(Excerpt from Essentialbird yahoo group)

Our first experience dealing with a cloacal prolapse was with a Scarlet Macaw about twenty years ago. The vet wanted to do surgery but, since we were deeply into natural therapies even back then, we decided to look for some alternative methods of treatment. After reading through a number of our herb books, (we didn’t have the internet in those days ) we found that white oak bark was used for prolapse and hemorrhoids inhuman beings as it is an astringent and shrinks or contracts tissue.

The suggestion was to make a bolus of Vaseline and white oak bark powder, but since we were afraid the bird might pick at it, we made a thick paste of white oak bark powder and olive oil instead of Vaseline. We applied this paste to the prolapse and gently pushed it back into the vent and then packed the area with the paste. We repeated this procedure every time we noticed it protruding again (which was quite often for the first couple of days). After about two weeks, though, it finally stayed in place permanently and never prolapsed again.

A prolapse can be caused by a number of different factors such as excessive egg laying or anaerobic bacteria or, as was the cause in our case, papillomas. However, we didn’t find out until several years later that this prolapse was caused from papillomas since nothing much was known about them at that time. In addition to treating the prolapse, we gave her everything we knew at the time in the way of vitamins, minerals and herbs to build her strength and immune system. Actually, when she got better, we weren’t sure whether it was the white oak or the general health enhancement program that had gained confidence in the white oak bark over the years, as we saw it work in a number of other similar cases.

The most recent occurred to an umbrella cockatoo owned by a friend of ours. The cockatoo’s prolapse was much worse than any that we had ever seen before. It protruded more, the tissue seemed more flaccid and it was bleeding much of the time. The vet and several “bird experts” had all recommended putting the bird down. We told her of our experience, but warned her that this case was much worse than ours had been and that she might not get the same results. She was determined to save her bird, however, and she started the treatments immediately.

In addition to the paste, she made white oak bark tea which she gave him to drink as well. She also injected some of the tea into his vent periodically. We suggested also giving him some additional manganese as this helps to strengthen ligaments and tissue.

She followed this protocol diligently plus she kept him on a program of general health enhancement that encompassed everything we could think of. Besides all of the various supplements he got every day, a meal replacement supplement made for people, called The Perfect Food, became the major part of his diet. This is one of the new high tech food supplements that has a very impressive record of success in helping various health problems in people.

In spite of all that she was doing, at the end of the first week the prolapse did not appear to be responding to the treatment. However, she persisted and in just over two weeks it had completely disappeared and
the bird was back to his normal happy, exuberant self. It has been about eight months now and there has been no recurrence of the problem. Our friend swears that she will never be without white oak bark again and we have sworn that we will never again doubt the power of natural therapies.

Bob and Liz Johnson

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, or by any veterinarian. All information, including any product or technique mentioned, is for educational purposes only. None of the information is intended to diagnose or treat any disease.