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Exotics Elective > Birbs > Flashcards

Birbs Flashcards

1
Q

Most birds should have a diet of 80% pellets, 20% veggies, and less than 10% seeds, fruits except this type of bird

A

Cockatiels, they should have 50/50 seeds and pellets

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2
Q

Do you need to give psittacines or passerines grit

A

No

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3
Q

Are water additives a good way to supplement a bird’s diet

A

No

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4
Q

A cockatiel presents with polyuria making the stools look very watery, what may be the cause

A

Being on a diet of mostly pellets and not 50/50 seeds and pellets

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5
Q

What is the most common dietary issue in pet psittacines

A

Malnutrition

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6
Q

Seeds are high in ____ and low in _________ and ________

A

High in calories/energy and low in Vitamin A and Calcium

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7
Q

How could you differentiate between a behavioral or metabolic issue causing poor feathering

A

Metabolic will impact the entire bird, and behavioral will be where the bird can reach (so the feathers on the top of its head may be fine)

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8
Q

How many liver lobes does a bird have

A

2

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9
Q

What liver disease are captive birds prone to

A

Hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver)

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10
Q

A bird with an overgrown beak and nails and ratty feathers with broken off sheaths may have issues with what

A

It’s liver (not making enough animo acids)
And probably some other shit too like malnutrition

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11
Q

How do you gauge if a bird is overweight or underweight

A

You can palpate the keel bone (want it to be a 3/5, can feel bone but not super prominent)

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12
Q

What is the best test in birds for liver function

A

Bile acids

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13
Q

2 birds present to you for blood work
One has a blood panel showing an elevated AST, LDH, and CK and the other just has an elevated AST and LDH
What do these findings tell you

A

The bird with the elevated AST, LDH, and CK may have some muscle damage and not necessarily liver damage. The bird with the elevated AST and LDH is more likely to have liver damage

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14
Q

A bird presents and you determine it has a liver dysfunction. What diagnostic can you use to get a definitive diagnosis of what is going on with the liver

A

Biopsy (just isn’t done as a first test because it is so invasive)

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15
Q

T/F exercise is very important in the treatment of liver disease in birds

A

True

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16
Q

A bird presents to you and on physical exam you notice in the bird’s mouth the papillae around the choanal slit are blunted. What may be going on

A

Hypovitaminosis A

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17
Q

What cell type is targeted by hypovitaminosis A

A

Epithelial cells ex. Respiratory, renal (squamous metaplasia, respiratory tract infections, oral abscesses- rhinoliths)

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18
Q

What is a good example of how vitamin A can impact pigment in a birds feathers

A

Flamingos getting pink!

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19
Q

What can cause Rhamphotheca- proliferative and flaky skin and stressbars on feathers

A

Hypovitaminosis A

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20
Q

An African gray that spends all its life as a couch potato presents to your clinic right at closing for seizures! Oh no! What is a likely cause

A

Vitamin D deficiency, get that bird outside in some sun! (Well after the seizures are controlled…)

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21
Q

Birds should have a Ca:P ratio of

A

2:1

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22
Q

Which bone is used for intraosseous catheters in birds and why is this notable

A

The ulna because in birds it is bigger than the radius and it is non-pneumatic! Could also use the tibiotarsus

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23
Q

Which x-ray view is helpful for seeing a fracture in the coracoid or another part of the shoulder girdle in birds

A

The H view- they are placed in dorsal recumbency and a 45 degree angle shot is taken

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24
Q

T/F birds will start seeming sick soon after they are

A

False, they hide their symptoms

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25
Q

What is the normal body temperature for a bird

A

106-108

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26
Q

What is the maintenance rate of fluids for birds

A

100 ml/kg/day

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27
Q

How can you assess dehydration in birds

A

Use the eyelids

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28
Q

In the bird case we covered in class, why was giving fluids orally contraindicated

A

It was regurgitating

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29
Q

If a bird begins regurgitating when you are tube feeding it or giving it oral fluids what should you do

A

Let them go and let them do what they would naturally (shaking their head) or turn them upside down to let the fluid drain out

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30
Q

When you have a sick bird what change to the enviornment can you quickly do to help

A

But them in an incubator, hard to overheat a bird

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31
Q

What bones shoudl you NOT use for an intraosseous catheter

A

Humerus or femur

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32
Q

What vein is common to use for IV draws or injections but what is a negative aspect of using it

A

Basilica vein (in the wing, equivalent of vein inside of elbow), but this vein likes to blow

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33
Q

What anatomical feature helps with x-raying birds

A

The air sacs providing a lot of negative contrast throughout the coelom

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34
Q

How many air sacs does a bird have

A

7-9
cervical air sacs
Interclavicular air sac
Anterior thoracic air sacs
Posterior thoracic air sacs
Abdominal air sacs

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35
Q

T/F air sacs help with air exchange

A

False, they just store air

36
Q

T/F birds don’t have a diaphragm

A

True

37
Q

T/F birds have a larynx in addition to a syrinx

A

False they have a syrinx instead of larynx

38
Q

What are 2 important things to remember about a birds trachea in terms of anesthesia

A

That they have a long trachea with complete rings- so there is more dead space and you should never use a cuffed ET tube on them

39
Q

Bird lungs are not inflatable so how to they work

A

Like a sponge

40
Q

Where does air exchange take place in the bird

A

Paleopulmonic parabronchi

41
Q

T/F avian lungs are the most efficient of all vertebrates

A

True

42
Q

What respiratory adaptation makes flight possible

A

The unidirectional flow of air through the lungs, way more efficient

43
Q

Why are birds prone to aspiration pneumonia

A

No epiglottis

44
Q

____ is an outpouching of the esophagus and stores food

A

Crop

45
Q

What is the acronym CUP talking about

A

What is happening in the cloaca and the order (distal to proximal in terms of the vent)- Coprodeum, urodeum, proctodeum

46
Q

T/F amputating a phallus is a big deal and you should send it to UGA!

