Bird 10 Flashcards
common non-infectious diseases of the integument
- Feather Damaging Behavior (FDB=Feather picking)
<><> - Other feather issues
o Stress bars
o Blood feather damage (growing)
o Polyfolliculitis
o Feather cysts
<><> - Self-injurious behavior (SIB)
<><> - Skin masses
Feather Damaging Behavior (FDB=Feather picking)
- causes?
o Multifactorial
o 2 main causes
- Psychogenic
- Skin hypersensitivity
o Lots of other medical causes
- Viral, bacterial, fungal
dermatitis
- Focal pain
Feather Damaging Behavior (FDB=Feather picking)
- diagnostic workup
o Assess behavior
- Captive set up
- Stressors
- Reinforcers for picking
behavior
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o Exclude medical causes
- CBC/Biochemistry
- Radiographs/CT
- Skin biopsies
1 behind head (control skin) 1-3 on affected areas
Treatment – psychogenic FDB
o Improve environment
- Foraging
- Limit stressors
- Decrease reinforcement
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o Psychopharmacologicdrugs
- Clomipramine (TCA), paroxetine (SSRI)
- Slow onset of action (weeks)
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o Hormonal implant
- Deslorelin
cause of feather stress bars
- Nutritional imbalances
- Dystrophy due to concurrent diseases
- Hormonal issues
what to do if we see blood feather damage?
- Remove feather
- If broken inside follicle, incise follicle, remove feather sheath, close follicle)
what is polyfolliculitis?
- Several feathers coming out of a single follicle (small birds)
what are feather cysts? mainly seen in what species?
- Keratin-filled cyst, seen mainly in canaries
Self-injurious behavior (SIB)
- etiology
- mainly what species?
- species specific syndromes?
o Similar etiology than FDB
o Mainly cockatoos
- Especially on the keel
o Some species syndrome
- Lovebird mutilation syndrome > Shoulders
- Quaker mutilation syndrome > Legs
Self-injurious behavior (SIB) treatment
o Same as FDB
o Antibiotics for wound
o Wound care
o E-collar
skin masses we commonly see in birds? where?
o Lipomas
- Very common
o Xanthomas
- Wingtips
o Squamous cell carcinoma
- Head
- Uropygial gland
o Soft tissue sarcomas
GI system common non-infectious avian diseases
- Beak malocclusion
- Beak trauma
- Hypovitaminosis A
- Crop burns
- Foreign bodies
- Cloacal prolapse
- Neoplasia
types of beak malocclusion and how we can help
o Scissor beak
- Transfrontal pin
- Mandibular ramp
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o Mandibular prognathism
- Upper beak extension
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o Other malocclusion, older birds, ramphothecal elongation
o Corrective beak trimming
Hypovitaminosis A
- how does it arise
- outcomes?
- Tx
o Seeds are deficient
o Squamous metaplasia on epithelium
- oral cavity, choana, sinuses, uropygial gland)
o Also:
- Depressed immune system
- May affect other organs: kidneys, respiratory
o Supplement with vit. A
Crop burns
- cause
- Tx
o Caused by hot spots in food
- Either too hot or microwaved
o Supportive care and assisted feeding until necrotic margins are known (2 weeks)
o Crop repair
Foreign bodies
- are they common in birds?
- what kinds of birds
- which are most problematic
o Uncommon
o More common in cockatoos, baby birds, and small birds (fiber toys)
o Metallic FB may cause toxicities
Cloacal prolapse
- when it occurs?
- causes?
- common in what species?
o Following egg laying
o Cloacitis
o Straining
o Idiopathic
- Umbrella cockatoos
- African grey parrots
Cloacal prolapse - Treatment, acute and chronic
o Acute treatment
- Two temporary transverse sutures
- NSAIDs
- Antibiotics (amoxicillin)
- Hormone treatment (deslorelin implant)
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o Chronic (idiopathic)
- Cloacoplasty
- Stainless steel transverse sutures
Neoplasias of the GI system in birds
o Proventricular adenocarcinoma
- Especially budgerigars
o Lymphoma/round cell tumours
o Squamous cell carcinoma - Crop/esophagus
common non-infectious conditions of the liver in birds
- Hepatic lipidosis
- Iron storage disease
- Neoplasia
Hepatic lipidosis in birds
- pathophysiology, cause
- species susceptible?
- Dx
- Tx
o Different pathophysiology than cats (not anorexia on
obese animals)
o Mainly dietary
o Quaker parrots, Amazon parrots
o Elevation in liver parameters in advanced cases
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Treatment
o Diet and lifestyle changes
o Liver protectant
- S-adenosyl-methionine (SAMe)
- Silimaryn
Iron storage disease in birds
- how it affects the liver, different forms
- what species?
o Hemosiderosis: increased iron in liver
o Hemochromatosis: pathologic changes in liver
o Dietary disease in iron sensitive species
- Mynah, starlings and affiliated
- Birds of paradise
- Toucans
- Some parrots (lorikeets)
- Lots of frugivorous species
iron storage disease Dx in birds
o Liver parameters
- Also associated with diabetes mellitus
o TIBC, Fe, Transferrin not useful
o Hepatic biopsy
iron storage disease treatment and prevention in birds
- Treatment
o Periodic phlebotomy
o Chelating agents - Deferiprone (PO)
- Deferoxamine (IM)
<><> - Prevention
o Low iron diet in iron sensitive species
liver neoplasias we see in birds
o Typically
metastasis
o Lymphoma, round cell tumour
o Bile duct carcinoma
- Associated with
herpesvirus
non-infectious conditions of the cardiovascular system in birds
- Congestive heart failure
- Atherosclerosis
Congestive heart failure common causes, clinical signs, Dx
o Common causes
- Valvular insufficiency
- Dilated cardiomyopathy
- Atherosclerotic disease
- Ascites syndrome (chickens)
- Valvular endocarditis
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o Clinical signs
- Murmur
- Frequently ascites
- Dyspnea
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* Transcoelomic echocardiography
atherosclerosis in birds
- what is it?
