Struggling with Rosie's tumor

Featheredsamurai

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Rosie has a fatty tumor that won't go away, and is even growing in size :( I've followed my vets advice(for multiple reasons) and removed grains from her diet. I also make her fly around the house daily. Several times a week I take her out in her harness with a friend so she can fly longer distances. She eats fresh veggies, frozen organic veggies, very little fruit, and no bread or grains. I only feed her healthy foods. I'm very worried about her liver, and have the vet do test to check it every visits which have all come back with good results so far.

I free feed Rosie her Harrison's all day, I'm going to try feeding her a smaller amount. I try to feed her a amount she is just finishing by bed time, it will be hard giving her less that she'll finish in the early evening.

I also weigh Rosie daily, she now weighs approximately 301 grams, too much for her. I believe this is a combination of the increasing fatty tumor and her growing muscle mass on the left side of her chest(she favors it greatly because of her bad leg and it's much smaller than the right side)

Just really sucks, I try so hard to feed her right, make sure she gets her exercise, and keep her healthy but that stupid tumor slowly grows and is so fatty looking. If that tumor at least shrinks I'll feel better about the safety of her liver.

Hopefully it will start to improve soon, seeing it continue to very slowly grow is dreadful.
 

MikeyTN

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I'm sorry to hear that!!!! Hopefully she'll improve for you soon!!! :(
 
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Featheredsamurai

Featheredsamurai

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Thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it!
I'm going to give her less free fed pellets and the same amount of fresh food and see how it goes. Hopefully in a few weeks/month it will shrink. If not I'm going to contact her avian vet for more advice and what we can do.

@momtopercy
Fatty rumors can be removed, but usually that is a last resort when the tumor is so large that it is affecting the way they live their daily life. Although Rosie's is fairly large(I'll try to get a pick tomorrow) it's not hindering her day to day life at all and she doesn't show any reaction to it.
 
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Betrisher

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Here's what Dommie's tumours looked like about six months ago.

They're about half that size now, but were twice as big when he first came. He weighed 500gms, but is now down to just over 400gms. Dom has as many pellets as he wants and a modest (half a cup) serving of mixed veggies every day. No seeds unless I slip him a sunflower seed when the Beaks are training. No fruit, unless it's a single nip out of something I'm eating.

Please keep us informed of Rosie's progress! Dommie and I send our very best wishes for her success! :)
 

Betrisher

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Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
f49a9fa0-72fb-4f14-9006-c0c437e1b155_zps9b00240f.jpg
 

Betrisher

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Sorry I had to add the pic separately. :eek: It kept getting turned into text characters and PF was telling me my message was too long.

Our vet refuses to remove Dom's tumours because he reckons it would be too much strain on an older bird (25 - 30 years) and the outcome couldn't be guaranteed.
 

Betrisher

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Dommie's were caused by neglect. He was fed exclusively on sunflower seed for nearly ten years. Thankfully, the vet says his liver is fine, but we must shrink the tumours down to give him the best chance of health. He's a work in progress! :)
 

TessieB

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Fatty tumors are fat cells that decided to behave in an abnormal manner. Normally fat is distributed as evolution dictates is best for the survival of a particular species. Hence, human females have thunder thighs, fleshy hips and so forth. As to why some animals develop fatty tumors is a mystery. It could be genetics. It could be diet. Although I've seen some athletic individuals have fatty tumors.

The fatty tumor, however, has decided to become it own entity. Instead of providing the body with energy, the fatty tumor has become parasitic. If allowed, the fatty tumor will press on organs, nerves, air sacs and deprive the affected body of nutrients. Eventually, the victim will lose muscle mass, mobility, and began to experience a poor quality of life.

Many vets do elect to not remove these type of tumors on the avian patient, as they may not have surgical experience and are reluctant to cut on a bird. Surgery is always a risk in any patient, and the decision is up to the owner. Smaller birds usually do not fair well when a large fatty tumor is removed.

Never hurts to get a second opinion from another avian veterinarian.

Give Rosie a 'scritch' for me.
 

BoomBoom

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I'm so sorry to hear about the tumor. I didn't know galahs were prone to them. Where is it located?

Hope she gets better soon. Somehow the ones who are well taken care of always end up with some complication.
 

Kalidasa

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I know you're trying all sorts if things, and hopefully something works for her. Have you ever considered taking her off pellets entirely for a period of time to see if it has a positive impact? You could always supplement her with liquid vitamins if you're worried about deficiency. Pellets are a good thing, but with everything, too much of a thing can be bad as well. They are after all, a processed food. Yes they contain vitamins and such, which is why they're fed. But they are still a processed food, and perhaps she's sensitive to some of the ingredients. She'll probably get pissed at first, but she'll adapt and eat other foods, such as fresh vegetables and greens. Or limit them. Actually, pellets are something I regulate by handfeeding in the morning. After about 5 minutes of that, we move on to fresh veggies, greens, and fruit. How old is she btw? I know she's an older bird, but how old?
Ok I just looked and saw she's 21. :)
 
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Blancaej

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So sorry both you and Rosie are going through this. You are an excellent parront and always go above and beyond! I hope you can get the tumor to shrink. Keep us posted. Sending many hugs your way!
 

