Question on hormone activity

[Joe Henderson]

CAn a male bird (budgie) have hormone issues they say his testicles are extreme large but show no sign of sexual activity like none. Zero .. his leg was showing signs of lameness and a xray revealed I larger testes, and Lupron was givin , but this bird has never shown and signs of wanting to mate, the only thing I can think he does is peck / spend some time in the mirror which I put there after his cage friend ( they never mated) passed away about 6 months ago

 

[Sparkles!]

Enlarged testicles can be painful and problematic, and could very well be a *reason* why your budgie isn’t masturbating on things or overtly showing signs of sexual activity. Enlarged testes does not mean they’re filled with huge amounts of sex hormones just waiting to be released. In humans, enlarged testes is actually a diagnosed condition common with some fertility issues and can accompany low sexual drive. The testes can be fluid filled due to anatomical aberration or can swell due to viral infection, injury, they may just be over large in size, many things actually could be going on to cause the enlargement.
Testicles are a hormone producing organ, and just like any other organ, if they’re not working correctly they may not be doing the things they normally do. In this case, when you think about testes doing their job- they simply might not be. They may be damaged or irregular and not producing the normal amount of sex hormones that produce sexual urges.

 

[mavish]

Hello! My budgie have a similar situation. He was also diagnosed with enlarged testes but could never really had any sexual activity with his mate. You have mentioned that your bird was given Lupron, do you think that worked well for his condition? My vet recommended the same thing but I am worried that it might be a hard procedure. I would be very happy if you could share your experience!

 

[Joe Henderson]

hello I gave him the intramuscular lupron shot and the lameness In his leg went away completely and has yet to come back . He is extremely nervous bird and hates bein handled but. He took the shot well and showed no signs of stress, he did preen at. The area the shot was givin for the rest of the day but that’s normal. But my bird did develop Polyuria on and off and. I feel that might be from hormone activity, so I’m planning to bring him in soon for another dose

 

[Joe Henderson]

I had. Also showed the same x ray to another avian vet and they couldn’t. Telll if the testicle was enlarged, I found this weird since the vet before looked at the same one. And said without a doubt his taste is enlarged, but since the shot worked I’m assuming the first was right goes to show you that vets can can very different options on the same
Image

 

[mavish]

Thank you so much for your reply! I am glad to hear that he took the shot well and the lameness in his leg went away. You’re absolutely right about vets having different opinions, that’s why I hesitated to start the hormone therapy. My vet said that my budgie will need 3 doses with 2-week intervals and now I wonder if that’s a lot because your budgie seem to have done well with only one shot. My vet also said that if we were to start hormone therapy we need to seperate him from his mate completely to stop his hormonal behavior, or else the shot wouldn’t work. I’ve decided not to do that because similar to your bird, mine doesn’t really show hormonal behavior other than occasional regurgitating and pecking. I hope it doesn’t stop the shot from working if I decide to go for it. Thank you so much again and I wish the best of health for your birdie!

 

[Blueys Mom]

hello I gave him the intramuscular lupron shot and the lameness In his leg went away completely and has yet to come back . He is extremely nervous bird and hates bein handled but. He took the shot well and showed no signs of stress, he did preen at. The area the shot was givin for the rest of the day but that’s normal. But my bird did develop Polyuria on and off and. I feel that might be from hormone activity, so I’m planning to bring him in soon for another dose

Hi Joe
Can I ask how long after lupron shot the laneness in his leg went away? Thanks

 

[Icey]

This post is from over 2 years ago.
I'm not sure if @Joe Henderson is still an active member, but I have tagged him.