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 Peritonitis can be fatal in birds, too | Feces didn't cause sties | Symptoms don't match staphylococcus | Coughing layer could have problem | Hormone injections stop laying and might help cloacal prolapse | Xanthoma tumors won't go away | Stress can kill birds | Beak 'grating' harmless | Peritonitis can be fatal in birds, too My macaw, always well taken care of, well fed and beautifully feathered, died after the veterinarian removed a tiny, dime-size egg that was lodged in her oviduct. She was almost 10 years old and had laid three to four eggs a year without incident until she produced a couple of eggs that were about a third smaller than normal. I was told it was nothing to be concerned about. Then she stopped laying altogether for about a year and a half. Recently, she began straining excessively and prolapsed her cloaca and uterus. Two unsuccessful noninvasive attempts, a successful laparotomy and nine days later, the vet removed a tiny egg that had a heavily calcified rough texture and some fluid inside. She appeared to heal up and was given a clean bill of health. But 20 days after the surgery she had trouble breathing and her abdomen filled with fluids. The vet said she had pneumonia and placed her on oxygen and antibiotics. After six days she could breathe on her own but still gasped some with mild activity. I thought she was getting better, eating well and playing. Then on June 20 she closed her eyes and hung her head down as though having trouble breathing. I immediately put her back in the oxygen and she recovered almost immediately and acted as though she were fine. I tried to take her out again after a couple of hours, and within 10 seconds outside the oxygen she immediately became weak and started closing her eyes with her beak open. She spent the night in the oxygen but the next morning collapsed and died in my arms. Two separate series of blood tests and repeated radiographs revealed nothing unusual. Do you think the small egg was a sign of a heart condition or a vascular problem? I should note that her oviduct was ruptered and repaired at the time of egg removal and there was moderate to severe nonseptic peritonitis with five or six inspissated yolks removed. Any information will be sincerely appreciated. She was just like a child to me. -- David Kaufman, Phoenix, Arizona I'M VERY SORRY you lost your avian child. I can tell from the thorough history you've given that you were very dedicated to her. I have encoundered tiny eggs in patients over the years. Some were completely formed including shells and contents and some were just inspissated (partially absorbed) yolks. These problems indicate a malfunctioning of the reproductive system, not unusual in hens of breeding age. However, the likely key to your bird's death is something you mention at the very end of your letter: the peritonitis. Yolk outside the oviduct is very irritating to tissues. Peritonitis, an inflammation of the lining of the body cavity, is always a life-threatening problem, whether septic with bacteria or not. And unlike mammals, which have both a thoracic cavity and an abdominal cavity, separated by a diaphragm, birds have one large body (or coelomic) cavity. The prognosis for your bird was very guarded. You don't say whether a necropsy was performed, but this might have pinpointed the cause of death. Feces didn't cause sties My friend has two birds, a budgie and a larger parrot. She allows these birds to fly freely in her house. They poop everywhere! I don’t go to her house anymore. Since she has had the birds her husband has had several eye infections and a couple of sties and her son just had to get surgery to have a couple of sties removed that wouldn’t go away. Is there any possibility there is a connection between the feces not being contained and these eye infections? -- Bert Farrell A HANDFUL of zoonotic diseases (diseases that humans can catch from animals) can be spread via bird droppings. One of the most common is psittacosis, aka parrot fever, which shows up as a respiratory infection in humans. (For others, see http://www.parrotchronicles.com/departments/babiesrisk_askdrharris.htm.) Sties are infections of the glands of the eyelids usually caused by staphylococcal bacteria. This bacteria often lives in the human nose and mouth. It's also one type of bacteria that can be found in a bird's digestive system. However, I highly doubt your friends' birds are responsible for their sty outbreak. While I suppose it's possible to get an infection by rubbing one's eye with a dropping-contaminated finger, shared towels are more likely the culprit. I do agree with you, however, that keeping birds so they don't contaminate a house with droppings would be more sanitary. Symptoms don't match staphylococcus My 6-year-old roseicollis has been sick for almost four months. Several vets have given up on him, since they don't know what to do. Analyses have shown that he has staphylococcus, and he has been given antibiotics for a long time. I have also been giving him medicine to prevent vomiting, and it all makes him act normally for five or six days, but then the symptoms come back and he is once again in front of the lamp, vomiting everything he eats. He has lost a lot of weight and I am just desperate. He sleeps the whole time and he doesn't have the energy to fly anymore. The medicine I am giving him is Enrocin, which is the same as the Spanish medicine Roxacin. What should I do? -- Snezana Mirkovic, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Europe YOU DO NOT mention whether bacteria was found in the crop, cloaca