Jayyj

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Is Rosie on the High Potency Harrisons? I'm just wondering if the Lifetime version might work better? It's hard to find hard info about the two types and I've always gone for the High Potency but might be worth looking into what the differences are.

Sorry you're having these problems with her.
 
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Featheredsamurai

Featheredsamurai

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Here's what Dommie's tumours looked like about six months ago.

They're about half that size now, but were twice as big when he first came. He weighed 500gms, but is now down to just over 400gms. Dom has as many pellets as he wants and a modest (half a cup) serving of mixed veggies every day. No seeds unless I slip him a sunflower seed when the Beaks are training. No fruit, unless it's a single nip out of something I'm eating.

Please keep us informed of Rosie's progress! Dommie and I send our very best wishes for her success! :)
Wow! His was very large, it's fantastic to know it is improving! That gives me a lot of hope. That's crazy he lost 100 grams! I'll try just giving Rosie half a cup of veggies.

Many vets do elect to not remove these type of tumors on the avian patient, as they may not have surgical experience and are reluctant to cut on a bird. Surgery is always a risk in any patient, and the decision is up to the owner. Smaller birds usually do not fair well when a large fatty tumor is removed.

Never hurts to get a second opinion from another avian veterinarian.

Give Rosie a 'scritch' for me.
My vet only see's avian's, the local parrot rescue goes to her, falconers go to her, She see's chickens, ducks, and even peafowl, and of course many parronts. If I asked her and really pushed it she would be willing to remove the tumor, but I agree with her that it's not to the point where surgical removal should be considered. I took a photo that I'll post a little further down.

If the tumor was larger, and I felt it should be removed but my vet pushed against that I would go see the other avian vet.

awww. poor Rosie, and YOU!....I looked it up and came across this, don't know if this will help, but hoping it might.

Fat Tumours or Fatty Tumors: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Thanks for the link! I'm going to go check it out right now!

I'm so sorry to hear about the tumor. I didn't know galahs were prone to them. Where is it located?

Hope she gets better soon. Somehow the ones who are well taken care of always end up with some complication.
Yup, galahs are prone to several different fat related ailments. Like Dommie, Rosie was cared for badly. When I adopted her she was in terrible shape - emaciated, had organ failure, calcium deficiency, learned hopelessness. The first two years I had her I struggled just to get her weight up, kinda ironic that now it's the opposite.

Tumors are often located behind the legs, which is were Rosie(and also Dommie's) is
tumblr_n06dujWTOt1rs86coo4_500.png


the tumor disturbs the way the feathers sit, but is not yet visible without the feathers being parted(unless she's all puffy and preening in that area or tail)
tumblr_n06dujWTOt1rs86coo2_500.jpg



I know you're trying all sorts if things, and hopefully something works for her. Have you ever considered taking her off pellets entirely for a period of time to see if it has a positive impact? You could always supplement her with liquid vitamins if you're worried about deficiency. Pellets are a good thing, but with everything, too much of a thing can be bad as well. They are after all, a processed food. Yes they contain vitamins and such, which is why they're fed. But they are still a processed food, and perhaps she's sensitive to some of the ingredients. She'll probably get pissed at first, but she'll adapt and eat other foods, such as fresh vegetables and greens. Or limit them. Actually, pellets are something I regulate by handfeeding in the morning. After about 5 minutes of that, we move on to fresh veggies, greens, and fruit. How old is she btw? I know she's an older bird, but how old?
Ok I just looked and saw she's 21. :)
I won't completely remove pellets from her diet, but I can see where your going and agree that pellets are processed. She gets a combination of harrison's as well as totally organics, I'll try just giving her TOPS for today and see if she'll eat them(generally they're ignored).

So sorry both you and Rosie are going through this. You are an excellent parront and always go above and beyond! I hope you can get the tumor to shrink. Keep us posted. Sending many hugs your way!
Thankyou! :heart:
 
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Featheredsamurai

Featheredsamurai

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Rosie's been out all morning on her java stand, when I put her back in her cage she only had TOPS which she is totally eating! Yay! So I'll try just feeding that this month and see how it goes along along with the other restrictions.
 

Terry57

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I am so sorry for what you and Rosie are going through. You are doing everything humanly possible to help her, and I can't help but believe that is what will make the difference. Sending good thoughts and many hugs your way, and many scritches to Rosie.
 

aether-drifter

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I have read about fatty tumors being successfully removed. I would monitor it closely, and if it gets to a point where it's a danger to her, seek out an avian vet who is experienced in this type of surgery. It could be nothing you are doing wrong, diet-wise. Sounds to me like she gets plenty of exercise and eats very healthy. I suppose if you're worried about her pellet intake, just ration what she gets for the day into her bowl (or better yet, foragers!) and then let her eat veggies to her heart's content.
 

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