Help with a sick cockatiel?

375>I have a sick bird, I%26#039;ve had her for 10 years but she%26#039;s pretty sick. She has a large round lump near her tail feathers. I have given her anti-biotic but it hasn%26#039;t helped. She is still eating n%26#039; drinking n%26#039; hitting her tonic bells n%26#039; cuttle bone n%26#039; grit slightly more often than normal. Personally I think it%26#039;s cancer or a cyst %26amp; beyond help. Her mate died of the same thing a few weeks ago, he was 2 yrs. old. I don%26#039;t have the $ to find an aviean vet (bird vet). She has had a good home, living inside my home in a huge cage which is cleaned twice weekly, I feel up set about her but she is happy here in our home. If she became sick in the natural the other birds would of killed her long ago. Does anyone have a suggestion? Maybe I should have her put down by a vet. Would that be costly? Please don%26#039;t think I am mean or cold but I can%26#039;t do much on a small income. Thank you.
Reply:It may be the oil gland is infected or swollen so go to a vet right away! Sometimes normal vets know enough about birds to help with these common things, so I%26#039;d ask around. It can also be a contagious disease if her mate just died from it. A vet will know exactly what this is and tell you how to treat it and how much it would cost. You can usually buy medications for pets online very cheap but ask a vet which one to get so you don%26#039;t give her something that wont help and can possibly make it worse. Also, if it is a tumor, they are usually easily removed by a vet and it isn%26#039;t all that expensive. I don%26#039;t think it%26#039;s cancer because the mate just died from it. It sounds a lot like something contagious. The other thing is to call an avian vet. It%26#039;s free to talk to them and you can get good advice. I wouldn%26#039;t have her put down because that is likely just as expensive as getting her treated. If you have a petsmart in your area, they usually have a pet hospital inside of them and they only cost about $40 to have a bird treated. The other thing to do is to go to an avian rescue center or call one and sometimes a vet is actually on staff or they know where you can get inexpensive care. If you need help finding any of these, please feel free to contact me through my website;


www.cockatootrainer.com


Good luck!
Reply:Birds have oil glands at the base of their tails. They can become impacted much in the same way as dog%26#039;s anal glands can. You will have to find a vet to treat the bird. Call around to all the local vets. Sometimes a normal vet can help with that sort of thing. Normally the treatment is to basically surgically lacerate the gland to allow it to drain and also a course of antibiotics. Surprisingly, the treatment isn%26#039;t very expensive (less than $50 around here). Please take her to the vet. She is only 10 and can live several more years if you take her to a vet. Hopefully, they can help the poor bird. Again, this is something that a vet will have to treat.
Reply:If it is cancer, there is probably little that a vet can do to help. It%26#039;s difficult to operate on birds because they are small and stress out very easily. But I suggest that you CALL A VET anyway to see if he has any ideas. It might be something really simple that can be cured with little money, who knows. It can%26#039;t be that two birds developed the same type of cancer at the same time. You are not mean at all and she probably had ten years of good life with you.


If she is still eating and drinking normally, then a balanced diet may be able to extend her life. You can clean her cage more often to prevent infections, and you should monitor her closely for any change of symptoms. There are some websites out there about illness in birds.


I still think that should call a vet to ask for suggestions. The vet might give you some financial help. Even if you can not afford it you will know that you have done the best to help your bird. Perhaps the situation is not as bad as you think.


Good luck. I hope your bird will be okay.