# cockatiel pecked open a lump on wing



## alicez (Oct 24, 2010)

I sure hope someone can help us. We are very worried. My daughter was given 2 cockatiels for her birthday the beginning of October (her 14th). She is an animal lover, and aspiring vet. She is beside herself right now, very worried. We were told that these tiels were a male and female and that they were 10 years old. The "female" (whome my daughter named Lady) had a large lump on her left wing that had a hole in the end of it. The lady told us that Lady had this when she was purchased from the pet store 10 years before, and she had been told Lady had broken her wing when a baby and it had never healed proper. Lady has never been able to fly. Her cage mate is able to fly, and is VERY protective of Lady. We would love to find out which is male and female, lol.

Well, about 2 weeks ago, a NEW lump started forming only this one is on Lady's RIGHT wing. It is much smaller than the one on the left, and it sticks out a ways. I will attach pictures of both wings. BUT, tonight, my daughter went to take her sweeties out to have some play time, and she noticed that Lady was pecking at her left wing. When she got her out, she found that Lady had pecked open the whole end of this lump on her left wing. She continues to peck at it, and open it more and more. It bleeds a bit, then stops. She is still all lovey dovey, nudges and pulls my daughters fingers over to have her head rubbed, tries to pull my lip ring and nose ring out, etc. The ONLY vet in town that deals with birds is on vacation for another full week. SO, we are hoping to be able to figure something out and help her ourselves in the meantime. 

Can anyone help us figure out what these "lumps" are, why she has pecked open the one and continues to peck at it, and what we can do for her? Thank you SO much. I am attaching the pictures so that you can see both wings and what she has done. 

Thanks!

Alice in SD


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## Cockatiel love (Aug 15, 2010)

That looks nasty. Take her to an emergency vet because to me it looks like a tumor.


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

I think it could be a feather cyst, did you see what came out of it, was it cheesy looking or thick pus type stuff?


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

I think you should take her to the vet immediately that looks so bad and can get infected.
http://www.cockatielcottage.net/cookie.html


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## kellie (Sep 21, 2010)

gosh, that looks pretty nasty  I hope it gets sorted. good luck.

Kellie


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## alicez (Oct 24, 2010)

Thanks everyone. I want to take her to the vet, but the only vet that handles birds round our area is out of town on vacation for "at least" another week (is what we were told by his answering service). The other vets in town do not deal with birds of any sort. This is mostly a farming area so their specialties are dogs, cats, farm animals, etc. We had a horrid time when we were looking for vets for my daughters rats and our ferrets!!!! 

Jess: It looks meaty, actually. Sort of lumpy, fatty look to it. It's solid, not liquidy inside. My daughter got her to stop pecking at it, and it seems to be drying up, but she is worried she will start in again. She asked me if she is able to "wrap" her up at all to keep the open sore covered and keep her from pecking at it. But, I do not know how nor where to even start. She was able to get Lady to sleep by rubbing her head and snuggling with her. She loves these birds so much already, and her heart breaks when an animal is hurt and she isn't sure how to help them. SO, she is really having a tough time right now.

Thanks again, everyone. Am hoping that the vet decides to cut his vacation short, but am not holding my breath. Any ideas for in the meantime?

Alice in SD


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Ask the vet's office if there is a phone number where you can talk to him to at least get some reassurance.

There's an "ask a vet online" website at http://www.justanswer.com/pet I don't know how good it is and you do have to make a deposit so it might be a scam. The following links might also have scam issues.

This website says it has a free "ask a vet" service: http://www.birdcareco.com/ 
Bird hotline at http://www.birdhotline.com/vet.htm
You'll probably find more if you google for it. 

You'll be best off if you can get through to your regular bird vet. But if they won't give you a phone number, ask them if they have a phone number for an out of town bird vet who would be willing to talk to you on the phone. 

I searched for South Dakota on the AAV website and they listed two veterinarians, one in Rapid City and one in Sioux Falls. There's more information at http://www.aav.org/search/results.php?filter=state&q=sd&Submit=Search

You may be able to email the photos to a vet and at least get some information on how to treat the wound until you can take her in. There may be a fee for this service but it might be worth it for the peace of mind. South Dakota is a huge state and you're a long way from these avian vets, but driving there is a possible option if they can get you in quickly.


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

wow...that does look pretty bad...I would definitely send an email to "just answer.com" I personally used them when I was having a terrible time figuring out how to help my pet rat, they were very helpful...It was last year, but I believe I gave a $5 or maybe $10.00 donation...it is worth it for the peace of mind. They will try and give you ideas on what you can do for short term...but I do not think I would let that fester for a week, if it gets infected...you could possibly have a much bigger issue on your hands. Hope you get the answers that you need. Please keep us posted.


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

It wouldn't be liquidy inside. When my disabled one had a wing feather cyst the stuff that came out was lumpy/thick yellow stuff. I did take her to the vet but he said it had a vein over it so he'd have to give her an aneasetic, she isn't a very big bird or strong having hip dysplaisa so I took her home to think about it, espeically as it didn't seem to be bothering her. I read on it and found out that they are likley to break open on their own. It did less than a week after I went to the vet, it wasn't a vein it was a bit of feather, a feather cyst can be like if we get an in grown hair that can get infected. I gently squeezed the rest of the stuff out cleaned it with watered down medical peroxide and gave her a course of baytril to clear up any infection, it did'nt come back again.
Your birds looks like it has come away, she could probably do with a course of baytril but that means going to the vet unless you already have some 2.5% oral baytril. You could try what I did, buy some medical peroxide 3% and add one part peroxide to 6 parts water, dab it on or try a bit of savlon but it has to be the actual savlon make as ingrediants vary.


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