or feces. Like all parrots, Agapornis roseicollis (peachface lovebirds) normally have staphylococci species in their gastrointestinal system. In any case, I suspect that there may be another underlying problem. Regurgitating food, weight loss, and lethargy suggests a serious problem. Radiographs to evaluate internal organ size and location, foreign bodies, tumors and other obstructive lesions would be appropriate. Full blood evaluation and an avian chemistry panel would evaluate organ function and presence of infection. Bacterial stains and cultures would rule out or confirm pathogenic bacteria, yeast and fungi. I encourage you the arrange these diagnostic procedures and hopefully something will be found that can be treated successfully. Coughing layer could have problem Every year our 10-year-old umbrella cockatoo, Ozzy, lays a couple of eggs. It is that time of year again for her to lay and she is exhibiting an unusual symptom. Whenever she defecates she coughs simultaneously. It's almost as if she needs the added "oomph" to make it possible. I'm wondering if this is to get the mess past an egg? Is she egg bound? -- Mark Weatherby, Nanaimo, B.C., Canada THE VOCALIZATION she makes with each passing of droppings is concerning. Yes, this might be associated with her yearly egg production. I strongly advise having an experienced avian veterinarian physically examine her and, if necessary, conduct additional tests to determine whether she is egg bound or has some other problem. Hormone injections stop laying and might help cloacal prolapse My 10-month old female lovebird laid five eggs last October. She took a two-week break and laid four more eggs. We got worried and called an avian vet. This is when we found out that birds get stimulated through their beaks. I stopped kissing her on the beak. The vet also told us to remove all paper and to leave her eggs there for three weeks. Two weeks after those eggs were removed, she laid another four. This time we started hormone injections. The vet tells me that for some birds, three injections is all it takes and they stop laying eggs. Other birds require a monthly injection. She told me that birds can lead normal happy lives even though they are subjected to this on a monthly basis. Is this true, or is it torture for the bird? -- Emmanuelle Baldassarre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Our 7-year-old female umbrella cockatoo suffers from cloacal prolapse. We have had multiple sessions with our vet trying to make the area of prolapse smaller, but she always "broke through," causing her to prolapse again. Our vet recommended the surgery that you discussed, stitching it to a rib. She did well for a couple of weeks, but then re-prolapsed. We have had many avian vets look at our bird. The last vet had us use Preparation H but that did nothing but cause a mess. I have been reading numerous articles and getting advice from other avian vets about the issue, and one response was a depo shot. I know of human females getting depo shots as a form of birth control, but what about for birds? This particular vet said that it would help control her hormones, resulting in less strain on her part, hopefully ending the prolapses. She has never before laid an egg. Aside from this problem she is very healthy. -- Joseph Stuck, Pensacola, Fla. YOUR LOVEBIRD is an egg factory! Domestic chickens are selected and bred to lay every 24 hours and 15 minutes for over 200 consecutive days, but continuous laying is not normal in parrots. Wild psittacines produce one or two clutches of eggs (and hopefully young) each year. There is no doubt that some pet birds are artifically stimulated by long light periods and attention from their owners to lay too many eggs. If no other strategy has worked to shut your hen down, hormone injections are a reasonable option. They do have their risks; the endocrine system affects almost every body system and tissue, so changing the balance of hormones can be tricky. For instance, in humans too much testosterone can cause liver problems. Birth control pills can contribute to blood clots. In birds, long-acting steriods can induce sugar diabetes. That said, I have had many avian patients to which I administered monthly hormone injections. In these cases the risks of injections were less than the danger of the patient becoming egg bound. Discuss the pros and cons of hormone injections with your veterinarian and be sure you understand them before embarking on a treatment plan. Cloacal prolapse is a perplexing problem, as it often becomes chronic in spite of treatment, even surgery. If a veterinarian has not already done so, I would advise a thorough workup of your cockatoo including a parasite check, cultures for underlying bacterial infections, a blood count, a diagnostic profile and radiographs. Hopefully this will define the cause, which can then be addressed. If it turns out to be related to reproduction, shutting down that activity might help, and hormone injections can do the job. The term “depo” describes a long-acting drug that is slowly released after it is injected into the patient. There are a number of these drugs available, including corticosteroids and synthetic hormones. Xanthoma tumors won't go away My female budgie has a couple of small xanthomas on her abdomen. The vet didn't give us a great prognosis, the reason being that her entire breast was quite fatty and if they did surgery, there would be nothing for stitches to adhere to. Also, one of the bumps was ulcerated. So we were sent home with some soothing salve to put on every day for 10 days. Unfortunately, the budgie wouldn't leave