Merlin has a growth

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On his right foot.

At least I think so.
I just made an appointment with my CAV for Thursday.
I have to towel him to get a better look.

I will return with more info when I can

 

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I don’t know how something like this can come out of nowhere.
It could explain why Merlin has been acting frightened and scared. What puts him into panic mode.

Hopefully it’s just a fatty tumor but I don’t like the color.

I pick him up by hand almost every day.
I don’t know how I failed to spot it.

 

[nkrbkr]

I’m so sorry. Could it be bumble foot? I’m thinking of you both, and hoping for the best!

 

[kme3388]

I hope it’s nothing serious. When I used a heated perch for my Ekkie a few years back, and his claws got burned I was told to put coconut oil on them while they heal.

 

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I have had no experience with bumble foot.
I thought it only caused redness and swelling not some kind of growth.
It doesn’t resemble pictures I’ve seen of fatty tumors.

Tomorrow in the daytime I will be able to towel him and get a better look.
I tried gently to remove it like stuck on food but I didn’t try to hard without some backup.

 

[Macawdamia Nut]

My money is on bumblefoot. I have watched enough vet shows on TV to make my amateur diagnosis. When was the last time you looked at the bottom of your bird’s foot? It could have been going on for a while. If it is bumblefoot, the vet will clean it and prescribe antibiotics.

Too bad you have to wait so long for an appointment! Please let us know the professional diagnosis and course of treatment when you get it. We all learn from these cases.

 

[kme3388]

I’ve only seen bumble foot, or scars from it I should say because it was after the fact on a few parrots. It look like the above photos, and only on the bottom. In the 2 parrots that previously had issues with Bumblefoot at the shelter I was informed it was because of smooth dowels being used for perching for years on end. Not to mention when bumble foot gets bad to where you can see the black abscess on the sides if that’s what your parrot has it would be end stage (most advanced). I hope it’s just food on Merlin’s claw.

 

[texsize]

My money is on bumblefoot. I have watched enough vet shows on TV to make my amateur diagnosis. When was the last time you looked at the bottom of your bird’s foot? It could have been going on for a while. If it is bumblefoot, the vet will clean it and prescribe antibiotics.

Too bad you have to wait so long for an appointment! Please let us know the professional diagnosis and course of treatment when you get it. We all learn from these cases.

I pick him up every day but never really examined his feet.
He doesn’t like being handled so I have always tried to respect that.

The cage has a mixture of natural wood and dowel perches.
2 and 2.
But Merlin loves his swinging perch and that’s a dowel. I can easily wrap it with bandage material if you think it would help.

 

[kme3388]

Have you had a better look at this today? Is it possibly food?

The reason i ask is because of that is real true bumblefoot, it would be end stage to be able to see it on the sides of the claws. They are like pressure sores on humans. They start at the bottom of the feet in parrots where there is pressure (perching). It would involve possibly all tissues down to the bone, and even involve the bone being infected if you can see it on the sides of the claws. It would be extremely painful. Check to see if your parrot is limping. If this isn’t food you should immediately bring your parrot to the vet. It could involve life threatening issues, and surgical intervention.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I feel so bad for you and Merlin! This is all you need right now after losing Bingo so recently. Poor Merlin. That foot thing doesn't look good but maybe it's something the vet can easily cut off. It would require sedation of course so Merlin doesn't get too stressed. Maybe some lidocaine so it doesn't hurt. I would think if it was food stuck there Merlin would have cleaned it off himself. Let us know how the vet appointment goes.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I love wrapping perches in vet wrap bandages, though birds sometimes chew on the wrapping.
I don't think his dowel perches caused it just because they're dowels. Dowels are wood. I think the more important factor is whether his perches are of varying diameters, some thicker some thinner. Using only dowels, but having all the dowels of noticably different sizes I would think would prevent pressure sores. The same diameter regardless of the material could cause pressure sores.

 

[texsize]

Have you had a better look at this today? Is it possibly food?

