Strange lump

[Jayne]

Good day all...

I've been lurking here for awhile and absolutely love this forum.

I have a question regarding my 8 year old rehomed cockatiel.
Lately....I will uncover her and she looks normal, alert, chirping at me....eating, drinking and poops look normal. Within half hour of her being uncovered a lump appears on her lower back....she will not and has never allowed me to pet her back...I know that is no no to prevent breeding/nesting behaviors....she is also having no trouble walking, hoppin and flying....
She then comes out of her cage for her morning luvin......she is spunky, preening me....doing everything she normally does...when I put her away (after 2 hours) to go about business or chores she goes to the bottom of her cage and lays there....and it sounds like she is crying...she is not puffed up or lethargic...if I approach the cage she gets up and goes to her perch so I can pet her...the lump appears to be gone....

After another half and hour its back....i'm not sure if its displaced feathers underneath or what....she seems to be able to control the appearance of this lump...

Can anyone advise.....we do not have an avian vet close by

[birdlady49]

I had a female cockatiel with a "lump" near the bottom of her back. I think it was a result of poor posture ... a female bird's version of osteoporosis.

I'd just keep a watch on her and make sure nothing changes -- that she keeps eating, drinking, pooping, and having a happy attitude.

Feel her keel bone (the bone that runs down the center of her chest) on a regular basis (weekly) to make sure she's not losing weight.

[tre]

Sounds like it's just her feathers, rather than an actual lump on her body. The feathers on birds are able to puff out, slim down and move according to their mood. Birds sometimes make little squeaks, especially females, so it doesn't seem like she is crying. If you have a digital camera, can you take some pictures of the lump and post them in your reply?

[Jayne]

Thank you all for your responses.....

I will try and get a pic of her tonight while she is out having her evening luvin...with and without the lump....

She spent two hours with me this am and no lump....i put her back in her cage and lump.....its approximately the size of a small egg.....

[Jayne]

It is really hard to capture pics of a fid who won't stop moving....

This first one is no lump....

http://wwwdesigns.netfirms.com/images/just-suzy.jpg

This one cause she looks so content

http://wwwdesigns.netfirms.com/images/just-suzy-2.jpg

This is the best I can get at the moment of her lump, it is not a big at it has been
http://wwwdesigns.netfirms.com/images/suzy-lump.jpg


Should I be worried about her bottom of the cage dwelling?...she is not fluffed up, she comes up frequently to eat and drink and get pets if i'm near the cage and to poop, she does go down there into the corner lifts her tail against the side of the cage and goes to sleep... I do know at night she stays on her perch

[Beaks]

could be a problem with the air sac which would need to be taken care of by a vet.

[tielfan]

The air sac is what I thought of too; if it was a tumor it wouldn't come and go. They showed a video about this problem at bird club a while back. I forget exactly what the problem is called, but basically air leaks out of an air sac and puffs the bird's skin up like a balloon. If I remember right, they said it generally isn't a serious problem but if it's interfering with the bird's quality of life it can be surgically corrected.

[Monica]

It seems to me that a vet visit might be in order...

[Lisa B]

Originally Posted by tielfan

The air sac is what I thought of too; if it was a tumor it wouldn't come and go. They showed a video about this problem at bird club a while back. I forget exactly what the problem is called, but basically air leaks out of an air sac and puffs the bird's skin up like a balloon. If I remember right, they said it generally isn't a serious problem but if it's interfering with the bird's quality of life it can be surgically corrected.

I have seen this too, and agree, your baby needs to be seen by a qualified avian vet. It does appear to be air sac related.

Ventilation and the air sacs
Unlike mammals, birds do not possess a muscular diaphragm, and the lungs do not act as a pair of bellows. The design of the avian respiratory system is extraordinarily efficient, so that birds can extract sufficient oxygen for life even while undertaking strenuous exercise at altitudes of up to 7 or even 8 Km.

While the relative weight of the lungs is comparable to that seen in mammals, their relative volume is only one-tenth. This is because air flows through the lungs in a constant one-way stream, unlike mammals and reptiles where there is an inefficient tidal ebb and flow.

In addition the exchange surface (ie distance from air to blood) is much thinner in birds.

A major feature of the respiratory system of birds is pneumatisation of the long bones, the vertebral column and even the skull. These air spaces connect with the air sacs (below).

The air flow is a complex circulation involving pumping action of thin-walled air sacs in the thorax and abdomen. These extend into the long bones: in the 18th century John Hunter showed that birds could still breath with a blocked windpipe provided one of the long bones (he tried both the femur and the humerus) was connected to the outside air. Most of the major bones of the body connect with the air sac system. This gives lightness as well as being a reservoir of oxygen.

The major features of the respiratory system are as follows.
The nostrils are generally at the base of the upper mandible. There is no soft palate and both the oropharynx and the choanal opening pass air to the glottis to enter the larynx.

The trachea connects this to the syrinx, the site of vocalization generally at the tracheal bifurcation. This has three potential vibrating surfaces, which explains why birds like Magpies can sing complex harmonies of different pitch simultaneously. Birds vary considerably in the musculature and anatomy of the syrinx and this of course reflects the potential complexity of their vocalisation.

The primary bronchi connect the syrinx to each lung, but the air passes through in the mesobronchi to the abdominal and posterior (caudal) thoracic air sacs. These lie ventro-lateral to the abdominal viscera: between the intestines and the abdominal wall. In addition there are paired anterior air sacs and a single interclavicular air sacarising from the mesobronchi, but there is considerable variation on this basic pattern between species.

From the caudal air sacs the air now flows cranially through the lungs by dorsobronchi and ventrobronchi. These branch out into a complex arrangement of air capillaries or parabronchi. Blood capillaries in the walls of these flow counter to the air stream, allowing for a highly efficient gas exchange.

The stale air then passes to the anterior air sacs and to an unpaired interclavicular air sac, whence it discharges via the trachea.

There is thus a four-beat cycle to respiration:--

(1) First inhalation. Air passes to the posterior air sacs, with expansion of the abdomen.

(2) First exhalation. The abdomen contracts forcing air through the lungs.

(3) Second inhalation. As the abdomen expands again the stale air in the lungs is forced out to the anterior sacs.

(4) Second exhalation. Contraction of the abdomen and anterior sacs drives stale air out of the trachea while fresh air floods into the exchange region.

[birdsnreps]

first off, your baby is cute!! second, sorry, but i dont know much about the air sac problem, but i think her bottom cage dwelling is a mating behavior. shes certainly able to breed at 8 years old, and since im assuming she doesnt have a nestbox, she may be going to the bottom of the cage and pretending its a nesting area. females will make really cute, quiet squeeky noises when they are horny, lol. my pet, poopy, is a female tiel, she makes those noises when i pick her up and play with her sometimes. friends of mine with tiels also say their pet females will go to the bottom of the cage to lay eggs, and they will actually sit on them, on the bottom of the floor, lol, so its very common for a tiel to display their breeding behaviors.