# Crust & Abnormal Feather Growth On Cockatiel Back



## Rockatiel (Mar 4, 2019)

Hello all first time poster, friend to our cockatiel Rocky.

Rocky has been a member of our family for 23 years, and unfortunately he has an inoperable wing tumor that has left him unable to fly.

His prognosis is not good, but we want to keep him as comfortable and happy as he can be in this lifetime. He can stand but cannot walk/perch.

He eats pasta, sunflower seeds, egg, beans, and french fries.

But most of the time he sleeps, and gets head pets.

Vet prescribed him Bayctril and he gets better after a round, but this crust still remains on his back.

We have flat towels at the bottom of his cage, and have him surrounded by towels for softness and stability. Early on I even made him a bird vest that was comfortable and would keep him upright at night in case he fell.

He is VERY well taken care of, which is why his condition breaks my heart.

*To the point...*

He had long rope like feathers that were growing on his back, which were able to be removed/plucked easily without any discomfort to him.

He never liked his back touched so it went unnoticed that there was a hard crust developing on his back directly on his skin. I applied olive oil to it over four days and was able to painlessly remove a lot of it which left his pink skin clear of most of the obstructions.

The crust also gives off a very noticeable scent, that is unlike how he has ever smelled.

However there is still a very adherent crust to his skin unlike the rest of it. I have not been able to find a photo online or any reference.

I will be taking him to the vet, but this post is for the community to weigh in and for anyone that ever has something similar with their cockatiel - since there seems to be nothing online.

*I will update as I get more information, but please take a look at these photos and tell me two things:

1) What is this?
2) How can I cure him of this?*


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## Rockatiel (Mar 4, 2019)

I continued to put olive oil on his back to see if would loosen this hard area up, sure enough it did.

Without much resistance it began to peel off reveling a collection of stalk-like feathers, the same as was the first area I cleaned up.

His skin was pink underneath, and it looks like I will just have to keep him moisturized with olive oil to avoid this crusting/buildup.


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## Rockatiel (Mar 4, 2019)

Today Rocky died.

He was 23 years old, and he was in my life longer than most others only second to my mom.

His legs began to exhibit paralysis, with his foot moving uncontrollably. He was given Meloxacam and Tramadol which allowed him to get some rest. We held him for days, and lovingly watched over him.

After sitting slumped, having the back feather condition, a tumor, and now the leg paralysis we deemed it the humane thing to let him rest.


I lost my friend today, but hopefully he has found peace and will enjoy his next life wherever and whenever that many.

I will forever remember him.

I love you Rocky.


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## frozengirl (Nov 26, 2016)

I am so sorry for your loss. I didn’t respond to your first post because I had no idea what was wrong with him. May he watch over you like you watched over him. Rip rocky.


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