Avian dermatology Flashcards
Describe the avian integument as a general concept of health?
- The condition of the skin and feathers of the bird provides the avian clinician with a clinical window into the general health, nutritional status, management and environmental conditions to which the patient is exposed
- Familiarity with the avian integument and the ability to distinguish between normal and abnormal is a essential tool in diagnosing nutritional and organ based disease as well as those specifically of the avian integument
What is seen here and what has caused it?
Periorbital ‘Abscess’
- Accumulation of cellular material within the sinuses
- Cause:
- Respiratory infection and associated Vitamin A deficiency (General malnutrition)
- Diagnosis:
- Site specific. Very typical.
- Treatment:
- correct the nutrition and surgical debridement
- Common Species:
- African Grey. Chicken (Mycoplasma induced)
Discuss avian lipomas?
Lipoma
- Organised fatty swelling (Benign neoplasm of lipocytes)
- Appearance:
- Smooth raised masses growing in the subcutis; yellow in appearance. (Do not confuse with subcuticular fat deposits which occur in same areas but are not organised)
- Cause:
- Obesity (malnutrition); Breed disposition
- Distribution:
- Mainly sternum abdomen (Amazons, Budgies, Cockatiels)
- Pericloacal region (Galahs)
- Treatment:
- Consider removal or advise leave
- Correct nutrition (+/- responsive but always necessary)
Photo shows post surgical photo of a racing pigeon following removal of a mesenteric lipoma
Discuss avian Xanthomas (‘Yellow mass’)?
- Not neoplasms - although benign can become a clinical problem if they become large or the bird self traumatises causing bleeding
- Appearance:
- Yellow, thickened, featherless areas of skin often vascular and friable
- Cause:
- Dermal infiltrations of cholesterol filled macrophages due to diet? trauma? Breed/colour (Yellow)
- Distribution:
- Anywhere but mainly dorsum and wings
- Treatment:
- Excision (problematic); Amputation of wing
- Species:
- Budgies; small psittacine birds
Discuss feather cysts?
Feather Cysts
Appearance:
Lumpy irregular masses of keratinous debris (necrotic feathers). Sometimes closed resembling abscesses more often open exuding caseous material and ‘bits’ of feather
Cause:
Genetic and hereditary – breed and feather-type predisposition in canaries. Norwich, ‘double buffing’
Distribution:
Dorsum and wings. Can be singular or extensive. Progressive increase in number with each moult/age
Treatment:
Excision (often unrewarding as other cysts form).
Euthanasia if extensive and bleeding due to self-trauma
Identify lesions on the picture?
What other lumps and swellings can be found on birds?
- Squamous cell carcinoma
- Cutaneous papillomas
- Melanomas
- Fibromas
- Uropygial Gland
- Adenoma
- Adenocarcenoma
- Abscess/Impaction
- Subcutaneous emphysaema:
- Leakage due to ruptured airsac; # bone.
- Normally resolves
Outline some reasons for feather loss without plucking?
- Normal moult/escape moult
- Abnormal moult (Malnutrition)
- Apteria (Non-feathered areas)
- Hormonal disorders?
- Genetic (Baldness in lutino cockatiels)
- Mate mutilation (Normally on top of head)
- Papova and Polyoma virus (‘French Moult’ Budgies)
- Cutaneous Pox virus
Discuss Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) which causes feather loss?
Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD)
Circovirus
- Affects the growing feather follicles; which results in:
Dystrophic feather growth. Feathers appear pinched-off
Progressively gets worse with successive moults
Abnormal feather colouration (red streaks)
+/- Necrotic beak lesions
Can affect liver as well
Diagnosis:
(Always suspect PBFD and rule out)
- Clinical appreciation of feather dystrophy
- Lack of powder down feathers (shiny beak)
- PCR test (+ve =+ve; -ve = test again?)
- High incidence in white cockatoos and Af Greys
Knemidocoptic Mites (Scaly face; Scaly leg) can cause feather loss without plucking. Discuss further?
- Knemidocoptic Mites (Scaly face; Scaly leg) Classically infects the non-feathered areas of the face (cere and beak) and legs of budgiesResults in ‘honeycomb’ appearance of tissue or hypertrophy of the scales of the leg
- May result in leg bands becoming too tight
- Causes excessive growth of beak
- Nutritional and immune status of individuals
- Can be confirmed by scraping and microscopy
Treatment:
- 2-3 drops Ivomectin direct to site. 3x weekly applications. Soften heavy scaling (poultry) with liquid paraffin for a few days prior to application
- DDx – Benign hypertrophy of cere – old age
What is a cere?
Discuss bacterial and fungal folliculitis?
- Bacterial and fungal folliculitis
- Often resulting in necrotic, malformed, easily damaged blood feathers, especially of the tail (May also be nutritional)
Diagnosis:
- Feather pulp cytology and culture
Treatment:
- Nutritional modification
- Appropriate oral antimicrobials
- Wash/spray affected area with antimicrobials (F10)
How are damaged blood feathers treated?
Treatment:
- Over the phone suggest (assess the owner and the bird):
- Pulling out the bleeding feather (Site dependant)
- Pinching it with fingers/forceps to assist clotting
- Dusting it with cornflower (merits??)
In surgery
- Pull out feather +/- GA (assess force required/site)
- Administer pain relief: oral (maloxicam injection /drops); local pain relief (Healx Soother Spray);
- Correct/discuss the underlying cause
Typical feather picking sites include the propatagium (inner elbow), inner thighs and sternum
Causes can be divided into the 3 P’s:
Pathological (medical)
Psychological (behavioural)
Physiological (hormonal)
What is the model for feather plucking?
Discuss leg and toe problems?
Problems with Rings
Too tight due to:
- Wrong size
- Ring trauma – self, other bird, cage/toy trauma
- Increase in size of leg
- Leg trauma
- Hyperkeratosis
- Scaly leg
- Tassel leg – old age
- Foreign body wedged in gap causing swelling
What can be seen here?
Articular gout
- More a metabolic problem but crystals readily visible around the tarsal joint as discrete, hard, raised, white/yellow lesions 1-3mm in diameter
- Do not confuse with abscesses
- Very haemorrhagic if incised
- Confirm diagnosis by staining for uric acid
- Treatment ??????? – probably not effective at this stage
- Ensure husbandry and perching appropriate
- Possible pain relief
- Euthanasia??
- (Allopurinol)
What is the treatment for bumblefoot?
Treatment (Depending on severity):
- Consider euthanasia (Type 4+) on humane grounds
- Surgical removal of necrotic tissue (Type 3)
- Suture to attempt closure by first intention
- May require hydrocolloid dressing
- Culture of necrotic debris for accurate antimicrobial therapy
- Use of foam ‘snow-shoe’ and conforming bandage (T 3-2)
- Correction of predisposing causes (Types 3-1)
Prevention:
- Address husbandry issues
- Routine application of foot creams
