Hypothetical question: Spaying and Neutering?

[bustersbuddy]

Hi,

First, thanks for this board! I've been a member for about a week and I have learned a lot from the posts. Here's my hypothetical question: In your opinions, is it possible to spay or neuter a pet bird? Many of you have mentioned "hormonal" behaviors, unwanted egg laying by unmated hens, etc. I can't imagine that surgery of this type would be possible (the ovaries and testes must be soooo tiny!) or even desirable, but thought the question might bring about some interesting responses.

Best to all,

Buster's Buddy

[Dayna]

I have heard of it in egg laying hens. However I think it waw a last resort kind of thing as it is very very dangerous.

I can't recall where I saw the article, maybe Scott Ford can weigh in on it. I will pm him.

[The Outlaw]

It is extremely dangerous to "spay" a hen. Their reproductive organs are tangled up with other vital organs. The possibility of error is too high.

[Monica]

From my understanding, it's possible to "FIX" a female parrot, but it's used more or less as a last resort to keep her from producing eggs. Normally in something like this, she produces many small eggs within her body, but never lays them... and if not removed, she would ultimately succumb to death.

As far as male parrots being fixed, I don't think it's possible?

[akeaglevet]

This is a good question. First, let's clear up some anatomical and surgical terms. In dogs and cats, spaying (or ovariohysterectomy) refers to removal of the uterus, uterine horns, fallopian tubes, and ovaries-- the whole shootin' match. In neutering, just the testicles are removed. In birds, we sometimes remove the oviduct (including the uterus or "shell gland") but removing the ovary is risky and difficult so it is generally left in place. This surgery is called a "salpingohysterectomy" or "SHE" for short. Birds almost always only develop an oviduct and ovary on the left side of the body and not the right. There are techniques described for performing SHEs on juvenile birds endoscopically. The vessels and structures are small and bleeding is minimal in juveniles. However, it has not turned into a routine operation partly due to cost, partly due to the level of expertise required (the average practitioner is not sufficiently proficient on endoscopic surgery), and partly due to fact that any surgery has risk and is generally reserved for an "as-needed" basis in birds. There is also a long-term risk to consider, namely that the birds can still ovulate internally since the ovary is left in place. I perform SHEs on birds that have reproductive disease such as egg-binding, infection of the oviduct, cysts, cancer, egg-yolk peritonitis, etc. Occassionally we have need to remove the ovary too but the surgery is very risky and difficult due to the intimate association of the ovary with the vena cava-- one of the largest veins in the body. Complicating matters further is the position of the ovary way down deep in the body close to the spine. Not for the surgeon faint of heart! For similar reasons, removal of the testes is not routine either.

Generally, "hormonal" behavior problems can be managed, mostly, through modification of the diet, environment, and owner-bird social interactions. Diet should be low in calories and fat, the environment should not have features that encourage breeding (boxes, access to cupboards, access to burrowing sites like laundry piles), and social interaction should be social (some casual petting, trick training, playing) and not sexual (long caressing sessions, feeding from the mouth, feeding of soft foods). Even riding around on the shoulder a lot, which seems casual to us, can be construed as intimate contact to your average adult parrot (think about it-- you are face to face. You don't see birds doing this naturally unless they are juveniles or are pairing off to mate). So, in reality, it comes around to a problem with us and the environment we provide. Avoiding "hormonal" behavior problems is as much a people-training challenge as it is a parrot-training challenge. The bird just responds according to the environmental, dietary, and social signals we send to them.