- risk factors, species
- signs
- Atherosclerosis
o Fat accumulation in arteries
o Large arteries at heart base
<><> - Risk factors
o Africangreys, Amazons, Cockatiels,
falcons
o Age
o Female sex (in most species)
<><> - Signs
o Acute death
o Dyspnea
o Neurological signs
o Cardiovascular signs
non-infectious conditions of the neurological system in birds
- Seizures
- Toxins
- Spinal disease
Seizures–non-infectious causes in birds
o Lead toxicosis
o Stroke (atherosclerosis)
o Trauma
o Metabolic [calcium (African greys), glucose]
o Brain neoplasia
o Idiopathic
Seizures – infectious causes in birds
o Avian bornavirus(parrots)
o West nile virus (raptors)
neurotoxins in birds
o **Lead
- Diagnosis: radiographs, lead levels
- Treatment: Ca-EDTA
o Zinc
o Acetylcholine esterase inhibitors
- Organophosphates
- Carbamates (carbofuran)
common spinal diseases in birds
o Discospondylitis
vs. trauma
o Junction notarium- synsacrum
non-infectious respiratory system issues in birds
- Air sac rupture
- Tracheal diseases
- Airborne toxins
- Extra-respiratory diseases
air sac rupture in birds
- typically where?
- why?
- Tx
o Typically on head
- Cervicocephalic diverticulum (sinus)
o Trauma in most cases
o Treatment
- Air aspiration
- Surgical stoma
- Stent
common non-infectious tracheal issues in birds
o Foreign bodies
- Millet seed in small birds
o Post-intubation tracheal stenosis
o Tracheal trauma
Airborne toxins that affect birds, and Tx
o Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
- Overheated non-stick cookware
- Acute dyspnea
- Pulmonary congestion
o Cigarette
o Air freshener
o Candles…
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* Treatment
o Oxygen therapy
o NSAIDs
o Antifungals
Extra-respiratory diseases in birds - what can cause issues?
o Anything reducing air sac space
- Ascites
- Organomegaly
- Coelomic masses
- Obesity
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o Anything pressing on trachea and syrinx
- Mass in thoracic inlet
Thyroid
Coracoid boney callus
Soft tissue sarcoma
Macaw asthma - what is it?
- Reaction to feather dander of African greys and cockatoos (including cockatiels)
Aspiration pneumonia common in what birds
- Very common in handfed chicks
neoplasias common in avian resp system
- Squamous cell carcinoma
- Pulmonary carcinoma
- Cockatiel cranial respiratory tumours
Common non-infectious diseases of avian renal system
o Urate nephrosis
o Interstitial nephritis / fibrosis
non-infectious renal diseases in birds
- everything leads to what? what kinds?
- Dx?
- Tx?
Everything leads to gout
o Precipitation of uric acid
- Chronic > articular gout
- Acute > visceral gout
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* Diagnosis
o White tophi under skin
o Cytology
- Polarizing crystals
o Biochemistry: high uric acid
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* Treatment
o Typically die quickly
o Fluids
Dystocia (egg binding) causes?
what we see on X-ray?
o Causes
- First egg
- Calcium, nutritional deficiency
- Disease of the oviduct, ovary, cloaca
- Misshaped eggs
<><>
o Xray to check
- Shell (calcified, intact,
shape)
- Presence of several eggs
- Oviposition
Dystocia (egg binding)
- treatments
- Medical FIRST
Incubator
Fluids
Supplemental calcium (SC 200 mg/kg ca-gluconate diluted in fluids)
No NSAIDS, but ok for opioids
<><> - Surgical
If declining, not passing egg after 24-48h
Per-cloacal ovocentesis
Cesarean section
o Reproductive-associated ascites or coelomic fluid can be due to:
- Egg yolk coelomitis
- Cystic right oviduct
- Ovarian cyst
- Ovarian neoplasia (chickens, cockatiels)
common non-infectious reproductive system issues in birds
o Dystocia (egg binding)
o Reproductive-associated ascites or coelomic fluid
o Chronice gg laying
o Oviductal diseases
non-infectious oviductal diseases in birds
- Salpingitis (very common in chickens)
- Oviductal impaction, torsion or prolapse
Hormonal treatments for non-infectious reproductive system issues in birds
o Leuprolide acetate injection
o Deslorelin implant
o Avoid steroid based hormones
Most common “nutritional” diseases
Hypovitaminosis A (seed-based diet)
Hepatic lipidosis (Amazon, Quaker)
Atherosclerosis (multifactorial)
Most common toxicities in pet birds
Lead - neurological signs
Airborne toxins (esp. PTFE) - respiratory signs
gout in birds, general cause and forms
Due to hyperuricemia
Articular (chronic) and visceral (acute)
dystocia in birds
- order of treatment options
Medical THEN surgical treatment
