We are back home after a long day.
The mass was indeed on this thymus in his neck, and when any pressure or manipulation was applied, it caused an arrhythmia; specifically bradycardia. In layman's terms, whenever he would lean over, or crow, or do some other rooster things, pressure on this mass would cause his heart to slow down substantially and make him very woozy. It is hard to know if it caused further discomfort or pain, but absolutely it was causing a huge problem! No wonder he recoiled and acted so strangely whenever he would lean down.
Complicating things was that the location of the mass was not allowing food to pass from his crop properly, which even if it was not causing the bradycardia, would have caused his crop to sour if I didn't massage it several times a day. Some food was making it past, but not all, and it was sitting for far too long in the bottom of his crop. Anyone that has battled a crop impaction or sour crop knows how serious that can be!
Dr. Wade was able to put him through surgery and remove all of the visible mass. It is unknown if there is any deeper in his body cavity-- the hope is that there is not! But there is no way of knowing for now. Still, he is young and full of vitality and so we are hoping it's all gone.
Trousers did not react well to the anesthesia toward the end of the surgery, and had a bit of a murmur. He came to after the doctor reacted appropriately to the situation. She is the top avian vet in the region and is very thoughtful and caring. I gave her an art print of mine out of gratitude.
Dr. Wade had Trousers walk out to us when we arrived to pick him up, to see how he moved. He is a bit unsteady on his feet but other than stumbling he is doing well. The unsteadiness is likely part of the anesthesia, which can effect birds more adversely than mammals. She gave him some mealworms and he leaned forward to eat them with no problem! He also ate and drank for us tonight, despite being a bit sore.
His feathers are plucked out from the crop region, as necessary for a clean operation. He will grow them back soon, no doubt. The incision site is very clean and we will monitor him closely. Tonight he talked to us and even preened, which are good signs that he is recovering well, as preening is a behavior that only comfortable birds do.
The vet office sang his praises and said he was the best behaved roo they've had. I tend to agree. He's an wonderfully good boy.
Pathology should take a few days, and then we will have a better idea of what we are dealing with, in the long term. In the interim, Trousers is indoors with us. We don't actually have an enclosure big enough for him, so he's staying on the tile section of our house, which is where I work anyhow. At night I will have to keep him in the bedroom, otherwise he could get himself into trouble accidentally. Let's hope he doesn't crow too much! Talk about a rude awakening!