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Question

my parakeets bottom is very swollen both sides about the size of a
gum ball and ulcer like looking and bleeding.
it looks very sore, and tumerous looking. the bird has lost
all his feathers around the anus the left leg is affected, the bird still eats and drinks, but is very lathargic, and looks misrible.
I live in a small town that does not have a vet for small exotic animals, I dont know what to do to help my bird.

Submitted: 831 days and 10 hours ago.
Category: Pet
Value: $9
Status: AWAITING CUSTOMER ACTION
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Optional Information

Optional Information:
Female; Breed: parakeet

Answer

Hi Kathy. You really have an emergency on your hands and there is not going to be anything you can do for her at home beyond supportive care until you can locate a proper vet. You are not alone when it comes to being some distance from one. Avian vets or even dog/cat vets who enough avian experience can be few and far between and sometimes it takes driving further than we would like to get to one. I'm going to give you some links at the end of this to hopefully let you locate one you can get to, inspite of distance. I'm afraid your bird will not survive with it it. You didn't say how old she is but I can tell you about the two most prime suspects that come to mind, from your description. If your bird is 4-5 years or older, and if she has been on an all seed or mostly seed diet all her life, she could be suffering from fatty tumors. When let go, they will start to pick at them, getting them bleeding and will ultimately die from them, whether they have time to go cancerous or not. Folks often have been led to believe birds can live on nothing but seeds and that could not be further from the truth. Seeds should not be more than about 25% of their diet. They need fruits, veggies, leafy greens and much more, everyday. It applies to all birds but Parakeets are particularly susceptible to fatty liver disease, fatty tumors and obesity on that kind of high fat diet. The other possibility, if you are positive you have a female bird, is that she is egg bound, has been for too long and is not in the process of suffering a prolapse of her uterus. She is literally turning herself inside out, straining, trying to pass the egg. That is also caused by improper diet and not nearly enough calcium rich foods, including a never ending supply of cuttle bone. She does not need a male bird to lay eggs, just in case she is a single bird and you are thinking that can't be possible. Without heavy calcium reserves in her system, she cannot make firm shells for her eggs. When they are too soft for her to pass, she is egg bound. That alone is life threatening if not recognized and dealt with immediately. When let go, then the danger of the prolapse and/or having the egg rupture inside of her. All of these possibilities are pretty much equally life threatening and without proper care, you will lose her. For supportive care, you need to keep her as quiet and stress free as possible until you can take her in. She must not be allowed to get chilled. The closer we can keep an ill bird to 80F, the better. You can cover the top and three sides of her cage and keep household traffic to a minimum near the cage. I feel so bad for her and I wish there were some magic answers I could give you for home remedies but there simply are none for situations like this. I wish you the best of luck and if you need anything else at all, just let me know. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for her. Patricia

Click here: Grit, Gravel and your Parakeet / Budgie

Click here: Hepatic Lipidosis

Click here: PetCareLibrary - Tumors in Parakeets (pvy.com)

Click here: Parakeet Medical and Safety Information

Click here: Parakeet Budgie and Keet FAQs and Info

Click here: Toxic and Safe Plants/Trees for Birds - Household Poisons

Click here: Birdsnways - Safe Plants & Trees for pet birds, pet parrots &exotic birds

Click here: Nutrition

Obesity & Diets (budgies)

Click here: The Basics: Intro to Budgies / Parakeets

Click here: The Budgie and Parakeet Place - Care, Training, Pictures and More

Click here: BUDGIE CARE SHEET

Click here: More Birds Die as a Result of Air Fresheners: That Stinks!!

Click here: Bird Proofing Your Home: Household Hazards for Birds

Click here: Bird Proofing Your Home - Avoid These Pet Bird Hazards

Click here: The Silent Killer, by Joanie Doss

Click here: Find your local Avian Veterinarian

Click here: Avian Veterinarians Recommended by Bird Breeders and Owners http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/abvpvets.htm

Click here: World Wide Avian Vet Listing

Click here: BirdsnWays - Avian Veterinarians - Vets - Vet Services for Pet Parrots & Exotic Birds

This one looks like an advertisement for Harrison pellets but they are only sold by vets so it's another good list to check. Click here: Harrison's Bird Foods is a family of certified organic pet bird diets that were formulated to make your bird as he

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Expert: Patricia
Pos. Feedback: 99.9 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 8/13/2007

Parrot C&onsultant

Published author, free lance bird behaviorist, adviser to the parrots at Sarasota Jungle Gardens.

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