Question with plucking/tumors

Virdilak · Post by **Virdilak** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:09 am

I will try to keep this short as possible..

I have, over the past few years, encountered a problem with my finches. Some of them will pluck out the feathers on their lower back to the base of their tail, exposing the preen gland. This has happened with two society finches, two spice finches, and now with a zebra finch. All also developed tumors that eventually killed them. Most lived for some time with the plucking before the tumors were evident. Because this same thing has happened with multiple species, I always assumed it was from a shared source - our water is known to have a high radium count, and while it is safe(ish) for human consumption, the birds were switched to bottled water-only some months ago. No one in the home smokes. No chemicals are used near the birds. They are in a new flight and since the first society showed these signs, there have been three different apartments.

I know for certain that the first finch to develop these problems died from a massive tumor on her abdomen - a necropsy was done after the shock of taking her into the vet killed her (literally dying in the vet's hands). Since then, I have decided to let the afflicted birds live out their days in less stress with their friends, rather than another vet visit.

Some of the finches live a long time while the tumor swells - the second society carried one so large I was surprised he was able to fly with it, and lived with it for a long time. One spice finch passed quickly (before the plucking and tumor were noticed, to be honest - it wasn't until I found the body that I found the problem), but the other has had the problem for months now.

Has anyone had experience with this phenomenon? Any advice?

I am especially concerned at the moment because the afflicted zebra - just discovered yesterday - may be trying to lay. I am concerned that if it is tumors she may become egg bound easier. If there is something that I can do to prevent more of my birds from developing these problems, I certainly wish to do so.

As I said, all are on bottled drinking water, but aside from owls from out of state and a clutch of zebras that were bred after the switch, all the birds (six of the thirteen - zebras, societies, spices) drank the tap water, some for years without showing any signs of back/tail plucking or tumors. Could it be that some of the birds are just predisposed to this?

Any advice or insight is appreciated.

Post by **Hilary** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:54 pm

Were the tumors found in different places on different birds, or always on the tail area? I had a gould hen I bought after her tail had been plucked, and she would develop a mass around the preen gland that turned out to be ingrown feathers - she'd try to regrow the tail, but it was such a mess that what feathers did grow didn't grow correctly and she'd get a hard mass of (sorry to be graphic) pus on her lower back. On the advice of a vet I was able to successfully drain/pop it (sorry, eew), but the 3rd or 4th time it happened it turned out to be too stressful and I lost her. Could it be something like that - related to the plucking - or do you suspect cancer-type tumors?

Virdilak · Post by **Virdilak** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:28 am

I suspect cancerous tumors. While the upper back/tail area is plucked, the tumors always appear between the legs, so I don't think the preen gland is the problem. The vet said that, in the case of the finch I took to him, she had plucked her back away because the tumor was hurting her and there was no other way to access it. It was large enough that it was compressing the nerves in her legs, making standing difficult.

Post by **Hilary** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:53 pm

Oh wow. Poor things! Hopefully those you got after the switch won't have the same problem. I haven't encountered this one - hope somebody has some useful advice! I guess do what you can to discourage egglaying from your zebra - no nests, nesting materials or inviting seed cups?

Virdilak · Post by **Virdilak** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 10:05 pm

Right. She wasn't showing evidence whenI let her raise a clutch, but since then, we've done all we cvan to discourage breeding short of seperating her from her mate, kids, and flockmates. She got the hint when the eggs kept being removed minutes after she layed them.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 11:23 pm

In order to get a better idea of what might be going on, you should consider submitting your future dead birds (with suspected tumors) for histopathology. Your vet can do a necropsy and submit just the tumor or submit the entire bird (because it is so small), and the histopathology lab will look at the tissues (microscopically) and will often be able to tell you what kind of tumor is present...knowing the kind of tumor will provide a list of differentials for causes, which will give you a better idea of how to prevent this from happening again.

In addition to the water source, you may also want to consider that some tumors are associated with oncogenic viruses.