Peeta has a tumor

I have some pictures. I've never seen his tailfeathers in such disarray! The "bald spot" i refer to is hiding on his left side, where you can see the three feathers poking out. It's not visible unless he is preening. I initially thought the tiny bump I could see was inflammation from feathers trying to poke through (as like I said, I had initially seen some black dots implying new feather growth). I also saw long pin feather like things that to me looked like feathers yet to bloom. I haven't been able to get eyes on those in a few days.

His long black (older) tailfeather has frayed, newer feathers poking diagonally underneath it - again, as though they intend to replace the long frayed black one. He has other feathers on the right side that look like they want to come out but havent. He is not tame so I cannot really touch him very much without causing stress. This is another reason why I haven't yet taken him to another vet- I do not want to cause more stress than not.

I also noticed this morning that his brother, Pippin has a slightly dry looking/crusty cere. This JUST happened. Could he have mites?! I keep their cage relatively clean, not sure why they would just get mites out of the blue?! Ugh. Although, he has just recently lost a couple feathers also- perhaps he's begun another molt. That would explain the dry cere/flakiness.

As far as diet, Peeta eats seed, green leaves (either dandelion, or dark lettuce), carrots, every day- some egg sparingly... occasional millet...

He still chats with Pippin, they still preen each other, hes mobile- moves around... I'd say the only thing is that hes preening his backside more often than he used to. Is it possible he's experiencing a really drawn out, terrible molt?! I haven't seen any feathers come out for a few weeks now though.. As you can see he's not sitting fluffed up or anything. he looks rather sleek aside from his tail!

I work really hard to ensure their health, and for a while they've been doing great. Pippin aside from his cere, is just lovely. Peeta has always been my favorite so I'm extra disturbed by his lack of organized tailfeathers... I want him to be okay!

aluz said:

Maybe your Peeta's tail feathers aren't as tidy because he messes them up while playing? Do you see him preening his tail and properly positioning his tail feathers? And when he preens that specific area, does he do so in a more aggressive manner?

The only way to really find out what is going on is to actually hold your Peeta and properly check the area to see if there are new feathers growing in or not. Can he step up to your finger? If so, then you can have a better look at it.

About your Pippin, it's possible he is in the process of moulting the skin on his cere (if you see some light peeling on the cere). A photo showing your Pippin's whole beak/cere area will be helpful to possibly rule out mites.

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Thanks for your thoughts. I have tried endlessly to tame Peeta- to even get him to step up- but he never took to me sadly. He was bonded with his first buddy Caesar, and now Pippin. There was never much room for me I'm afraid!

I held peeta briefly a few weeks ago, and I did feel a few little prickly pin feathers. I also felt that slight little bump that, to me at the time- seemed inflamed from growth. If the feathers I felt have since grown in more they haven't been positioned properly. They just stick out of his side in an odd way. I have never seen him "put them right" either. He doesn't preen the area more aggressively than his wings or other areas. He just sort of goes over the area and eventually stops. Would it mean something if there are no feathers growing in? I feel like I'm very scattered in these messages, I do need to find another avian they're just not easy to find or cheap to visit. Most times I've had to "argue" my way to get more info or treatment ideas etc. I wish there were more vets around :/

Overall though, since his feathers arent puffed up and he's not acting much different- thats got to be a good sign right? My old budgie had fatty tumors, I worry that this is whats causing the little lump on his back- but at the same time he's not exhibiting the same symptoms. I'm hoping it's just a rough molt.... I've read molting can take months.. perhaps he's in the thick of it?