# unwell female cockatiel



## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

Hello, my female cockatiel (aged 10 years) is suffering from a strange illness recently. She has a reddish lump on her back which is near to the part where her long tail feathers grown. Due to this illness, the tail feather is dropping with some dry skin attached on it.  I noticed it is kind of wet and she will tend to peck at it.

Anyone can advice how to cure the lump on her back? 

Ok, a bit of her medical condition.
Four years ago, her vent has a lump and faeces were stuck on it. I brought her to the vet and was told it was common esp in female cockatiel. She received medication but didn't fully recover as the lump comes and goes at times. Operation is out as the vet said she might not survived the op. 
Faeces is still glued to her vent and I will clean her daily. She is a strong girl and frankly I am afraid to lose her. She is my first baby tiel which was hatched right in my house. Her papa tiel is still around, but has lost mama tiel few years ago. 

She has been separated from the rest of the cockatiels as I am worried it will spread to the rest. Hope to hear from you all soon!

Thank you


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

can you post photos? theyd be most helpful.


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

Sure, but need to do it later of the day as I am at work now


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

thats fine. its more for the experienced members here. they may be able to figure it out. the most i can say is maybe a feather cyst, but i havent seen the photo and a lump can be anything.


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

It sounds like the lump where the tail feathers start could be an infection of the preen gland. As for the vent area I'm not sure, but hopefully pics will help.


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

Hi, here are the photos of her back. Not very well taken as she is struggling and I am trying my best to hold her down. 

She is losing her tail feathers and the lump has turned black now. But if you look at her at the right eye part, partial of her feathers are kind of stiff. I guess it might be blood bcos there's a little bit red stiff feathers under her beak, due to her own "cleaning".

Any advice is appreciated! 

Thank you


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i think jess is right and its an infected preening gland. you need to bring her to the vet for that.


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

Hi, thank you for your reply. Do you have any remedy as it is very difficult to find a vet (one who specialises in birds) over here? 

The last one I went was not really specialised in birds,which is why till today, my little girl vent is not fully cured  Appointment booking takes weeks!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i dont think theres any treatment we can give you. she needs a vet


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

ok, many thanks for everyone replies.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

youre welcome, sorry i couldnt help more, stick around though, theres more experienced people who can help you with this maybe. at least give some other advice


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

Hello, just wanna let you know that I have brought her to a recommended vet today, not the previous one whom I mentioned earlier.

Accordingly to him, she is suffering from "warts" at her vent. He used a medical term which I don't understand. As for her back, yes she is suffering from the infected preen gland. You all are so amazing! 

She will be undergoing 2 weeks of medical (external). Hopefully she will get well otherwise the vet suggested that she has to go for a surgery to remove the "warts". Crossing my fingers! 

Thanks all for posts and concern


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Im keeping my fingers crossed for you... get well soon :flowers:


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm so glad he knew what was wrong with her. Fingers crossed for her!


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

yes yes,me too. now only pray hard for her to recover. the vet custom-made a collar to put around her neck so she wont peck on the wounds. but i guess you know, cockatiels wont allow that!  i gave up putting it back now so long she is happy 

will update on her again in 2 weeks time. thanks everyone for your well-wishes.


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## DollyGirl (Mar 6, 2011)

Hope all goes well! Poor little thing :-(


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## yennychet (Sep 12, 2010)

I have a cockatiel who had a bad infection in her preening glad too... at least I assume that is what is was. 
It was a lump in her back (not nearly as large as your birds though) but she smelled horrible. I could smell that yucky infection scent coming off her beak and back feathers. (She's 18 years old)

I was advised by a breeder (my mother's co-worker) to put a bit of neo-sporin on her back, and it would help get rid of the infection. I flame sterilized some soft tweezers, scraped off a good amount of caked on puss, and dolloped on the goo and let her be mad at me for a few minutes.
I put fresh neosporin on each morning and evening and she recovered nicely, feeling better and more active.

Did your vet recommend anything like this? Or give you a cream? I was just curious.


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## samantha Larsen (Apr 7, 2011)

hope she feels better


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

neosporin i heard shouldnt be used on birds.... but ive also heard you could. it wont kill them, but the oil coats the feathers and can ruin them. best use a water based one... but go with what the vet says to use  with a wound that nasty, i dont think cream is enough, shed be put on antibiotics.


looks nasty but glad to hear shes getting treatment. soon shell feel all better


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## samantha Larsen (Apr 7, 2011)

hope shes feeling better


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

Hi, thank you for sharing! I am glad that your girl is recovering well now Is she eating better? 18 years old?! wow! 

