Babs - Umbrella Cockatoo "PRC's Mascot"
Dear Gloria, Directors of Parrot Resource Centre and Friends of PRC - On behalf of the Hamilton Parrot Club I would like to thank all of you at Parrot Resource Centre for your extremely generous donation towards Babs (the Umbrella Cockatoo with the prolapse vent) exam, surgery and follow up at the Avian Clinic at Guelph University. Without your intervention she would have not been able to get the immediate veterinary assistance she needed.
Babs was examined by Dr. Hugues Beaufrere, Service Chief, DVM, PhD, ABVP(Avian) ECZM (Avian) the morning of June 5 and given the vague history I have of her; female (28 ?) year old umbrella cockatoo, been in multiple homes, had a vent prolapse for at least 5 years, during this time she was not seen by a vet, owner died, new owner took her to BurlOak Animal Clinic in February 2013 where she had her vent tacked, 3 days later she blew the tack, Babs was then re homed due to her owner being on an oxygen machine, Babs was not taken back to vet after her failed surgery, Dr. Beaufrere decided the best course of action was to admit her for surgery that day. Dr. Beaufrere explained that vent prolapses were more common in male cockatoos that had not been weaned properly and in females with internal masses, ones that are chronic egg layers or even ones with calcified eggs in their reproductive tracts. Prolapses do not occur in the wild and much is still to be learned about their causes. Dr. Beaufrere decided he would need to do a CBC with manual diff, TS; avian, biochemistry avian profile, give her a Deslorelin Implant (comes from Australia) to downplay her raging hormones, do an endoscopy to see what was happening inside of her, take x rays and then perform a vent tack surgery using stainless steel sutures (steel tends to stay in better). Dr. Beaufrere explained there were different surgeries available for Babs but that they always start with the least intrusive and then go from there if it does not work. Babs came through her surgery and was alert and inter active when I picked her up at 6:30 pm.The findings were amazing, heart breaking and very informative as to why she had her prolapse. Dr. Beaufrere said her condition was the worse he has seen. Her prolapse was the size of a green grape that hung on the outside of her body that has now been tucked back up inside where it belongs. Her reproductive tract and organs are severely inflamed and there is an unknown mass (possible it is a growth or maybe part of her organs, everything is swollen that it was too hard to determine what some things were). It was obvious that she has been a chronic egg layer. Dr. Beaufrere is trying to calm her hormones down with a chemical implant and in the future will do another endoscopy to try to determine what the mass is. Her vent tissue is extended and very flaccid; this may result in the prolapse occurring again, something that is expected to happen. I was fortunate to see the film of the endoscopy and am going to ask for a copy if possible. Babs also has the remnants of an old calcified egg buried in the tissue walls, was sad but amazing to see. Her x rays showed inflammation in her reproductive area and also revealed why she cannot open her wings. The bones of her wings have been stripped of calcium, probably from the chronic egg laying and in part poor diet she was on. The wing joints were fused, possibly old broken bone injuries, this is permanent damage and she will need to be monitored for arthritic pain as she ages. This bird is a trooper; she had no infection in her gut, just an elevated white count from the inflammation. Babs has a follow up appointment June 12 at Guelph. On the way home she was dancing to the radio, saying hi to me though I was told she does not speak and started to defecate, a great sign she was on the mend. The day after her surgery she was eating, had some pretty bird gold, zu preem, banana, took some yam then threw it back at me, lol and a walnut, will be working on getting her to eat healthier, she had been on a human junk food diet and seeds before. Her demeanor is sweet, she is not aggressive at all, only beaks a no which I respect, no biting. My goal for Babs is to let her settle at my home for about a month, learn to play with toys, learn to step up, teach her to forage, get her outside for some sunshine to help her bones and to get her through the post-surgery. After that she will go to her new home. I will continue to post Babs progress and some photos. Once again EVERYONE THANK YOU for YOUR assistance and care, without you Babs would have been stuck in a filthy too small cage with no stimulation, a cage she had not been out of since February. Special thanks to Bev Penny for introducing me to Parrot Resource Centre. Lori Gibbons President, The Hamilton Parrot Club, www.hamiltonparrotclub.ca Bab's After Cloacal Prolapse Surgery
Cloacal prolapse or vent prolapse is a condition where the
inner tissues of the cloaca protrude (hang out) from the vent, exposing the intestines, cloaca or uterus. The cloaca is the part of the bird’s body which stores urates, feces, urine and egg. The cloacal lips (or vent) are used to control the passage and frequency of droppings and other eliminations. Mature Umbrella and Moluccan cockatoos suffer more often from cloacal prolapse, as do hand-fed birds. However, cockatoos not bred by humans are not affected by cloacal prolapse. Causes Cloacal prolapse occurs when long-term strain is put onto the vent. Usually the reasons are both physical and behavioral. Babs continues her recovery under the dedication and love of Lori Gibbons in Hamilton. Babs will need to have the staples replaced on an ongoing basis and she needs daily cleaning. PRC is committed to Babs long term and will continue fund raising for her. Lazicki's Bird House & Rescue
Lazicki’s Bird House and Rescue wanted to do a HUGE shout out and Thank You to Parrot Resource Centre for their support over this past winter.
Through the amazing effort of the Board of Directors, they were able to procure donations of over $600.00 for our heating bill as well as another $1000.00 in food and toys for our birds. Currently, under the management of a board of trustees, we want to reach out and recognize and thank the folk at PRC once again for all they did for us at a critical time. It was because of their generosity and help we were able to get on our feet while Steve Lazicki was recuperating from serious illness. 
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What is the Parrot Resource Centre and How Do We Help Parrots and Their Guardians
Hanna, a Hahn's Macaw, playing with her guardian, Cathy Carroll, a director of PRC.
Ginger - Citron Cockatoo in Calgary, Alberta
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