Scabby skin - what to do?

[Kerli]

Hi all!
My cockatiel is 9 years old, always been very healthy and with absolutely flawless plumage. I wash him and the cage once a week.
A few weeks ago, he started to scream in pain while he was stretching his wings. At first I thought it was because he's changing his feathers and the new growing feathers hurt him a little. But as it kept continuing, I decided to take a look under his wings. I gave him a bath first so I could see more clearly. I noticed these scabs under the wing.. I have no idea what these are and what to do. He is acting normal - he's eating and drinking, but when he stretches and screams - it breaks my heart.
I am asking you because unortunately there's no avian vets here in Estonia, just one vet who knows very little about treating birds..
I took some photos of this condition. If anyone knows what these are, please let me know and tell me what to do. Thanks.

 

[birdmama61]

I have no idea and please get him to an avian vet and find out . If he is screaming that means that he is in pain over those things whatever they are and he needs to be seen asap by and I stress an avian vet . Please travel out of estonia and find one . Im sure there is one located in a country near you .

 

[suebee]

awww poor thing it looks so painfull, i've read you can use aloe vera on birds, but before using, please use pure, diluted with water, as some forms have alcohol as a preservative, this might help sooth the problem, but it really needs a vet.

hope problem resolves itself soon or you find a vet that can, please keep us up dated

 

[henpecked]

There are some online vet services on the internet,maybe try one of these and see want they say.If you still need help let us know and maybe we can show these photos to one of our vets and see what they say. Please let us know what happens.The more history you can provide the better the answers.I will check back on here and see what you have to say.

 

[Riio]

so i was just on-line trying to find some answers for you, and I came across your post and pictures elsewhere! LOL Soooo I guess your doing just as good of a job trying to find answers as I would! I hope someone can help you, good luck!!
Sorry I dont have anything helpful for you!

 

[kerry]

How do you "wash" him once a week?
Do you use only fresh water?

 

[Kerli]

Thank you all for your answers!

I wash him by using a spray bottle (I do not use the shower head) and I always use clean, slightly warm water. From time to time he can use a bird bath.

I have posted my problem in several bird forums around the world, I'm trying to get as many opinions that I can. I will search for avian vets online, maybe they are kind enough to watch the photos and say what they think.

In other bird forums some think that maybe he is stressed and have pulled some feathers out. He is definitely not plucking his feathers, he's never done it and I've been keeping an eye on him for a while now - I haven't seen any unusual behaviours yet. He looks happy and normal - he is eating well and drinking enough water. He maybe looks a little tired (but he usually is while changing feathers).

Our vet said it could be parasites and we could try using antiparasitics (xeno mini drops). I'd rather not use any drugs on him, so I want to try some natural solutions before anything else. I will try the camomille tea tonight and check the skin again. Maybe I'll be able to take some better pictures of the skin too. I'll keep you updated.

PS! Does anybody know how to use aloe vera - oil? drops? gel? Do I need them from pharmacy or can I use the gel straight from aloe leaf and do I need dilute it with water?

 

[Kerli]

I was thinking the other day and - parrots can have allergies, right? Could it be an allergy to something?

I have sprayed the spots with camomille tea and right now I gave him a bath with a bit of pure aloe. We'll see how it goes. He seems to be okay, he was really active yesterday - he sang and danced all day long!
I gave a closer look to the skin today and I found a few scabs on his back. But neverthless it seems a little better to me - those scabs look smaller than they were before and he doesn't scream that often while stretching his wings.

I will keep using these methods as I don't want to use any medicines before I am sure what it is.

 

[suebee]

Swimmer's itch. DermNet NZ

What is Swimmer

long shot with this, but i would use the anti parasite drugs, as parasites will surely weaken your bird

as for aloe vera, there are 2 types an one is toxic! so be sure its safe before using from plant

keep us up dated

 

[Spiritbird]

I suggest you not use anything until your bird is seen by a vet. You could make it worse. Aloe in the spray is for inflammatory conditions only. You could be dealing with a fungus and or parasites like said by others.

