Hi all, I am posting cause I want to know a bit more about budgies with lipomas. My 4 year old boy Buzby has one under his body, though it is not really big, can only see it a little if he climbs the cage, and soft. I have been controlling his diet a bit more so that i can keep it under contol, but I would like to know if it is a big stress on the bird.

 

Buzby is very happy, playful bird who still drinks and eats okay and don't seem to be suffering and is still active through the day, though he rests sometimes but usually just to rest his neck for a few minutes and carries on again happy.

 

He was ill last year I did post then, as he had something wrong with his left foot being closed and he could not open it. After Anti-biotics, he was fine though it did leave him with a slight disability in his foot, as he only now has about 85 - 90% grip on a perch, though it never seems to deter him from going about his usually daily activities. And I have to get his claws clipped.

 

Just posting to vent really, as I worry about my little boy and want some re-assurance that I am not being unkind to my boy, as he is still active and leading a normal life, just a little "disabled" I suppose is the term. I play with him, hold him and he really enjoys this and I tried to alter the cage little to help him if he needs it, but there is not much else I can do for him.

 

Sorry about the long post and thanks for reading.

 

Anthony

Hi Anthony, I can't help with your question, unfortunately, but I am sure there are some members here that have experience with birds and lipomas. It is amazing how much these beautiful little creatures worm their way into our hearts and then give us cause for concern, isn't it? I hope you and Buzby get some answers soon.

 

 

Feathers.

Pheobe a member here has dealt with this type of situation. Though in any situation that involves any type of illness in a pet you must look at the quality of life. If they are having more bad days then good, if they quality is not there anymore, if they are in constant pain or discomfort, if they can't get around anymore etc...

 

Only you can answer these questions as you know your pet personally. As humans we hold on too long at times. I am one guilty of that because it is so hard to let go of the physical being because once they are gone then we have to mourn and the pain is there.

 

If you find he is having great days, and he is happy, singing, chirpying etc... or do you find just the opposite.

 

We have an FAQ about euthansia in are articles.

 

Welcome back

I don't have any experience with lipomas, but there are a number of people here who do.

 

It sounds like Buzby is still getting enjoyment out of life to me, but you are the one to be the final judge of that. Its really tough trying to decide when an animal has suffered enough. I've been there and done that and its something you'll have to do on your own. Last week I was struggling with that very decision myself. Luckily, my husband refused to let me put her down and the birdy did a complete 180 and is back to her normal stubborn cheeky self.

 

Good that you came here to vent. Support is just one of the important things that can be gotten from the forums here! Keep coming back and good luck!

Anthony, there is a good article on Lipomas here: http://www.birdhealth.com.au/bird/er/conditions.html

 

Another article concludes: "Based on information gleaned from mammals, it is probably wise to not surgically remove a lipoma unless it has grown to a size to be uncomfortable to the bird."

 

I have a hen who developed what I believe were lipomas about 5 years ago. She was a small, slight bird so obesity was not a factor. She was from my own stock and I had not observed lipomas in any of her ancestors going back 20 years, so it was not likely genetics. The "experts" also associate it with hypothyroidism. Perhaps there was something there, or just a sport mutation. She's still with us today. All the lipomas she developed (there were about 3 or 4 but never more than one at a time) all shrunk and one I'm sure just "fell off" - it was there one day and gone without a trace the next!

 

I've never let her breed in case it is inheritable, although she I'm sure would have other ideas - she likes the boys

I hate trying to catch her in the aviary - she's too fast and too agile! And she bites like a normal hen too. She looks a mess - her chest feathers ... well she really has none - just scruffy down where the lipomas were. But she's happy enough. She looks scruffy and could develop lipomas at any time but she's far too "alive" to "put down"!

 

Cheers and good luck to Buzby.

Edited August 7, 200717 yr by KathyW

Thanks all for the replies. No the quality of Buzby life has not gone down, and he healthy. The only time he's been quite is cause of a molt, but everyday he climbs around the cage, talks, grinds beak with contentment, eats really well and drinks. Still love to play with me and my family. See I have never had a bird with Lipomas in all the ones I have had in 24 years and it is all new to me, but this forum has provided me with good information on the subject.

 

I think I only posted cause I had a bad weekend and had some stupid thoughts in my head and just worry about my boy suffering, but buzby is has happy as he has always been. He been a tough little fighter and now he can talk and say many sentences which he has copied from the family. And like my father said, some of us people aren't perfect and get on with life well and buzby has cope with things well.

 

Thanks for all the support and replies, and I am sure that buzby will continue to stay happy and playful and healthy for a good while yet as he takes everything in his stride and too be honest, it amazes me how someone so tiny can survive so much and still be happy and continue to live a normal daily life, it is just a miracle.

 

Anthony

l hope that buzby gets better every day