Advice needed while waiting!

[Dokkaebi]

Hey all!

Not sure if this is the right thread. But asking advice on a possible mutilation injury and general advice for picking while we wait for appointment! My boy has an injury on one of his base tail feather follicles. It looks inflamed.

I have made a vet appointment but the earliest I can get is next Monday so I thought I'd ask here any opinions to make sure it isn't an emergency!

He is having some issues with picking feathers at the moment. Vet suspects it could be fatty liver disease (she said it is very common for Hahn's) and we are getting him tested in the new year.

He is going through his first ever molt right now so times are very unpleasant for the itchy boi.

He eats a good varied chop mix with pellets and no seeds (vet said cut seeds out entirely). He gets plenty of attention and is utterly spoiled and has plenty rotated toys; however he seems to have attachment anxiety which I am trying to work on since I work long days over the weekends. I'm going to move him into better light in a warmer room today.

Any advice is very much appreciated. Especially on how to deal with the separation anxiety.

Bonus boi being a cutie!

 

[Owlet]

Good news! I'm pretty sure that's the preen gland. BAD NEWS, that white dot on it isn't normal but it looks more like a cyst rather than a mutilation injury. I'm not sure if cysts can be linked to fatty liver or not.

Edit: Tried finding some images of a preen gland for you but it's surprisingly difficult. Most pictures I am finding are usually of a preen gland thats not in good condition and they vary in appearance from species to species. Here's an owl's

Edit 2: this is the best picture i could find from a parrot. Naked budgie.

 

[HeatherG]

At first I thought there was a seed hull sitting there.

Providing bathing opportunities could be helpful to encourage grooming all over body.

 

[Dokkaebi]

@Owlet Oh my goodness, I thought it was a very swollen follicle! Thank you so much, I leaned some new bird anatomy today! Hopefully the cyst isn't too urgent. I will keep an eye on it until the appointment on Monday

@HeatherG Absolutely! We just had a shower, I'll give him baths more often in that case. Thank you!

 

[HeatherG]

The little white swelling honestly looks a lot like a zit. If you think that the preen gland fills with and exudes skin oil through a “wick” of feather, what would happen if the preen gland got irritated? Basically a pimple. Does it seem to hurt your macaw?

I adopted a very plucked cherry headed conure and I think a preen gland irritation was the source of much of his plucking. He had been underfed and left so long without bathing that the gland seemed impacted. Poor boy.

 

[Owlet]

@Owlet Oh my goodness, I thought it was a very swollen follicle! Thank you so much, I leaned some new bird anatomy today! Hopefully the cyst isn't too urgent. I will keep an eye on it until the appointment on Monday

@HeatherG Absolutely! We just had a shower, I'll give him baths more often in that case. Thank you!

it doesnt look urgent. the area around it isnt red and the puss looks like a normal color. Doesnt look irritated or infected. It's no different than a pimple youd get on your face.