Xanthomas

Xanthomas are yellow to orange thickened, dimpled patches of skin composed of lipids and cholesterol accumulation. The pectoral (breast area), thighs, and wing tips are the most frequently affected. Xanthomas are often invasive as well destructive. Most prevalent in budgies, cockatiels and cockatoos. The cause of xanthomas is unknown at the present time, but high fat diets may be contributory.

http://www.parrots.org/index.php/forumsandexperts/answers/cockatiel_with_yellow_patches_on_skin/

http://the-vet.net/documents/information/Skin_and_feather_problems_in_birds.htm

 

[kerry]

When I did research it sounded like a fungus or Giardia.
I also believe that you should take him to the vet NOW.
He is obviously in pain from this & it is not ok to let it go on that way for him.

 

[Pedro]

Take your bird to your local vet, he will be able to take some scrapings of the lesions & have a look under the microscope, if he isn't sure he should consult with an Avian Vet to get to the bottom of your teils problem & medicate accordingly. I know thats how things are done for me when a problem arises.

 

[Kerli]

I have been reading alot about diseases - unfortunately there aren't alot of pictues up in the internet so I haven't recognised anything like that just yet. The symptoms don't match. He's droppings are normal, he isn't itching, plucking or cleaning his feathers more than usually. He is drinking and eating normally and acting just as he always does.
My tiel is really sensitive to new situations or places, so I think travelling out of Estonia and overseas to a vet would put him under alot of stress and make the situation worse. Our own vet just said we could try antiparasitics..
As I said - he seems really happy - it doesn't seem to bother him right now and he doesn't scream anymore as if in pain when he stretches his wings. The new feathers are growing in and it looks alot better than before.
I'll keep an eye on him, we'll try to treat the skin with camomille and aloe vera and consult vets online and see how it goes.

 

[Spiritbird]

Please see a living avain vet that has an office. Birds may act normally but be very ill. How do you know these vets on line are avain certified or even vets at all? You are very trusting. Good luck and I pray your bird recovers.

 

[Kerli]

As I have said, that I don't even trust a 'living' vet (the only one dealing with avians here in Estonia), who just told us to use antiparasitics, so you really can't say I am very trusting.
Contacting vets online doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to act like they tell me to. I'm just looking for different opinions. Couldn't hurt.

It is so easy to say "go to a vet" and I wouldn't be here writing to ask for your experiences and advice, if there'd be an avian vet located in my country, who is certain what are we dealing with..

 

[Auggie's Dad]

No need for an avian vet, any vet should be able to take a skin scraping of one of those scabs and look for parasites, eggs, fungal spores, or bacteria.

The better the identification the better the treatment can be tailored, but just finding out if it is parasite, fungal, or bacterial would help quite a bit. Each of these categories will have broad spectrum treatments available but if you treat a fungus as if it's a bacteria, or a parasite as a fungus, you could make it worse.

Again, any local vet should be able to this much - or even anyone with some biological training and a simple microscope on hand.

 

[Remy]

What Auggies Dad said!

Have your vet take a sample and find out what it is. That shouldn't be too hard, and they should have done it already! They shouldn't even have to be an avian vet to do that. He also should have some contact with an avian vet himself, and should be able to at least ask them questions.

 

[Harrybasford]

Wow, i just read this now im on edge, it ended really suddenly, how is that beautiful cockatiel?

 

[Kerli]

Hey guys! Sorry for not posting anything for a while.

Update on us: we are doing wonderful!! Scabs are gone, feathers have grown back and he looks absolutely gorgeous!

We still have no idea what it was though.
Avian vet Ross Perry was kind enough to look at some pictures and he thought it might be an unusual aspergillus fungal skin infection.
Our vet still insisted it's parasites, but I was positive he was wrong so we didn't treat him for that.
I actually think it might have been xanthomas. We changed the diet and continued with soothing baths. Seems like it has worked well

Here are some photos of him when the condition was at it's worst point:

We are so happy that's all gone now!

Here he is! My beautiful boy!