.

Wouldn't it interfere with their day cycle by having light at night and day? 
The weather isn't very sunny, quite cold.

What I used, was a 20 watt bulb for warmth and light.
I place 3 blankets over their cage, and the light close by. That way it's not shining into their eyes and the cage can be lighted up/warmer.

How much should I anticipate for the extraction/IV antibiotic treatment?
It costs $50 for them to even look at a microscope and check blood.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

It's hard to say how much a vet would charge to remove the fluid. If the *vet is competent* it takes less than a minute to draw the fluid from the abdomen. Most vets will have their off visit fee, and maybe $25-25 for the procedure. Prices are going to vary....

*Wouldn't it interfere with their day cycle by having light at night and day?* 

If you have the light on a timer you can set it to turn on at sun-up and goe off at sun-down.


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## coolbird (Apr 29, 2012)

$100 for another consulation fee with an avian specialist, then a compulsory $150 for an xray, then probably $100-$300 for treatment and various things (blood sample, looking at microscope,etc). I've already spent $250 on an general vet, who could do little and offered $300 for an xray (it was sunday, they were only open). I wish this never happened, or at least on a weekday, so I could have went to the specialist first.

It breaks my heart but the best I can do now is to give my pet up to a local animal shelter, where they can do the basic treatment and give her up for separate adoption.

I wish I could know how she would be after that, but I doubt that they'll tell me and keep track, which saddens me even more.

I'll do it tommorow morning. It's only been two days since we noticed, the current antibiotics should be suffice (making the soft lump slightly smaller).

Thanks for the help.


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## Zensei (Apr 28, 2012)

_This post has been deleted/edited by the user._


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Have you looked into Care Credit, or asked if your vet will consider taking payment plans? 

If you do end up surrendering your bird to a shelter, PLEASE make sure they have a vet competent to see birds. Some are very poorly equipped to deal with care of exotics. It's clear you want the best for your bird, so I'd hate to see you surrender her only to have her receive the same (or worse) treatment she would have gotten with you.


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## Zensei (Apr 28, 2012)

_This post has been deleted/edited by the user._


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## coolbird (Apr 29, 2012)

Here's what I_ think _the previous vet had said: the lump is "too large" for it to be egg binding, it's soft, red, has bacteria in the fluid, red, lower abdomen.

I will take her to an avian specialist on Wednesday (2 days from now) if things are still steady.

Sorry for that before, I was very emotional and wasn't thinking straight.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Does it look like anything in this pix below? (click for a larger view)


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## coolbird (Apr 29, 2012)

Yes, that size, soft, on the left, orange/yellow/some green?.

I have school tommorow so I cant talk to the vet if I bring her in, my parents can, however they're not fitted for consultation and deciding with the vet, and will regrettabley miss important things.

Does it sound urgent? Would Wednesday (today is late Monday for me, Sunday morning was the large bump found and the first vet visited) be ok?

I was thinking that waiting for a few days to see if the antibiotics work is helpful for the vet?


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

How is she doing??


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## coolbird (Apr 29, 2012)

Unfortunately, she probably has a abdominal hernia or a serious cancer. She's only 4 years old....

There's bleeding and old blood from fluid extractions. Her cheek feathers are yellow, and her feet are pale. She's not active, never talks anymore...

I wish it was only peritonitics or bacterial infection.

The only option is surgery, and that is very expensive, dangerous and has a low success rate (less than 10%). I've heard a lot about this, and this is usually very bad.

I'll unfortunately have to look at pallative care now. She looks so sick and weak... my other bird seems to be nice to her for now. The other bird talks/rings her toy bell a lot when I take her out to feed her medicine.

Is there anything else that I can do? 

I've read this:
"Occasionally, a hernia may be associated with egg binding. With a hernia, the muscles usually tear, resulting in a saggy abdomen, and in some cases, other internal organs can fall into this pouch. Surgery is usually necessary to correct the hernia. Prolapse of the oviduct is seen usually subsequent to dystocia. Treatment includes removal of the egg (if still present), cleaning the exposed tissues, repairing lacerations and gently replacing the exposed tissues. Prognosis is generally good and a return to normal breeding function will occur if damage was not severe. Occasionally, prolapsed tissue must be amputated. Usually, a biofeedback mechanism is in place that will prevent future egg laying if a portion of the oviduct is removed."

Any revelence? It says it's good prognosis.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

coolbird said:


> Unfortunately, she probably has a abdominal hernia or a serious cancer. She's only 4 years old....
> 
> There's bleeding and old blood from fluid extractions. Her cheek feathers are yellow, and her feet are pale. She's not active, never talks anymore...
> 
> ...


I'm confused -- Has she been re-evaluated by a vet? Because it sounded from your previous posts like the antibiotics were helping. If her feathers are turning yellow, then that may suggest liver involvement in whatever is going on. What do her droppings look like?

But, if you haven't had her back to the vet, please don't assume she can't be helped. There may be more to be done than you realize. As far as palliative care, you'll want to discuss with your vet whether it's likely that your bird is in pain. If so, she may be able to take a painkiller like Metacam or Rimadyl to make her more comfortable. The added benefit of these NSAID drugs is that they are also anti-inflammatory, so that may help a bit as well.


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## coolbird (Apr 29, 2012)

Yes, of course I've taken her to the avian vet today.

What I've said is kind of a repeat of her.

It's getting smaller, yes. But there's still a scar in her.

Surgery, which consists of stiching the muscles or something like that, is "expensive", dangerous and "not likely to succeed".

She said, even if they extracted all the fluids (blood and other stuff), it'll come back due to the hernia. She would also need to be sedated for that...

Yes, she's on anti-inflammatories.

The yellow dried feathers make her look really sick 
I suspected liver damage... but that said, she still can't recover from her main problem.


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## suhel.desai (Mar 20, 2012)

sorry to hear that cool bird, i can understand how u feel. I dont have much knowledge about medications but will hope that ur lil birdie somehow just gets well soon. there have been cases where tiels have become healthy inspite vets not giving them good chance... hope for the best !


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm very sorry that your tiel is so sick.


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