Not again :(

[friend2parrots]

poor Harlie - this bald spot looks very itchy in the photo.
glad to hear that Ollie's perked up, however. Hope to continue hearing good news about him!
I do hope both birds get better soon.

Just wanted to comment however, that teh bald spot on Harlie looks quite different than Ollie's under the wing spot shown in the photo you posted a little while back. Harlie's looks dry and scratchy, while Ollie's looks inflamed and swollen.

[marie83]

I noticed that too. I have a theory on that though. Say a person has excema, if you leave it alone it does tend to stay dry and itchy but if you scratch and scratch then it becomes weepy, swollen and may bleed.
If I look at the behaviour of my birds they both act extremely irritable but if I watch closely, Harlie seems preen in a normal sort of way, just a bit aggressively where as Ollie will spend ages with his head under his wing- what exactly he is doing under there I can't say but I wonder if the difference would be the same as two excema cases where one person scratches and scratches and the other cant stand the itching and rubs their hand over it irritably instead of scratching.

I really don't know, its driving me bonkers.

[Eurycerus]

Oh my goodness ouch! Your poor baby that looks really uncomfortable.... It's been so long I had hoped your little feathery friends had healed!

[Eric&Rebecca]

Hi Marie,

As you have this well documented I will advise emailing Dr Perry who is the world leading expert on cockatiels. Send this whole portfolio to him.

info@drrossperry.com.au

OR

drrossperry1@gmail.com (This one probably best)

As far as we aware he answers all emails and comments as well as his own youtube channel. Watch through some videos in case he has something on there.

Hope this helps. Maybe he can advise your avian vet or knows someone you should contact in London.

[Eric&Rebecca]

Also this is useful... maybe something here to consider

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww48eiv.htm

[janetafloat]

This must be driving you crazy! It's been going on so long, your poor birds
This is a bit out in left field but what about trying a homeopath?

[marie83]

Oh my goodness ouch! Your poor baby that looks really uncomfortable.... It's been so long I had hoped your little feathery friends had healed!

It has been long...

Hi Marie,

As you have this well documented I will advise emailing Dr Perry who is the world leading expert on cockatiels. Send this whole portfolio to him.

info@drrossperry.com.au

OR

drrossperry1@gmail.com (This one probably best)

As far as we aware he answers all emails and comments as well as his own youtube channel. Watch through some videos in case he has something on there.

Hope this helps. Maybe he can advise your avian vet or knows someone you should contact in London.

Thank you, I will send him an e-mail. fingers crosssed.

This must be driving you crazy! It's been going on so long, your poor birds
This is a bit out in left field but what about trying a homeopath?

Hadn't thought of that but if I'm honest i think we would still know the cause. Do you know of any avian homopaths? Probably wont go down this route yet but always worth knowing.

[Eric&Rebecca]

Could it be polifollculitis. (can't spell it) It causes and itchy rash which can turn weepy.

It's common more in budgies and macaws but no reason why it can't happen in a tiel. It's also caused by virus but there's little known about how it spreads but its thought to be through droppings. Have they looked into this possibility.

[marie83]

Honestly I'm losing track of what has and hasn't been tested for. I was already planning on getting a full list from the vets as I'm going to start getting in touch with other vets etc. My list will include dates tested, methods used to test as well as exactly what has been tested for/ruled out. I wish I had kept a log of all this from the start but tbh I wasn't expecting things to drag out so long. I really thought we would have a diagnosis or I hate to say, that I would have lost them by now.

I did e-mail the vet you suggested but tbh I don't think I will hear back.

[marie83]

Ollie seemed to be picking up, under his wing looked so so much better but last night he was attacking himself again, doing that horrific scream. I had a look this morning and it is all bloody, weeping, sore again. He wont fly again and doesn't want to leave his cage.

I don't know how people with habitual pluckers cope, is it something you just get used to? or am I just feeling so lousy with it all because I'm certain there is some underlying, undiscovered cause to all this? I hide my emotions around the birds but I'm sure they still sense I'm upset.