The reason i ask is because of that is real true bumblefoot, it would be end stage to be able to see it on the sides of the claws. They are like pressure sores on humans. They start at the bottom of the feet in parrots where there is pressure (perching). It would involve possibly all tissues down to the bone, and even involve the bone being infected if you can see it on the sides of the claws. It would be extremely painful. Check to see if your parrot is limping. If this isn’t food you should immediately bring your parrot to the vet. It could involve life threatening issues, and surgical intervention.

It’s still dark here.
I need to wait until 8 am . I don’t want to be toweling him at this time unless he was bleeding to death or had broken bones.

I have leftover pain and antibiotics from Bingo. Am considering the pain meds for him .
Don’t know for sure

 

[texsize]

I love wrapping perches in vet wrap bandages, though birds sometimes chew on the wrapping.
I don't think his dowel perches caused it just because they're dowels. Dowels are wood. I think the more important factor is whether his perches are of varying diameters, some thicker some thinner. Using only dowels, but having all the dowels of noticably different sizes I would think would prevent pressure sores. The same diameter regardless of the material could cause pressure sores.

If it is bumblefoot (I am not doubting it but I’m not a vet) then I don’t think it’s there. Perches that’s the problem.

Luna and Merlin get into minor disagreement like any parrot couple I’ve seen.
One thing happens a lot.
Merlin likes sitting on his swing.
Luna likes biting and destroying the end of the swing (see the picture) .
She does this while Merlin is trying to chill and it wiggles him around.
Eventually he gets tired of constantly shifting his balance and sticks his (right) foot at Luna to grab her head and make her stop.
I think Luna bit Merlin on the foot and broke the skin.
It must have got infected.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

What picture with the swing?
It seems like Parrots' feet are their most vulnerable anatomy, I guess because they aren't protected by feathers. Birds frequently bite each others feet. My budgie Tiki lost a toe because another budgie bit it when Tiki was a fledgling and didn't respect boundaries.

 

[texsize]

What picture with the swing?
It seems like Parrots' feet are their most vulnerable anatomy, I guess because they aren't protected by feathers. Birds frequently bite each others feet. My budgie Tiki lost a toe because another budgie bit it when Tiki was a fledgling and didn't respect boundaries.

I cropped the picture too much, you can’t see the end.
Sorry.
This is the third time I have replaced that perch due to Luna’s destruction. I have #4 waiting in the wings (pun intended)
I have recorded video of this Merlin/Luna interaction around the swing but never uploaded.
The angle is bad and it’s difficult to see because the cage bars and door block it.
If I move for a better angle they stop.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

If the favorite swing requires a dowel rod you should buy a long dowel rod cheap, cut it into the correct lengths and replace the dowel part when it it gets destroyed. An alternative is to buy an oak dowel rod instead of poplar which most dowels are made from. It will last a lot longer. You can also take a tool to it and carve areas out to give the rod more diameter variation like a natural branch has. A Dremmel tool would do it, and is also good for shaping toenails, human and avian.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

What Merlin has on his foot almost looks like a wart. Warts are caused by viruses. You should Google avian warts. There's interesting information about these growths. I wonder if the growth Bingo had in his mouth is related to the growth on Merlins foot.

 

[texsize]

If the favorite swing requires a dowel rod you should buy a long dowel rod cheap, cut it into the correct lengths and replace the dowel part when it it gets destroyed. An alternative is to buy an oak dowel rod instead of poplar which most dowels are made from. It will last a lot longer. You can also take a tool to it and carve areas out to give the rod more diameter variation like a natural branch has. A Dremmel tool would do it, and is also good for shaping toenails, human and avian.

Up until now it hasn’t been a big deal.
Luna doesn’t play very much and this gave her something to chew on.

I guess if it was made out of harder wood it would lose some of its appeal for her to chew on and cause less conflict.

 

[texsize]

What Merlin has on his foot almost looks like a wart. Warts are caused by viruses. You should Google avian warts. There's interesting information about these growths. I wonder if the growth Bingo had in his mouth is related to the growth on Merlins foot.

This is something I will have to ask my CAV.

I see some similarities and that worries me.

 

[kme3388]

I hope Merlin is okay. He’s a beautiful Amazon. I will keep you both in my thoughts.