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Urgent Need help identifying this Lovebird skin problem

lerakeet

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I'm looking for help identifying and hopefully treating this skin issue with my sister's lovebird. The issue started when he was furiously rubbing the back of his neck on his food dish to get her attention. Eventually it seemed that the feathers stopped growing back, and he started itching, flapping, biting, and screaming at the back of his neck. So much now that it's beginning to bleed.

Can't find much on the web about bird health, but I'd like to alleviate his suffering ASAP if anyone has some knowledge about it please share! He's an 8 year old peach headed love bird and mostly eats pellets, millet, and sunflower seeds.

If you don't know what it might be, please spare me the "TAKE 2 DA VET NAO" please, because I'm already upset enough that the poor guy is suffering and I'm too ignorant to know what the problem is, let alone afford to pay for it. Anyways, I'm for what the forum is listed to be for - quick self help until we can hopefully afford a avian vet.
 

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rocky'smom

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Rolanda

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Maybe some skin infection. The skin color does not look normal. Seems to be driving the poor little thing crazy. I won't state the obvious since you don't want to hear it. I don't know if there is any cream that can be safely put on the skin of a bird. Poor Little Guy.:sadhug2:
 
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Tyrion

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If you cant get the lil guy to a vet right away which you need to do is try to keep it clean so it doesnt get infected you can use hibitane soap you should be able to get it from a drug store its a pink liquid soap....just a drop on a gauze pad and gently wash and rinse the area 2-3 times per day ...it should help with the soreness and itching ...but the next step is see a vet ..it could be bacterial or fungal or anything and without a vet it may never get resolved and will get worse ...Im sorry this is happening to your lil bird but a vet is really the only option with these things :)
 
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WendyN

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polyfolliculitis...perhaps?
Looks to me a problem with the feather follicles.
I understand the vet expense thing but I sincerely don't think any home remedy can clear it up fast enough to slow down or prevent infection. It looks pretty uncomfortable for you bird.
Sorry, vet please. I sincerely feel it is the best thing for your bird.
Even if there is no cure, the vet can tell you exactly what to do.
 
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rocky'smom

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If you cant get the lil guy to a vet right away which you need to do is try to keep it clean so it doesnt get infected you can use hibitane soap you should be able to get it from a drug store its a pink liquid soap....just a drop on a gauze pad and gently wash and rinse the area 2-3 times per day ...it should help with the soreness and itching ...but the next step is see a vet ..it could be bacterial or fungal or anything and without a vet it may never get resolved and will get worse ...Im sorry this is happening to your lil bird but a vet is really the only option with these things :)
make sure to rinse very very well leave no soapy residue, bird preens and any soapy residue can make them sicker.
 

fluffypoptarts

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I have never seen anything quite like that, and I have a lovebird who picks at her skin constantly. His skin looks quite bad. I hope the area isn't becoming necrotic.

(The rubbing on the dish was probably an early attempt to alleviate discomfort, not get attention. Screeching and banging are much easier ways to do that.)

Please find (or make or borrow somehow) the money to take him to an avian vet as that's the only way to really help him. (Without examination and testing to know what it is, you'd be taking a shot in the dark with your own home remedies anyway.)
 

WendyN

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Also, if you wait too long it will be more expensive as the treatment for advanced condition could mean an antibiotic shot, meds, surgical procedure and overnight hospital stay.
 

Monica

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I have to agree with the others... Sorry you are going through this, but we are not avian vets.

As mentioned, it could be a fungal or bacterial infection on the skin... or it could be an infection in the feather follicles. We can't tell you what meds to purchase to clear it up, if that is in fact what it is! And even if we could, the meds you would potentially need would require a prescription to get anyway!


Keeping the area clean is a good start. Using coconut oil, red palm oil or aloe vera on the area may help to hydrate the skin and *possibly* relieve itchiness. Likewise, in some birds, it may make the issue worse because they don't like the feel of something foreign on their skin and feathers.

Be sure that your lovie gets daily baths.


Also, what is his diet?
 

lerakeet

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Thank you all for your time and information. I will relay it over to my sister (the bird's owner). As I said, we don't have the money. Vet is a no go right now. A job lay off, cut hours, doctor bills- debt debt debt, you know how it is. We are lucky to be able to eat right now. We don't know anyone who can donate that kind of cash on a whim either. Sadly, all we can do is watch him suffer. :( Like I said, it's just driving another stake in the heart hearing that a vet is the only way. :(

I have personally not have good experience with avian vets, they charged ridiculous amounts (some $100-$300) and did nothing to save his life. I recently had a diamond dove with bumblefoot and people screamed "VET VET VET", but thanks to a farmer's advice using Neosporin and Epson Salt, I was able to cure him myself. Hoping to get that kind of help again.
 

Monica

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I fully understand where you are coming from.

I've spent over $1,800 this year on taking 5 different animals in to my vet. I lost two this month. Both to cancer. (one confirmed post mortem, other unconfirmed, but pretty apparent :( ). If not finally being able to get CareCredit, I would have had to watch one of my pets literally suffer to death. It hasn't even been a week yet and I'm still having a hard time not breaking down into tears. Both were unexpected, one especially more so than the other. A third I lost back in February to something else. Sometimes, no matter what you do to try and save an animal's life and have them live long, happy lives, it's just not meant to be. It might be able to prolong their life, but that doesn't mean that their life would be spent happy and pain-free or without difficulties. At least I can say that I tried. When I didn't have a job, I was trying to sell what I could to have the cash to get my animals to the vet. All the jobs I've had up until *THIS* January have been crap. An old job even owes me $2,000, which I'll never see! They are out of business and owes who knows how much to their other employees!