A

False, it doesn’t interfere with urination only transporting semen but i guess if you have a very valuable breeding duck it may be a big deal?

47
Q

T/F you can castrate a rooster to shut it up because of all the crowing

A

False, once sexually mature the testicle is closely adhered to a large vessel so it will likely bleed out

48
Q

T/F the hen has 2 ovaries

A

False, it usually just has a left ovary

49
Q

T/F you should never give corticoidsteroids to a bird

A

True, they are very sensitive and it will immediately immunosuppressive them

50
Q

If you are doing coelomic surgery and you want to reduce risk of infection, can you flush the coelomic of a bird?

A

No, you have to open air sacs to do surgery in the coelom of a bird so you wouldn’t want to do this otherwise you will drown the bird

51
Q

What is the most important diagnostic exam method in birds

A

X-ray

52
Q

In psittacines, what size is a normal heart shadow on x-ray

A

About 50% of the coelomic cavity

53
Q

On radiographs, what creates the “hourglass” shape in the coelom

A

The heart and the liver shadows

54
Q

T/F you can easily differentiate large and small intestine on a birds X-ray

A

False

55
Q

If you can see the primary bronchi or parabronchi on a birds x-ray is this normal or abnormal?

A

Abnormal, they may have something like aspiration pneumonia

56
Q

What is a contraindication for doing endoscopy in a bird

A

If there is a cyst or something that could rupture and drown the bird (air sacs are cloudy)
Also acceptable is if you said that this was one of the first diagnostics you tried because it is very invasive and shouldn’t be a first step

57
Q

If you see small ‘dots’ lateral to the heart on x-ray of an older bird what might this be?

A

Mineralization of the great vessels

58
Q

On a bird lateral x-ray, what is below the proventriculus

A

The liver

59
Q

Where are the kidneys located in a bird

A

On the ventral side of the pelvis

60
Q

If gonads are visible on X-ray where might they be located

A

At the cranial pole of the kidney

61
Q

If the proventriculus and ventriculus is displaced dorsally and caudally what may be the cause

A

Hepatomegaly

62
Q

Enlargement of what organs can push the GI tract ventrally and caudally

A

Spleen, testis, ovaries, and kidney

63
Q

A bird is presenting with respiratory difficulty. Well at least that helps narrow it down to an issue with the airway right?

A

Nope… everything is just chilling together in the coelom so anything taking up space could put pressure on the lungs
Ex. An egg bound bird will often have respiratory difficulty

64
Q

If grit is pushed dorsally on X-ray what may be causing this

A

Ventriculus pushed up- could be from hepatomegaly or splenic enlargement

65
Q

What is the best view for examining kidneys

A

Lateral because they are surrounded by air providing negative contrast

66
Q

When is ultrasound a good idea and what can it differentiate between

A

It’s a good idea if the coelomic cavity is filled with something that isn’t air, it can help differentiate between fluid accumulation and a mass

67
Q

When doing a barium study how fast do you expect the crop to empty

A

10 minutes

68
Q

A bird presents for anorexia. You do a barium study and hurray the bird begin eating again afterwards! What is the likely cause

A

Gastric ulcers, the barium coats them and the bird feels much better

69
Q

What is a helpful diagnostic tool for Proventriculus Dilitation Disease

A

Barium study

70
Q

What are the best veins to use in parrots for blood draws

A

The basilic or jugular

71
Q

What must you be careful of when doing a blood draw in a bird, especially if it is from the jugular

A

Don’t lacerate the veins!

72
Q

What is unique about avian blood cells that you should keep in mind when evaluating bloodwork

A

They are nucleated so they can lyse easily, this will release potassium and cause elevated potassium on electrolytes

73
Q

What is the normal hematocrit for a bird

A

35-55%

74
Q

On bloodwork you notice an otherwise healthy bird has an elevated white blood cell count, most of which are heterophils. Should you be concerned?

A

Most likely not, birds will mobilize their heterophils from the periphery when stressed

75
Q

How would you estimate total blood volume in a bird

A

It is 10% of the body weight

76
Q

How many mls of blood can you take from a 1kg bird (if you can take 1% of BW)

A

10 mls
1kg-1000g
1ml= 1g
1% of 1000g is 10g = 10ml

77
Q

What is the anticoagulant of choice for a CBC

A

EDTA

78
Q

What is truly meant when someone says “oh its fine birds can lose a lot of blood and still be okay!”

A

It is relative to their size. They can proportionally lose a lot of blood when compared to their body weight becuase hematopoeisis is very quick in birds
However a lot to a bird may only be a few qtips full of blood to us

79
Q

When a bird is stressed what WBCs are increased and what are decreased

A

Heterophils are increased (heterophilia) and lymphocytes are decreased (lymphopenia)

80
Q

What WBC should increase with aspergillum

A

This is usually a chronic disease so monocytes would increase

81
Q

What is a unique feature that bird thrombocytes can do and a unique trait they have

A

They have phagocytic function and they are nucleated (so they may look like lymphocytes)

82
Q

What features can you see on bloodwork if there is liver disease

A

Elevated AST, LDH (normal CPK), bile acids, hyperglobulinemia, lipemia/cholesterolemia
Hypoalbuminemia

83
Q

Why is jaundice rare in psittacines

A

They lack biliverdin reductase

84
Q

You have a bird presenting with regurgitation and a mild head tilt. What should you include on your bloodwork panel

A

Lead and zinc toxicity panel

85
Q

You do a crop swap on a bird and the swap smells funky and kinda fermented. What might be going on?

A

Sour crop

Exotics Elective (1 decks)

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