My bird has a white lump in her ear. What can I do until I see a vet?

Ear infections are not common in birds so what you are describing is a little concerning. I would recommend taking Tory in to be examined by a veterinarian so an accurate diagnosis can be made. She may need an antibiotic to help her get over the infection. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

I would have your vet evaluate the lump to see what it is such as a cyst, abscess, tumor, etc, especially if it is bleeding and bothersome to Rakhi. Until you can get to your vet, keeping the bump as clean and dry as possible and fashioning an Elizabethan (cone) collar for her (Google has tutorials on how to make bird-sized ones) can help.

This lump needs to be checked and analysed as there are many conditions and types of tumors that could look like that. take Irina to an avian vet specialist, they will perform a fine needle aspiration on the growth and send it to the lab for analysis. when the result comes, the vet will advise what needs to be done according to the diagnosis.

Hello. I wonder if what you are seeing is a crop full of food or air. The crop is on the right side of he neck and can become very distended normally after a meal, or after a bird has been vocalizing if they take in air. If there is a motility disorder of the crop, this may become abnormally distended and require medications. If it is truly a mass of the skin, muscle, or thyroid, then it would depend on the diagnosis whether any medical therapies would be appropriate over surgery. A biopsy would be a good place to start, though blood work and radiographs may also be indicated. A veterinarian experienced with birds should be able to do an exam and any diagnostics tests needed in order to suggest the most appropriate treatment.

Thank you for your question, and thank you for the photo - I can see what you are talking about with the lump. It looks to me to be at the commissure (corner) of the mouth. The lump looks to be a bit crusty. There are a few things that this could be - there may be material stuck to the area or a tissue growth. The material may be food, or it could be exudate (material that is produced from infectious organisms such as bacterial infection). It would be less likely to be a growth based on Cody's age, but there still is a possibility that it could be a benign or malignant mass. I would recommend trying to clean the area to see if anything comes off of it, and if it does, please look at the skin underneath to see if it is intact or if there is any kind of blood or injury underneath. If there is injury or if the material does not come off, then I would recommend taking Cody to a veterinarian. They can perform an examination and make recommendations based on what is found. If they suspect it is an infection, they may recommend performing blood work or starting on a course of antibiotics. If it is a mass, they may recommend taking a sample of it to evaluate under the microscope. I hope that gives you a place to start, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

There is no way for me to tell you exactly what is going on with Cookie. A picture would beneficial so if you can post again with a photo that may be more helpful. Please keep in mind that we cannot diagnose over the internet. We can only give you ideas as to what may be going on. There is a bump that is sometimes present in that area when they are getting ready to lay eggs or incubating. So that is a possibility. Another option is a fatty deposit which is also common. There are many other things it could be from an abscess to a tumor to a abnormal feather follicle. If she is eating and drinking and acting fine then I would just monitor it for now. If she starts showing and signs of illness or discomfort then I would say you need to find an avian vet to take her to for an exam.

Although a picture of it would help to determine more specifically underlying cause, this kind of lump/growth needs to be ideally assessed by your veterinarian to have a definitive and specific answer. Usually there are two ways your vet can do that a part from examining it directly during physical examination. A biopsy can be taken under local or general anesthetic, otherwise a smaller sample through a fine needle can be aspirated (this technique is called FNA= fine needle aspiration). Differentials include skin cysts, a cloacal type of prolapse, infection, benign or more sinister type of tumors. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.