Mine is very bony though she has good appetite. I gave her wholemeal bread, corn and lettuce (the type with roots). Tried carrots and other veggies but they have no interest 

The vet only prescribed antibiotics and a soothing cream for her.
He suggested that I buy the medicine at the pharmacy (maybe it is cheaper to purchase there) to treat for "plantar warts". It has to be in liquid form. The one i bought has acid concentration of 26% and the vet soothing cream is to "cool" her. I check on her daily and realised the back lump is getting smaller each day 

My little gal has another 2 lumps near her vent and yes, the smell wasn't nice as faeces glued to her vent and feathers for 4 years! It was hard to wash them away!

I'm not sure but it seems the acid is not working on the 2 lumps near her vent. Vet said to apply for 2 weeks and monitor. If not, she may need an op but I am really afraid as she has to be under anaesthesia before he can "burn" away the 2 lumps. He also mentioned even after the op, there might be a chance that she will suffer it again.  I'm still considering but really really hope the acid will work, in a miracle way? 

Has anyone cockatiel under anaesthesia before? Anything happened? 

Oh yes, back to the smell! The vet asked me if he can plucked some of her feathers as they were getting in the way at her back and vent. As the owner, i won't dare to do so and he did it, fast and maybe painlessly. She yelled quite a bit and with a few little pats on the her head, she quieten down and oh my, we were glad it's over. 

No more smelly smelly (as we know cockatiels have a powdery smell on them  ) only the acid smell now. Now she knows when i opened the cap, it's "burning" time.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

well shes on her way to recovery soon


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

i think i am losing her. she has been eating less each day n now she is very weak.
i try to contact the vet but they said today he is not avail n only on monday.
can anyone tell me how to get my girl to eat? she is not standing well either. i dont think she can make it today.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

ok, give her her most favourite foods to try to get something in her. also, try adding a bit of pedialyte or honey to her water for some energy. if she doesnt drink, take her out, and get a syringe. use the pedialyte or honey water. make one drop of water at the end of it and touch it to the side of her beak. dont put it in her beak. just at the side. see if she drinks it. she should. keep giving a drop at a time until she wont drink anymore. keep her warm too. if shes having trouble standing, put a warm blanket on the floor of her cage for her. it will help her keep warm as well as give something comforting to stand on.


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

she is very very weak. I used the syringe and give it a drop at a time.she only sip 3 -4 drops and then choked abit. I stopped. she is too weak to peck her favourite food. i dont know why, she was eating yesterday though not a lot. today she totally doesn't peck her food and too weak to do so now. i am so sad, because i know she is waiting for her death to come. we are just waiting and can't do anything for her now. except to comfort her. her eyes are closed most of the time and couldn't stand. i know she will be gone soon.


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

and we thought she will be fine since her warts have visibly shrunk. this is too sudden and i really dont know why. she used to eat happily with her favorite wholemeal bread, vegetable and seeds.this time, she cant even peck at her millet spray.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

im sorry to hear this. is there an avian vet you can rush her to?


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

i called this afternoon but the clinic said the vet only comes in on Mon. 
It's very hard to get a vet on weekends esp one who is specialised in avian. 
Can i ask you, when is the next hour to feed her the honey drink again? I juz fed her an hour ago, she sort of woke up when she drank it. is there an interval time? I wanna give her the best that i could do. pls advice. thank you for your replies.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

give it to her every 2 hours and see how that goes. keep her energy up. its good shes drinking it.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

remember just as much as she will drink. and this is to help tie her over til she can be seen by the vet. if she gets worse, see the regular vet if you can to get some fluids into her at least. for now keep her hydrated and warm, and try to convince her to eat something.


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

i fed her twice the drink, 10.15pm and 12.15am. However, she takes very little sip each time & at 12.20am she just passed out her stools. the stools are very dark green to black. I guess she is trying her best to stay alive but her little feet are curled up already. 

thank you very much for your help, dallytsuka!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

If she'll eat any try to get some celery into her, it has properties that can help with pain and that's what it sounds like is that she's in pain. Could you take a picture of her stools and post it so we can see what they look like?


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

thanks roxy,but what i just fed her the honey water, it is oozing out from her mouth now. and she is lying sideway, breathing weakly. sigh, i can only comfort her as i know time is running out for her.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm so sorry hun....if you had a crop tube you could feed her but I don't know where you could get one.


