Goffin2 with hemorrhoids

[Brisch]

I have a Goffin2, Liam, he is a rescue between 5-10 years. I am his 3rd owner. When I got him he was a mess, he had mutilated his chest to the point that if I hadn't taken him from where he was he would've bled to death. He is now doing much better, although he lives 75% of the time in a cone to prevent plucking.

Recently he has started having hemorrhoids. Yes the first thing I did was take a picture and take him to the vet the next day. In the mean time I treated him with Canadian preperationH, which is safe for birds. The next day it was gone, I took him to the vet anyways. I showed the picture and the vet said it looks like a hemorrhoid, we did a fecal test just in case. Test came back normal.

This has since happened again 1-2 more times, each time he gets itchy and a tiny bit of blood is apparent on the feathers around his vent. I again put some prepH on it so it isnt as itchy. I did the tests i needed to do. I am wondering if it is normal for male birds to get hemorrhoids? The vet was not concerned, and yes she is an avian vet. Should I be worried about this or am I just worrying for nothing?

 

[Brisch]

heres some videos of Liam
brie schlenker - YouTube

 

[Betrisher]

Your Liam is a beautiful boy! He's been through a lot in his short life and perhaps it's stress that's causing his troubles? You don't say how long you've had Liam, but it can take months for some birds to settle in completely and start to show improvements when on a better diet and environment. I'm not a vet or anything, but I do know the first consideration with haemorrhoids is a high fibre diet to prevent hard stools. You also don't say what you're feeding Liam, so I assume he gets pellets, fruit and vegetables? Does Liam eat his fruit and veggies every day? What's his poop like? If he's doing very large or dry stools, you might try giving him a very little lettuce in his daily veg ration. If the vet reckons PrepH is not harmful, then try a tiny dab every day until his vent is completely clear and his poops are good.

Another suggestion you might care to research is a thing called a 'sock buddy'. All it consists of is an ordinary sock with holes cut for the bird's head and wings. The theory is that it covers the plucked areas so the bird can't get at them and gives the skin a chance to heal and feathers to grow if there are any follicles left. I think a sock buddy is probably going to be a lot more comfortable than a cone and may be kinder to a bird who is (or has been) stressed or ill. If you click on 'Search' in the forum's toolbar, you can seek out posts and photos on 'sock buddy' here, or you can google it or search on YouTube. Someone out there is selling sock buddies for profit, but they're so easy to make, why would you want to buy one? If you do decide to go with a sock buddy for Liam, keep an eye on him to see how he handles the sock. If he gets fond of pulling out loose threads, he'll need to be watched in case he ingests them or gets his feet tangled. One member (from memory) found she had to use two socks on her bird to completely stop him from plucking. There have been many reports of birds growing most of their feathers back after a sock buddy, so it might be worth trying for Liam? If his follicles are too damaged for his feathers to grow back, then the sock buddy at least protects his modesty and will keep him warm.

I hope the poor little bloke recovers from his haemorrhoids quickly! My Dad had them and he spent an awful lot of time swearing about the discomfort! Please keep us informed of Liam's progress, won't you? He looks like such a sweet little bloke and doesn't deserve to be less than perfectly healthy.

 

[Kiwibird]

My parents goffin gets hemorrhoids during mating season when he becomes a butt (no pun intended) and screeches a lot more than usual. The vet said his are a direct result of the extra screaming (and you can se them pop out when he screams real loud). During the regular year, he doesn't get them, but when he's hormonal he screeches until his bottom bleeds. He's around 40 years old, and has gotten them as long as I can remember and hasn't suffered anything more than temporary discomfort until they go away. But he is an overall really healthy bird who's been in the same family getting proper care his whole life and has never had health issues besides "seasonal" hemorrhoids.

If your bird is a screamer, that may be a cause of it, but given his background, I side with Betrisher that it is likely dietary and possibly just the stress his body is under being in a new home and recovering from all those injuries. Even if you've been feeding him properly since you adopted him, parrots are fragile creatures and it can take a long time to reverse the effects of years of neglect. However, I don't think the hemorrhoids are a serious issue (especially if an avian vet isn't concerned) you need to worry over. One thing I do ask is did the vet recommend you put preparation H on them? Alfie's have always been allowed to heal naturally because he could ingest ointment, which could be toxic. Birds don't know not to lick that stuff off, so I would definitely be sure the vet says it's ok and safe if he accidentally ingested it before using any more. Anyways, Liam is a real cutie and looks like he's healing up and staring to bond with you Since he's tolerant of the bandages, have you considered getting him a little sweater to help prevent further plucking once the open wounds have healed? There are special little sweater out there for birds who pluck, and so long as there aren't open wounds, they give a lot more freedom of movement to the bird than a cone does. Best of luck with him, he's adorable!

 

[Brisch]

I have had Liam for about 2 months now, he is on a diet of pellets, egg, oatmeal, whatever fruit we can trick him into eating, it has been hard to get him to eat anything. Im not sure what he was being fed before but we try everything. when I first got him all he would eat was almonds....NOTHING ELSE. then he decided he like chicken and corn and potato, still no seed or pellets. we also went through a baby food period, even that was hard to get him to eat. he eats pellets and a small amount of seed as his staple but does demand other things that maybe are not as good for him, and if we try to force him to eat his pellets he simply wont eat and turns into an over hungry 2 year old and drives you nuts. And the cone hasnt hindered his ability to move around at all, the sock buddy didnt work, we had to make a new one every few hours. the Canadian prepH doesnt have any ingredients in it at all that will harm him, the american one does however. We'll keep an eye on it and if seems to go away with breeding season then Ill know what to expect from now on. He's a total sweet heart, has never bit anyone EVER. And I am glad I took him from where he was because I feared he would die of either an infection or blood loss.