My poor little cockatiel had a prolapse and has been stiched up (twice, first time was too tight) poor fellas a bit down bless him, has anyone else had a cockatiel with same? Is it common in males at all?
in a male? wow. that is new to me.
is it stress straining? what did the vet say about the cause? that's the important thing- elminiating the cause. they cannot prolapse too many times. they will die. so eliminiating the cause is paramount.
if you believe it is stress, try rescue remedy in his water. and thinking of the causes. new people, birds, animals in his life, change in schedule (you or him), predators viewable through a window, etc...
Racking our brains to think of the cause, he is a very fussy eater and it's hard to get him to eat anything except millet and he picks the budgie seeds out of the cockatiel mix, he does use his iodine block and cuttle bone and I have him on a suppliment now that contains iron, calcium, pro biotoics, the works.
I am worried it could happen again, the only other thing I can think of it lack of excersice, he's active but not a great flyer. We are building an aviary and am hoping that will improve that situation. I'll be talking to the vet soon again and will get his opinion on it.
I thought it was unusual too, because all the sites etc only seem to mention it happening in females.
Oh man that cannot be fun for you or your baby! I will keep you in my prayers..I cannot offer any advice.
i am PMing lee anne, who is an avian vet tech so she can chime in...
to Tailfeathers.
I am wondering if this could be related to the fact that his diet consists of mostly fatty millet seeds and no greenfoods and fruits. He could have quite hard poops that need to be strained out regularly, causing the prolapse.
It is also possible that if his diet is defficient, and he has access to grit, he might have a tendancy to over eat grit which can cause impactions, making it difficult for him to poop.
What exactly did your vet say that the cause might have been? Was it an avian vet that you saw, as a regular vet might not be knowledgeable enough to know.
What are his poops like? What texture and colour are they? Are they large or small?
How old is your cockatiel?
Try to encourage him to exercise aswell, as unfitness can contribute to this happening in egg producing females, so I suspect it can have the same effect on males too if their diet is fatty, as the muscles that expel the poop might be weak. You could have him stand on your finger and make quick downward movements that encourage him to flap.
Best of luck! I will run this past my vet next time I see him and pass you on any comments that he has to contribute.
Last edited by Birdmad Girl; 04-17-2006 at 02:35 PM.
Thanks for that, I'm starting to think half is diet (he's so fussy so any ideas on how to encourage him to eat fruit and veg would be greatfully recieved) my budgies all like their greens and will eat apple and grapes. The other half may be excercise he does climb but refuses to fly, thanks for the tip about making him flap his wings I'll start on that with him. He's too fond of the millet and small budgie type seeds in his mix, any ideas if a pelleted food might work and any brand names you can recomend? He's had his stitches in (they're disolveable) for about 3 days now (after they had re stitched him) is it ok to now let him excersice more. Im paranoid about splitting the stitches, or should I give him a few more days for it to knit together. In the mean time he's really perked up and back to his usually cheeky demanding self but I really would hate for it to happen again so want to do what's best for him. The vet I have is very good (it was another vet in the practice that stitched him up 1st time but I guess it's slightly guess work if you stitch too tight they can't poop and if you stitch too loose it won't work) but if I am stuck for someone more specialised I have another vet I can travel to. He's about 3 to 4 years old (he's a rescue) so still a young man. I'll try and take a pic of his poop tomorow to give you an idea.
In the mean time I am scrouing the country for a carpenter/handy man to finish the aviary lol so he'll have lots of excercise and also then I can get him a buddy.
Hi!
Cockatiels as a rule, are not really fond of fruit. They prefer vegetables so I would try leafy greens first, like parsley and cilantro. Pin it by his food dish, and since you said he's fond of millet, even pin some TO his millet to get him used to seeing it there. If he has to root around in the green stuff to get his prized millet, he'll get used to the green stuff and start nibbling that too. Normally I don't recommend lettuce as it has a lot of water content and not a lot of nuticianal value, but for this guy, sounds like he might need that, so even some dark leafy type lettuce might do the trick. Once he's used to greens, graduate to broccoli and other things. My birds like "broccoli slaw". I buy it pre packaged - its shredded broccoli and carrots and I serve it in a saucer. They go wild for it. They also love raw green beans clipped to the side of the cage by their food dishes. Just make sure to wash every thing thouroughly. Honestly.. I've had 6 rescue birds (four of which are still living with me) Each one (I was told by the previous owner) would not eat veggies... would have nothing to do with them. Each one of these birds eats veggies now that I have them, and I've employed this method to get them used to them.
Pellets: I have a few bonafied seed junkies in my flock and I've found that EVERY one of them really well to Zupreem Harvest Blend for cockatiels. Even the ones who don't like pellets. I place the pellets in a "dominant" food cup (higher up than the other food cup containing seed) to get them interested in eating from it. The "higher up = better". Next.. I start putting the pellets into the seed cup too, along with the seeds.. AND the dominant food dish with only pellets. Watch..you'll see him sneak a pellet or two. Maybe it will be a day or two..maybe a week.. but those bright colors and the smell... they like the stuff. Then... put only pellets in during the day and then give seeds for fifteen minutes in the evening. Keep track of his weight to make sure he doesn't lose more than a gram or two during conversion.
I know there are "better brands" out there, pellet wise, but honestly, there's NOTHING wrong with Zupreem brand AND I've had nothing but success with it. Even my rescue birds eat it and again.. I heard "My bird doesn't eat pellets" from their previous owner. I had one bird I took in on Hartz Cockatiel Seed (UGH!!!) and within a week, he was eating Zupreem like he was starved for something good.
Please keep us posted on your dude! I hope he's doing well with his stitches and things turn out okay!
Visit Apache, Neo, Silver, Taxi, Tieka, Trinny, Buzz, Tiggy, Paris, Persephone & Hektor at Nikkie's Cockatiels More of what the flock is up too at their blog. Tiel Tales
"Somewhere out there
Someone's singing a prayer
That we'll find one another
In that big somewhere, out there"~
Prayers for Paris- Please come home!
Hi again.
I ran this case past my vet today, and he said that it is not common, but it can happen to males, and usually due to one of the following causes depending of what part of the internals actually prolapsed:
- Poor diet, and straining to pass faeces.
- Infection of the cloaca
- Papilloma virus
So, it looks like it would be a good idea to consult with an avian specialist to rule out any infection or a papilloma. I hope this helps. If you need help finding your nearest avian specialist, let us know and we will do our best to help you.
yes, tell us where in the world you are located, so that we can help you find a good avian vet.
I'm in Ireland.
aha. i would check in the back of parrots magazine, published in the UK for an avain specialist. lee ann may also have some recommendations for your side of the pond, even though she is in london. since she works in avian medicine, she may know someone in the area...
The new vet we have is good with birds but usually deals with parrots he knows his stuff it was another vet in the practice that didn't do a good job on him first time round, if they need to reffer the matter we go to Bairbre O'Malley in Bray just over 80 miles away. I will be taking him there for a check up soon anyway. He's got his parsley although showing no interest yet I'll put a fresh sprig in daily until he gets used to it. I've contacted the supplier and am ordering him some better food for him tomorow over the interenet.
If someone could perform a miracle and send me a handyman/carpenter I can get the aviary finished it's like pulling teeth here trying to get a tradesman :-(
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks