Avian medicine Flashcards
What are general concepts of avian medicine?
- Birds tend to hide signs of feeling unwell
- Clinical signs of disease can be non-specific
- Frequently brought in for consults in advanced / severe stage of disease
- Can suddenly become critical patients
What should a bird consult be?
- Detailed history - in escape free room
- Check for dyspnoea, demeanor, trauma/bleeding before handling
- Sedation?
What are nutrition related problems?
- Hypovitaminosis A - Psittacines (epithelial metaplasia)
- Hypocalcaemia + MBD
- Obesity
What are main signs of hypovitaminosis A?
◦ Choana papillae atrophy
◦ Swellings around eyes and throat – sterile abscesses/debris
◦ Blepharitis, keratoconjunctivitis
◦ Pseudo membranes on oral cavity
◦ Generally poor feather/skin quality
Dx of hypovitaminosis A? Tx?
- Dx = History + CS, FNA to rule out other pathologies
- Tx = correcting diet, oral supplements, vitamin A, eye lubricant
What are risk factors for hypocalcaemia? what can it lead to?
◦ Seed-based diets (sp. sunflower)
◦ Lack of calcium or Vit. D3 on diet
◦ Inadequate Ca:Pho ratio on diet
◦ Lack of UV-B exposure
- Nutritional 2ary hyperparathyroidism
What are clinical presentation of hypocalcaemia?
◦ “falling from their perch”
◦ “screaming and flapping in the bottom of cage”
◦ “Seizuring”
On clinical exam =
◦ Generalized weakness
◦ Quiet, dull
◦ Ataxia
◦ Seizures
◦ Post-ictal phase
◦ Paresis/paralysis
How would you manage a seizuring parrot?
- Midazolam IM
- Placement in a padded incubator with supplemental O2
- Calcium Gluconate IM
- Once stable, consider blood collection. Overstimulation can trigger another seizure episode.
◦ Calcium (ideally ionized Calcium), Phosphorus, Albumin, Magnesium
◦ Full biochem + haematology as other disease possible - Start supportive care: fluids, supplemental feeding
- Switch to oral Calcium Gluconate as soon as the patient is stable
- Correct diet and husbandry (including UV-B exposure)
What are other presentations of hypocalcaemia?
- Subclinical Hypocalcemia
- Birds with non-specific signs of illness
- Some feather plucking birds
- Nutritional osteodystrophy
- “rickets” – abnormal bone curvatures
- Young, growing birds of any species
- Dystocia in egg-laying birds
What are main causes of obesity in birds?
- Diet
- Lack of exercises - small cages
- Boredom and lack of environmental enrichment
- Thyroid function - goitre linked to SC lipoma formation
What are 2ary problems linked to obesity?
- Hepatopathies - hepatic lipidosis
- Atherosclerosis + heart disease
- Pododermatitis / bumblefoot
- Xanthomatosis
- Lipomas
- Reproductive failure
What are common dermatological conditions in birds?
- External parasites
- Blood feathers
- Pododermatitis / bumblefoot
How can you asses a birds skin and plumage?
- Colour pattern, feather quality, areas of alopecia, moult, signs of pruritus
- Beak
- Eyelids
- Feet, legs + nails
What are external parasites of birds? Tx?
- Feather lice
- Feather mites
- Blood-sucking mites - dermanyssus, ornithonyssus = anaemia + skin irritation
- Tx = pyrethrin sprays / fipronil
What can blood sucking mites be a disease vector for?
- Paramyxovirus
- E. coli
- Pasteurella spp
- Salmonella
What areas of the body does knemidocoptes affect? How is it treated?
- Affects un-feathered areas of skin = legs, beak + eyelids
- Tx = ivermectin
How would you approach broken blood feathers? What feathers tend to be more severe?
- More severe in wing / tail feathers
- Apply pressure on feather
- Don’t apply silver nitrate - damage to follicle
- Analgesia
- Remove feather as last resort
What species are at risk of bumblefoot / pododermatitis? What are the risk factors?
Species at risk:
◦ Birds of prey
◦ Ducks and waterfowl
◦ Parrots
Risk factors:
◦ Overweight/obesity
◦ Inappropriate perches
◦ Hard flooring
◦ Hypovitaminosis A
◦ Skin trauma
◦ Vascular disease
How would you treat pododermatitis?
- Husbandry management
- Reduce weight/increase exercise
- Improve perches and flooring
- Improve hygiene
- Dressings to relieve pressure from affected areas
- Medication =
- Meloxicam +/- additional analgesia
- Antibiotics – ideally dependent on c&s
- Local treatment – antiseptics, skin soothing agents
- Surgery – severe cases. Radiograph first
What are main presentations of respiratory disease in birds?
- URT infection/sinusitis
- Tracheitis
- Pneumonia
- Airsaculitis
How would you treat sinusitis / URT infections?
- Antibiotics - with C&S results
- doxycycline / fluoroquinolones PO
- NAIDs - meloxicam
- GA + lancing + draining peri-orbital sinuses
What are common problems with the trachea?
◦ Gapeworm (Syngamus trachea) in poultry
◦ Other parasites possible = Sternostoma mites in canaries
◦ Foreign bodies
◦ Granulomas (e.g. Aspergillus)
◦ Bacterial/viral infections
What are disorders affecting the lungs? Tx?
- Teflon toxicosis
- Infections
- Tx = terbutaline IM + Supportive care
What are 1ary + 2ary disorders affecting the airsacs?
Primary problems =
◦ Bacterial/viral infections
◦ Fungal infections – Aspergilosis
◦ Some Nematode worms (Serratospiculum)
◦ Air sac mites (Cytodites sp)
Secondary problems =
◦ Coelomic masses/organ enlargement
◦ Coelomic effusion
◦ Adhesions
