What can be done for a male Umbrella Cockatoo with cloacal prolapse? This rescue, who has had 3 unsuccessful procedures to correct this, but the last one almost killed him-needed to be rushed back to undo the stitches, lwhen he coud not defecate.
Hi Barbara,
Here is Dr. Tully’s response:
There is not much you can do since cloacal prolapse in umbrella cockatoos is often hormonal in nature. A deslorelin implant will work for a short while and surgical procedures are temporary since the underlying cause is never resolved. The only way to stop the prolapse in cockatoos is surgically remove the testicles in males and ovaries in females which are both very difficult and risky surgeries due to the location of both near the front of the kidney. There is a relatively newer cloacal surgery that may last longer but not many avian surgeons are performing the procedure.