So yes, some of us have been there and we know what it's like! That doesn't change the fact that we aren't vets. Bumblefoot can be caused by a variety of reasons, from infection, to inadequate perches to diet. In the case of your dove, it may very well have been an infection that was easily cleared up. If it was something else, then it either wouldn't have cleared up or it would have come back. Kind of same thing here... you *might* be able to fix the issue at home, but again, you might not. Essentially, you are stumbling around in the dark looking for something that will help without knowing if it actually will or not. Some things have the potential to make it worse, even.



You or her can try to get CareCredit to help pay for vet expenses, if it's available where you are at.

As for the two of you, try to see if you can get some food assistance to help you guys get by.


As far as the vet goes, please call around! Call and see if they would take payment plans or say what the issue is and how much money you have to spend and see if they'll work with you.

If they can't, then try to find things to sell, set up a funding page, or any way to make some extra cash to cover the vet expenses. Heck, if you are lucky, you may be able to find a place that can help cover vet expenses for those who can't afford it! (when it comes to birds.... those places are few and far between... but if he was a cat or a dog, much easier to find...)

If all else fails, you can't get him treated, and if you try home remedies (not recommending *NOT* seeing a vet!) and he's still suffering, then you may need to consider finding a rescue who could take him in and provide him with the medical attention he needs.
 

WendyN

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I understand about the vet not a viable option.
There are alot of good pallative care advice offered. I hope that it will help.
 

Tyrion

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Thank you all for your time and information. I will relay it over to my sister (the bird's owner). As I said, we don't have the money. Vet is a no go right now. A job lay off, cut hours, doctor bills- debt debt debt, you know how it is. We are lucky to be able to eat right now. We don't know anyone who can donate that kind of cash on a whim either. Sadly, all we can do is watch him suffer. :( Like I said, it's just driving another stake in the heart hearing that a vet is the only way. :(

I have personally not have good experience with avian vets, they charged ridiculous amounts (some $100-$300) and did nothing to save his life. I recently had a diamond dove with bumblefoot and people screamed "VET VET VET", but thanks to a farmer's advice using Neosporin and Epson Salt, I was able to cure him myself. Hoping to get that kind of help again.
I totally understand where you are coming from and yes vets do cost allot of money ...I would still try and keep it clean like I said in my previous post it will help and may just keep things from getting worse ..do make sure you rinse well after every cleaning ..watch for scratching and over preening or even plucking in that area ..as soon as you can get to a vet keep clean for as long as you can ..best of luck :)
 

karen256

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I would suspect an ingrown or infected feather follicle - not life threatening but probably very painful!
Please try to get him to the vet if you can.

If it looks like there is a swelling under the skin, you might try sterilizing a sharp needle in a flame and pricking it slightly. I hate suggesting that without knowing what the issue is, but if there is an infection under the skin that would help drain it and relieve pain a little. Other than that, keep it clean, offer him warm water to bathe every day as well.
 

Milo

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Thank you all for your time and information. I will relay it over to my sister (the bird's owner). As I said, we don't have the money. Vet is a no go right now. A job lay off, cut hours, doctor bills- debt debt debt, you know how it is. We are lucky to be able to eat right now. We don't know anyone who can donate that kind of cash on a whim either. Sadly, all we can do is watch him suffer. :( Like I said, it's just driving another stake in the heart hearing that a vet is the only way. :(

I have personally not have good experience with avian vets, they charged ridiculous amounts (some $100-$300) and did nothing to save his life. I recently had a diamond dove with bumblefoot and people screamed "VET VET VET", but thanks to a farmer's advice using Neosporin and Epson Salt, I was able to cure him myself. Hoping to get that kind of help again.
No one here is going to be able to give you a home remedy to help this issue, unfortunately. He is, as you say, suffering. To me it doesn't look like this is going to be a simple diagnosis, and at the very least he may need meds and anti-inflammatories. When bird skin gets yellow like that it usually indicates some sort of inflammation, from what is anyone's guess at this point. Human medications aren't safe for birds and topicals can be very dangerous, especially if they contain steroids.

I appreciate your situation but the dollar amounts you're quoting are not ridiculous for medical care. I would absolutely have advised the same for the dove, bumblefoot is incredibly painful and the bird would have benefitted from pain relievers.
 

Birdbabe

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I've never seen anything like that, I hope he can get the help he needs.
 

XstatyK

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Are the feathers wet or is that just how they look?
 

enigma731

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It's a little hard to see, but I'm pretty sure those are feather cysts, with bruising from plucking around them. A vet can teach you how to lance and clean out feather cysts at home, but if you do it wrong then it can cause a lot of bleeding so I wouldn't attempt it without proper diagnosis and instruction. I agree with the advice you've already received about keeping the area clean and maybe using something soothing like pure aloe until you can get to a vet.
 

lerakeet

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Sadly, a year later no one has been able to help the poor lovebird. He is still suffering with this chronic skin problem. His parakeet girlfriend seems to be helping him by scratching the area at least.
 

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