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

she has just passed on. before she gone, she opened her eyes and looked at me teary. i comforted her to go peacefully and then helped her to shut her eyes. i'm so upset now. thanks all for your replies. thank you.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*My apoligies from not reading this thread and posting sooner * 

I copied your pix's to look at and enlarged them to get an idea of what may be going on. In looking at the greenish-yellow wash to her plumage I am suspecting she has liver disease and could be going into liver failure. Had the vet run any blood test to see what the liver enzymes were? I would suggest her does.

One of the livers funtion is to convert useable vitamin A to store in the body from the foods eaten. if the liver is impaired this hinders the body to be able to do this. The infection (actually a malfunction leading to infection) of the preen gland is a result of a vitamin A defeciency (resulting from the impaired liver). Your vet can give her an injectable multivitamin that contains A, E and selenium. Her can also prescribe lactulose. Lactulose acts as an osmosis retardant to the absorption of potential toxins from the GI tract. Used as a treatment with liver disease to decrease the load of metabolites that must be processed through the liver. What this does is reduce toxic potential of the blood ammonia due to liver dysfunction. It also acts as an appetite stimulant. It acidifies the intestinal contents. It is also be effective in establishing a gastrointestinal environment that favors the growth of intestinal flora. This eliminates the need for lactobacillus supplementing. Can be used daily for weeks. If diarrhea is noted reduce the dosage.

I can also list other things you can give at home that will help the liver.

Now as to the crusty eye...it is also a result of a Vit A defeciency. What you can do is keep the shoulder where she rubs it clean. Use some saline on a cottonball and swab the area to remove any buildup on the feathers. If the feathers around the eye are very matted soak those with a wet cottonball of saline (contact lens solution) to loosen the debry. If it doesn't loosen pluck those feather....they will grow back in a few weeks. Keep both the shoulder and eye area swabbed several times a day.

The warts at the vent could be from a latent viral infection. How you can tell if it is a viral problem is to put a drop of vinegar on them and if the skin turns white it is viral. if it dtays normal and they appear more like small soft pockets of skin it can also be hernias...which there really is not much to do to repair it.

OK...as to the Neosporin...YES...it is safe to use on birds and would be benefical to an infection like this.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

((((HUGS)))) OMG...I am sorry...


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

im so sorry to hear this, luvtiels. you did what you could for her, i wish i could have been more help  we are here for you if you need us for support or anything


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## Flick (Apr 19, 2011)

I am so sorry for your loss.


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## birdlover4life (Mar 6, 2010)

This is so sad, I am crying reading your last post  You were the best tiel owner for her to ever want


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

thank you everyone for your comfort and advice.

Baby (my little gal's name) and i will remain in each other hearts. she's always a sweetie, brave to endure the pain before she passed on.

Just wanna post a picture of her here, in memory of my BABY.


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

i have 5 other cockatiels (all males) and now I just wanna take good care of them. 

Srtiels, you mentioned that it could be due to liver disease. 
No, when i brought her to the vet for warts treatment, he didn't mentioned about blood test. I guess over here, avian vet is really not very experience or bother enough to go through birds health care. 

Is there any food that i have missed out giving my little ones, depriving them of vitamin A? I browsed through the food section and everyone little birdies seem to enjoy different types of food, especially homecooked ones.

Mine ones are picky though i introduced fresh veggies & fruits previously. Now they only consume wholemeal bread, one type of veggie & bird seeds & millet spray. I posted the food pictures they consume so maybe someone can tell me whether they are ok for my little ones? 

I believe these are not good enough, what else can i give them?

thank you


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

luvtiels...the food/diet looks great. Baby had a sweet little face 

But if the liver has a problem then the body can not convert vitamin A from the diet....thus a defeciency. This in turn would have cause the malfunction of the preen gland, and the eye problem. 

From the greenish-yellow wash on her chest on the back and abdomen she has I'm strongly suspecting her liver failed her. Prior to the liver shutting down their would be rapid weight loss.


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## luvtiels (Apr 8, 2011)

srtiels, thank you for your reply. 
yes, Baby is sweet and always will be 

I will be trying some other veggies and apples for my other little ones for the next weekend. hopefully they will try to peck them. 

I saw the forum said beans are good. is french bean consider safe? occasionally i will give them, but raw ones. I never cook the veggies for them before, even the corn i give them are raw ones too and they ate.

can i sprinkle some millet spray on the veggies too? 

thank you


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Another thing that will help is to get some FSL (full specturm lights) or sunlight/plant grow lights and have near the cages...or access to real sunlight. Proper lighting indirectly helps maintain good liver health.

As to the type of beans, green beans raw are fine. I try to give any type of seed like bean (must be fully cooked) once a week because they are a high source of protein, and excess protein can affect kidney health.

Yes, you can sprinkle some millet seeds of the greens.


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