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Budgies/Parakeet abnormal oil gland?!

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Expert: - 7/3/2010


Question
My parakeet's oil gland is an unusual orange-light red color. Is this abnormal or not? I couldn't get a clear picture of it, though.

Answer
Hi, Thuy.

My question to you is how do you know what color the oil gland is?  An oil gland is underneath a bird's skin (at the base of the tail on the bird's back) and it secretes an oily substance through the skin.  You can't actually see the gland itself from the outside of the bird.  If you are seeing something in this area, I'd say that your keet probably has some type of medical problem going on (perhaps an infection?), particulary when you say it's orange-light red in color.  Are you seeing any puss or blood?  Is the bird acting normally?  You can Google "oil gland in aves" for additional information.

Chrys Meatyard

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Chrys Meatyard

Expertise

I`ve been raising/breeding/handfeeding/selling parrots for over 20 years (parakeets/budgies, cockatiels, 6 subspecies of conures, parrotlets, amazons, lovebirds, etc.). I've been published in "Budgies" and "Cockatiels" offered by Bow Tie Productions, and have written avian articles for publication in England. I can provide advice in raising healthy birds, handfeeding/weaning babies, some health problems, nail/beak/wing clipping, general husbandry, etc. I also have experience with racing/showing homing pigeons. I cannot diagnose specific illness over this website. If you suspect your bird is ill or if you have an emergency, contact a certified avian veterinarian or emergency pet clinic ASAP.

Experience

Over 20 years breeding/raising/handfeeding/selling 15 different species of parrots.

Education/Credentials
American Federation of Aviculture, completed Level I course, Fundamentals of Aviculture. Keeping/breeding parrots and other birds for over 20 years.

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