# Bald Spot on chest



## Vulpini (Mar 31, 2011)

Ok, I'm pretty worried about my older cockatiel at the moment. 2 days ago I noticed a small bald patch (only a few millimeters) on Luci's chest. Last night I checked it out again, and it's spread. It's still not particularly large, but ~ 1 cm squared in area. The skin does not appear inflamed, and he is still eating and talking to me as normal.
I have been having issues between him and my other tiel, Bailey. Bailey was pecking and hassling Luci for a while, though we began to extend their 'night' to 12-14 hours, which we're still doing, and that seemed to lower the aggression. More recently it has been going the other way, with Luci occasionally pecking at Bailey, but it's more a warning like peck, he doesn't actually connect. Basically, I don't think this is Bailey's doing.
I also am not sure if it could be moulting, as I've never known him to have bald spots in doing so, and I cannot see any new feathers at this point.

My worry is the possibility that he is doing this to himself. Overall my family life has been incredibly up in the air recently (two cars written off in accidents, bathroom tiles falling off wall, and a heap of emotional stuff), and it's an extremely stressful household to live in. As much as I hate to admit it, the tiels have been a little neglected for the past week. I've known cockatoos to self-harm when bored/stressed, but do cockatiels do it too? And if so, how do I determine this as the cause and treat it before it becomes a massive problem? I'd much prefer to nip this in the bud and get my little guy happy and healthy again then to wait and see what happens.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Tiels can pluck from loneliness or stress but I would suspect yeast to be the cause. If the crop is irritated, tiels will pluck the feathers around the crop, which is what sounds like what is going on here. Pictures would definitely help though!


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## Vulpini (Mar 31, 2011)

I will have a photo around this time tomorrow. I'm currently at uni, and haven't actually been able to see the spot in daylight. The photo I took last night doesn't come out well in the lighting, and I won't be home before dark tonight.
Loneliness I wouldn't suspect to be the cause. While I adore my birds, we're not excessively close. The stress around lately would probably be more the cause, rather than loneliness. 

If it's a yeast problem, how would I determine that? And what's the treatment for it?


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

It would also help if you show us some pics of his droppings, since we're suspecting a crop/GI problem.


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## Vulpini (Mar 31, 2011)

Ok, I just had a fairly good look over him and this is a bigger problem than I first thought. The chest spot is larger than it was yesterday, and I've noticed he has a bald patch under his right wing also, as well as bald legs. I still can't get any good photos until tomorrow, as they've just been put to bed, but I really wanted to start getting any opinions as early as possible. I will still get photos of the spots and of his droppings when I can.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I think you need a vet visit. Birds can pluck in those areas due to giardia, so I think you're going to need some tests done to know exactly what is going on here.


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## Vulpini (Mar 31, 2011)

Definitely seems like giardia. 

One more question for you all. Our vet is unable to see us until next weekend. Will he be ok between now and then and is there any way we can give him a bit of relief in the meantime? The next closest avian vet is only available workdays and is a fair drive away, so we can't get him there, and we'd prefer to go to our own vet if possible.


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## Vulpini (Mar 31, 2011)

Update: We managed to get him to the vet tonight. He was diagnosed with stress and feather mites, which both birds are now being treated for. We also have a fair few recommendations and should be seeing some improvement. If he is still unwell in two weeks we are going back to try to determine why.


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## Cryren8972 (Oct 3, 2007)

The feather mites would do it for sure. I'm glad he's on his way to recovery! =)


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## Vulpini (Mar 31, 2011)

Further update. While his chest and under his wings are still quite bare, he is no longer plucking and there has been no sign of the patches spreading since the day after treatment. We are now just starting to see a couple of feather tips on his chest. He had also pulled out all of his primary flight feathers, though it looks as though he had some coming through anyway, which are now showing properly.
He is completely back to his normal self. He never got too depressed or anything like that, but he had been having periods where he had little movement and would just sit hunched up in the darkest part of the cage he could find. He's now completely responsive again, and looking as happy as ever.

All in all, I think we got it, and he's well and truely on the road back to proper health.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I'm glad he is doing better.


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