Hahns Macaw with syst on or right by oil gland.

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Hahns Macaw with syst on or right by oil gland.

I Have Taken my hahns To the only avain certified vet that we have within 200 miles and had blood work done and the syst drained. The Vet told me that he had a vitamin a defcincy to give him more foods with that in it and that the syst wasnt an infection or his white blood cell count would be raised. So just to contuine to drain the syst sometimes I think its a clogged oil gland but at the same time I can sometimes pull a white subtances out of it most of the time it is just oil coming out though.

So I am confused on what to do. Resently I have noticed excessive break growth and nail growth any Ideas? I know this all has to do with the liver but his work up on his liver looked good so.? And input would help.Thank you.

Comments for
Hahns Macaw with syst on or right by oil gland.

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Jan 06, 2011

Hahns
by: Justine

I do love my little bird soo much..I got her from a lady and from what I understand she was on a walmart diet which is all seed. I have had her for over a year. I do have her switched over to pellets not Harrisons because she wouldnt touch it but she does eat a mitxure of tropi-sticks and zupreem. My bird are all on a well balanced diet they get there fruit and vegtables and I do alot of cooking and baking for them. I have tryed to get her vit-a up with food sources but its not working. The vet did do a scope on what came out of the cyst and came back with no infection I have sense done some resarch and found Diseases of the Uropygial gland which is basiclly the oil gland. She has all of they syptoms of this but like I said before unless I can drive 200 plus miles then I only have this vet to rely on. Which I have a two year old son and one on the way so would be kinda ruff on me to do that. When I drain the cyst sometimes I pull out oil and sometimes I pull out a white subtances and the white subtances is what the vet looked at under the scope. So my plan of action was to get some bird grade not human grade vit-a and treat her with that and take her back in a month or so to see if we are on the right track. Dont worry I will not overdose her I always do my homework before giving anything to my fids. I thank you all for your advice and hope to hear more. The vet had told me to keep draining it and give her vit-a but he had no dignois for her. It really sucks that we dont have any choices here for vets. Any more suggestions are welcome.
Thank you,
Justine

Jan 05, 2011

cyst on bird
by: The Avian Vet

If your bird is not on a pellet diet, then for sure he has nutritional deficiencies. Whether or not this is the cause of the cyst is not yet determined. It certainly can cause cyst-like lesions, particularly if there is a serious vitamin A deficiency. Cysts can be infected and not show any changes in white cell counts. The cyst, the over grown beak, and the long nails can be an indication of liver disease, but not necessarily. It can also be a nutritional deficiency. The cyst may be a clogged preen gland.

My two suggestions it to 1) get a second opinion, I cannot give you an specific treatment options for he cyst because I cannot see it to diagnose it; and 2) switch your bird to a pellet diet, such as Harrison's. This is the best diet you can feed and it will cure and prevent nutritional imbalances and deficiencies. You should feed 80% pellets, 20% treats.

Dr B

Jan 04, 2011

Hahns Macaw with syst on or right by oil gland.
by: Linda

The thing about Vitamin A deficiency is that birds can also be overdosed on them if given over the counter vitamins too much or too often.Fruit and veggies need to be only a mere 10-15% of the total diet which is small amounts a few times a week.

If this were me, I would start changing your bird onto Harrison's Hi-Potency organic pellets. These are Avian Vet endorsed and because they use a cold extrusion method to make the pellets the vitamins and minerals are left intact. The proteins are high quality, and I've fed the Adult Lifetime to my Amazons for many years with very good results.

The change over takes time, so you cannot be in a hurry to have this happen. Here is a link about how to go about the change, and you can find the pellets on this site. Diet is the most important aspect to a healthy bird, and yours is not healthy at this time.

Switching Birds to Pellets article

Has the Avian Vet looked at the contents of cyst under a microscope to see if there are bacterial cells in it? If not, then have him do this as this is not normal.Bacterial infections that are just getting going good do not necessarily show up in bloodwork, so it is foolish to just do a CBC and say bird is okay when obviously he is not.A throat swab would also be done to confirm a bacterial infection as the anal swabs are about useless since bacteria is always present around the anus.

If the bloodwork shows no problems with liver, kidneys, thyroid and parathryoid then this may an infected oil gland which would be the good news. If your Avian vet has not done a complete blood workup on your bird, then tell him to do so. Though we are not vets, bird guardians know their birds and can ask for services to be performed to help get to the bottom of a problem. YOU are the one with the sick bird, so be willing to request what you think is needed to help get him well.

Keep us posted and go ahead and get some of the pellets so you can start the changeover. If your bird is eating an all seed diet with or without fruit and veggies, he is dying a slow and painful death called starvation. It sounds as if you love your bird and who would not adore a sweet, precious Hahns. Do not give any over the counter vitamins or medicines as these will only complicate the problem. Synthetic vitamins for birds, dogs, cats and all other animals and most people are not digested well and so they are not helping problem but making it worse.

Let us know how this is going.

Linda

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