Avian PE and disease Flashcards
when is veterinary care usually ought after?
late in the disease since birds hide illness as part of their natural defense
usually treatment is too late to be effective
common pet finches
zebra finches
finch characteristics
don’t talk and tend to be more hands-off birds
different varieties
canary characteristics
been bred into > 200 breeds
were used as a noxious gas dectector in the coal mines during 1800s and early 1900s, also used as a model for tweety bird
territorial
budgie characteristics
usually males have solid lavender to solid blue cere and females have white to brown cere depending on hormones and age
cere color not well defined until ~ 1 year old; some mutations have lavender ceres on both sexes
behavior: females not as vocal and tend to stick to 1 call, not as tame and can be nippy, may bully other birds in cage; males tamer and talk more
cockatiel characteristics
members of cockatoo family
have some color variation
talented whistlers and males are known for whistle serenades
very cuddly and outgoing
male of wild gray: yellow head
females are muted gray with bars on underside of tail and wing
cockatoo
sulphur crested in middle
Moluccan and Galah breeds
Galah look different
mynah characteristics
don’t chew/bite food like parrots, don’t have a crop so important for food to be presented in small easy to swallow bite size pieces
naturally they eat a huge variety of fruits, insects, larva, amphibians, lizards, small snakes, eggs, baby birds, baby rodents and scavenge for garbage occasionally
what is a common condition in toucans and mynahs?
hemochromatosis or iron storage disease (liver)
fruits high in vitamin C should be avoided in these birds since they facilitate iron absorption and only low iron pelleted diets can be fed
tx: dietary change and EDTA chelation
physical exam: history
evaluate husbandry and cage
majority of issues are related to poor husbandry
evaluate nutritional status: filthy food and water cup may be responsible for GI issues
evaluate cage size and material (sharp edges? rust?)
perches should be made of easily cleaned material, variety of diameters, non-rigid perches should be available too
evaluating cage toys
bell clappers can cause problems: can chew on clapper or hook and become impaled on hook
bells with larger birds: bell can get lodged in beak
evaluate homemade toys for suitability and potential for toxicosis
primary source of nutrition
seeds, pellets, home-made, mixture
what is a common behavior of newly weened birds
hulling the seeds and not actually eating them
newly weened birds like to play with them
what is important to do when offering fresh fruits or vegetables?
wash them first to eliminate herbicide/insecticide residue
common deficiencies in nutrition
hypovitaminosis A and hypocalcemia
proventricular dilation disease (PDD)
causes regurgitation, weight loss, death in macaws and parrots
aka “macaw wasting disease”: they regurgitate, pass undigested seeds in feces, and exhibit progressive weight loss
can see dilation of proventriculus on rads which is now a PCR test instead
tx: supportive care, +/- anti-inflammatory drugs, treat secondary infections, assisted feeding
crop stasis
“sour crop” in chicks
causes: viral, bacterial, yeast, lead toxicity, crop burn
normal to find gram positive bacteria and yeast on crop wash
bornavirus
PDD recently linked with bornavirusncauses feather-plucking, toe-tapping, and other conditions in parrots
widespread in captive parrot populations but tests not 100% effective
gavaging
avoid crop scald which occurs when gavaging with hot formula
insert gavage or red rubber tube with warm saline, manipulate crop, then suction some fluid
point gavage tip toward top of beak and to the right into esophagus and crop
can gavage for feeding, medicating, lavaging to treat crop stasis, or for crop wash
regurgitation
normal courtship behavior
regurgitated seeds may be seen on or near mirrors or toys
very common in budgies and lovebirds
can be quite large piles of hulled seeds with some birds
vomiting
abnormal, sign of illness
vomited seeds are seen as sticky clusters throughout cage often adhering to cage bars
further evidence: head feathers may be pasted with vomitus and sometimes mixed with seed
evaluation of droppings
excellent indicator of condition of bird
number of droppings per day should be fairly consistent
can change depending on variety of food
urine
normal but occasional to only pass liquid urine and urate crystals with no feces
pelleted diets may lead to increased water intake so may have watery droppings
otherwise watery droppings may be GI or polyuria
somewhat formed fecal portion with extremely watery urine portion or excessive urate portion may indicate what?