it alone. So we took matters into our own hands and fashioned collars for her out of soft foam insulation covered with cloth medical tape. This is working out well, as now the ulceration is starting to heal up. We also changed her diet and she has lost weight and now the xanthomas are really visible. She is otherwise healthy, eating and playing. Can xanthomas shrink on their own or is the only alternative surgery? We don't want to put her through this if we don't have to. -- Maureen XANTHOMAS ARE cholesterol tumors (not to be confused with lipomas, which are fat tumors) that usually appear as dark yellow patches of thickened skin. Both xanthomas and lipomas are naturally occurring growths that can result from too much fat in the diet. Like any rapidly growing mass, they can ulcerate when bumped or when they outgrow their blood supply and cells die off. It was smart to collar your bird to prevent self mutilation and change her diet. The latter might reduce the size of her xanthomas, but these tumors rarely go away on their own. Some can remain present for long periods of time without need for intervention. However, you might still want to consider surgery. Once the ulcer has completely healed and your bird is at a good weight, I would arrange a follow-up evaluation with your avian veterinarian. Stress can kill birds I'd like your opinion on what happened to my 5-year-old African grey parrot. I took her to the vet after accidentally clipping a blood feather. (I had almost stopped the bleeding, but decided to have the feather pulled.) After the procedure, the vet told me my bird was slightly overweight, which increases the chance of heart problems, and that I should feed her more pellets. I asked about clipping the other wing and trimming the nails and the beak. The vet said she wouldn't use anesthesia that day because my bird was already very stressed. I said I wanted to take her home, but she assured me that grooming without anesthesia was fine, and I trusted her. During the grooming, the doctor seemed distracted by a personal conversation she was having with her assistant, and neither of them bothered to pay any attention to my struggling parrot. While her beak was being groomed, I saw my bird's eye freeze. Moments later, the vet stopped her machine because she had to change the position of the beak and then she realized, finally, that my parrot was unconcious (and probably dead, as she later admitted). They hurried her to the back and tried to revive her. The doctor said it was a heart attack. She charged me for her services and for cremation. Two weeks later when I called back to complain that she hadn't informed me that necropsy was an option, she said she still had her body if I wanted to do it. Do you think this vet was negligent to groom my bird when she was so stressed, and then did not monitor her during the grooming? -- Name withheld MY SINCERE condolences on the death of your African grey. Since I did not see or examine her, it's impossible to confirm the cause of death. However, stress is always an issue, and obesity can exacerbate the situation. Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) does occur in birds and is associated with a fatty diet, excess weight and aging. A necropsy would be necessary to determine if this was present and a predisposing factor. Unfortunately, tissues that have been frozen are only suitable for gross evaluation as freezing destroys the cell structure. I would encourage you to have a frank discussion with your vet and, if necessary, the director of the clinic about what happened. Beak 'grating' harmless Why does my cockatiel "grate" his beak or make a noise like he is grating teeth? Also why does he once in a great while open his mouth as if he were "gulping" air? -- reader BEAK GRINDING is the movement of the lower beak (aka mandible) against the underside of the upper beak, or maxilla. No one really knows why parrots do this, although some reasons I've heard floated are that it's a way to relax, or sharpen the beak. Perhaps it's merely habit or boredom. Who knows? Another possible reason is that there is some abnormality of the beak or its pattern of growth. Yawning is mostly just that, but can also indicate throat irritation. If you're worried, arrange for an appointment with your avian veterinarian to have your bird thoroughly examined. .....................
Got a question about your parrot's health? E-mail Dr. Harris. Please include your name, city and state. If chosen, your question will appear in a future Ask Dr. Harris column. Please note: The advice in this column is for informational purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat your parrot. If your bird is injured, is bleeding, or seems ill, contact your own avian vet immediately. We regret that due to the volume of mail, Dr. Harris cannot answer every question he receives. To see if he has already addressed your question, please check the archives, below. For feather plucking, see The worst of habits. 
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James M. Harris, DVM, is owner and medical director of the Mayfair Veterinary Clinic in Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Australia. Dr. Harris has served as medical director and chairman of the board for the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Berkeley, Calif., and has taught avian husbandry at the University of California Extension at Berkeley. He lectures frequently on the human-animal bond and avian breeding, medical and behavioral problems. Dr. Harris' numerous professional honors include California and National Bustad Companion Animal DVM Awards.