FINCHforum

Hi Everyone,

One of my male gouldians seems to have developed a swollen rump, it has progressively but slowly got larger over about 8 weeks. I noticed it when he no longer held his wings high but drooped them to the side somewhat. Otherwise he is eating, flying and in good feather and does not seem to be affected in anyway. The most accurate way of describing this would be to liken it to a female that is eggbound. He is cuurently in my aviary with other gouldians (single sepcies set up) and despite extensive research i cannot find anything that alludes to what this could be ??

If anybody has seen a similar problem in a male gouldian that is clearly not contagious then please help.

Many Thanks
Ian

Could it be that the uropygial gland (preen gland at the base of the tail) is impacted or infected?

Here's a link that basically says to use warm water to soak it and gently massage it to try to remove the blockage. http://www.justanswer.com/pet-bird/1wmd ... ogged.html

Good luck.
Julie

top or bottom of the tail area? I hope it's just the oil gland!

The top

Sounds like the preening (oil) gland. Did the link above help? Can you post a pic of the bird and the problem area?

I caught him up today and checked but there does not appear to be any swelling (or blocked gland). Its as if he positions his body this way and arched his back (which then looks like a lump). I will try and get a picture but it is strange because he never use to do this.

Perhaps it's conformational then?

Possibly but up until about 2 years age he was fine?

I shall keep an eye on him.

I am having the same issue with a 5 Y.O male Zebra finch.

His back has been quite bare for a couple of months and no additives (eggfood, greens, additional calcium or iodine in drinking water) seemed to help much. His feathers are growing back since that time, but quite slowly.

I then noticed that his uropygial gland seemed enlarged compared to the other birds.

Since them I've had to catch him and 'drain' the gland at least four times, most often with gentle rubbing combined with a warm compress. He has been quite good about this but I am aware birds don't often let on when they're feeling pain. After the procedure he seems to get back to being his normal self.

On my other finches the gland is definitely 'there' but doesn't seem as large, and on this male finch there is what can only be described as a pinkish area underneath. This leads me to believe his gland may have ruptured as the finches don't *APPEAR* to posess a wick feather from the gland.

Going to a vet is not an option as avian vets are hard to find here (NYC - and yes, I have looked) , and I couldn't afford the treatment even if there was.

I guess my questions would be:
What is discharge from this gland supposed to look like? In the case of this bird it has been pretty much white goo, the same one would expect from a human zit.

Is there any antibiotic treatment (oral or topical) recommended for an infection?

Thankyou for reading.

I can't answer your question but welcome to the Forum! I'm sure someone will be around to answer.

Here's a photo I snapped on my phone camera yesterday;

poor little guy! I don't know but it looks terribly inflamed. I hope he gets better soon. I wish I could tell you something. Fingers crossed he gets well soon!

Well I took him to a vet and it turns out he has some kind of a swelling in his abdomen which is causing a little displacement in his oil gland.

There appears to be no serious issue with the gland itself, however.


Just thought I'd follow up so that other people have some kind of reference.

It's worth noting he is a little over six years old, which is apparently a good long life for a finch. He doesn't seem to be in pain and I'm feeding him some anti-inflammatory medication to see if it makes him more comfortable.