kidney disease or metabolic problem like diabetes
grayish fecal coating is indicative of what?
excessive mucous
undigested seed/grit in droppings indicates what?
gizzard malfunction
yellow/green urate indicates what?
hepatitis
neon green urate indicates what?
psittacosis
chlamydophilia psittaci
CS: biliverdinurea, droopy eyes, dyspnea, lethargy, weight loss
tx: doxycycline 45 day cycle
zoonotic
transmission: dust, feces, direct contact
blood test available
biliverdinurea
lime/neon green feces
“popcorn” droppings that are bulky and off white to gray color are indicative of what?
EPI
exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
what is blood in feces usually from?
blood usually from cloaca or oviduct
indicative of severe inflammation in cloaca, ulcerations/tumors may be responsible
cloacal prolapse
may be seen with female birds encountering difficulties passing eggs
what could blood in droppings be indicative in Amazon parrots and macaws?
cloacal papillomas
blood in urine/urates is indicative of what?
kidney disturbance or toxicity
Pacheco’s
caused by herpes virus
cockatoos and Amazon parrots very susceptible and usually die
conures seem to be resistent
many show no CS and are simply found dead; can show vague respiratory signs and polyuria and then usually die within 2 days of showing CS
aspergillosis
outdoor exposure or husbandry
stress lowers immune system and bird gets sick
causes fungal pockets in trachea, air sacs, etc
moderate to severe leukocytosis with heterophilia (25,000-100,000 cells/mL) and reactive left shift
very poor prognosis
tx: surgical removal, supportive care, antifungal meds
feet and leg injuries
restlessness/shifting weight or favoring can indicate pain or dysfunction
pressure sores from improper perches can lead to ulcers/bumblefoot
nesting material can get wrapped around toes leading to necrosis
leg bands can cause problems: check for free movement of band on leg and check for irritation, remove band if possible
staining of feathers above nares indicates what?
nasal discharge which is usually caused by rhinitis
droppings stuck to the vent may indicate what?
GI disturbance or abdominal mass
pox virus
causes skin papules
common in temperate areas
PBFD
psittcaine beak and feather disease
African, Australian, Asian species most susceptible
budgies and lovebirds can be infected and shed for long time before showing symptoms or can be subclinical
cockatoos CS: necrosis/distortion of beak, growth of deformed feathers
blood smear shows leukopenia and anemia
transmission: carrier birds, feather dust from affected birds
tx: control secondary infections and provide supportive care with good diet and minimal stress, fatal
polyoma virus
aka french molt
part of the same group of viruses that cause benign skin tumors
CS: anemia, bruising, feather abnormalities, high mortality rates in nestlings
name used because disease frequently affected offspring of budgerigars that had been imported into germany from france
fatal
unique parrot beak anatomy
can move upper beak independently and upward in relation to lower beak because they have a unique joint: craniofacial hinge which allows finer dexterity in manipulating objects and increases jaw pressure to crack large hard nuts
normally birds have beaks that are fused to skull
what is the beak made of?
keratin
how does a bird naturally maintain beak length?
continual wear by eating, chewing, rubbing on hard surfaces
macaws developmental deformities
lateral deviation of upper beak
aka scissors beak
cockatoos developmental deformities
curvature of upper beak is increased, appears to have large mandible (mandibular prognathism)
severe cases: corrective orthodontic hardware may be used to correct deformities
what does the intramandibular space on a bird’s chin usually look like?
normally scaly/flaky
peeling beak is indicative of what?
poor diet/hygiene
can be dremmeled or filed
knemidocoptes
aka scaly face/leg
caused by mites
unusual crustiness/flakiness on legs
indicates nutritional deficiency: vitamin A causing hyperkeratosis or parasitic condition (cnemidocoptes - scaly leg mites)
avian tuberculosis (TB)
most often caused by Mycobacterium avian subspecies avium
zoonotic
birds and humans are susceptible to all 3 strains of mycobacterium (M. avian, M. bovis, M.tb)
CS: depends on organs involved, usually chronic and progressive wasting and weakness, diarrhea common, may have respiratory signs and sudden death, some develop granulomatous lesions
tx: euthanasia
