Bird 3 Flashcards
basis of good bird (and other) medicine
- History + PE = Basis of good medicine
- Can spend lots of money on diagnostics
and still miss important issues - Most mistakes come from:
o Poor or an incomplete physical examination
o Tunnel vision
important history to collect for birds
o Signalment
o Captive environment
o Diet
o Past medical history
o History of current presentation
what do birds do that makes history / observation hard and why
- Birds tend to hide their clinical signs
o Prey species
o High compensatory mechanisms
o Acute on chronic presentations
4 parts of observations to make during history taking
o Signalment (species, age, sex, source, other pets, use)
o Husbandry (habitat, diet, enrichment, routine)
o Past history
o Presenting problem
why important to know bird species?
o Different questions to ask depending on species group (parrots and pet birds, birds of prey, backyard chicken)
o Diseases vary by species
why important to know bird sex?
o Sexualdimorphismoregglaying
o DNAorsurgicalconfirmation
o Females have lots of reproductive diseases, so important to know
lifespan for parrots, birs of prey?
o Parrot average life span: 20-30 years
o Birds of prey: 10-20 years
why important to know birds age?
o Younger birds have more infectious diseases vs older more non- infectious/neoplasias
important considerations before restraining a bird in practice
- DO NOT involve the owner
Most parrots are pets and some raptors are falconry birds - Don’t break the trust with owners/training
- Least intrusive techniques first
More stressful for everyone
<><> - Observe the bird and cage first
Breathing pattern and RR
Behaviour and mentation
Wing and leg position
<><> - Be aware of risks (and warn the owner)
Birds can die during restraint or sample collection (old, compromised)
Some birds lose feathers as a defense mechanism
principles of bird restraint, when about to restrain
- Be fast (prepared and efficient)
Have everything ready
Monitor your bird at all times
Maximize things done during restraint (collect all samples)
If planned to anesthetize the bird for diagnostic tests, do PE when anesthetized (don’t grab it twice) - Target their weapon
Beak for parrots
Feet for raptors
Nothing for chickens (except spur) and pigeons
Fused skeleton – limbs and head mobile - No open windows or doors
- Birds are light and fragile
o Most birds you’ll see weigh < 500g-1kg
o Do not exert too much force
o Never press on the keel or they will suffocate
o If sick, may have to stage things or put in incubator first - Can catch most birds in the dark
o Passerines: no light, no perch
o Birds don’t see as well as us in the dark (except nocturnal birds obviously)
o Definitely turn off lights if escape
very important restraint consideration for parrots
DO NOT USE gloves - not enough dexterity
proper parraot restraint
Use towels, not gloves
- Hold head with one hand and support body and legs with the other
- All fingers below mandible!!
- Can hold head and body simultaneously in small species
- Don’t hang them by the head
- If you are losing control or bird flapping too much > press it against your body and reposition your hands
proper tools for raptor restraint
-gloves (maybe with towels)
-safety glasses for eagles
- easier in the dark
never press on keel for birds or what?
o Never press on the keel or they will suffocate
considerations for parrot handling: dangers and issues
- Handling is stressful
o Parrotsbecome
hyperthermic in 15 min
o Hard to take blood on struggling parrot
o Loud vocalization
how to perform conscious sedation for parrots
- Conscious sedation
o Midazolam+ Butorphanol at 2 + 2mg/kg iN (or IM)
o Wait 10 minutes
o Reverse with flumazenil 0.05 mg/kg IN (or IM)
common clinical signs for general sickness
- General sickness = Non-specific signs
o Fluffed up
o Bottom of cage
o Eyes (half) closed
o Decreased appetite
o Lethargy
common clinical signs for dyspnea
o Tail bobbing
o Increased efforts
o Slow return to normal (>1-2 min)
o Open beak breathing (severe)
o Inspiratory (upper respiratory)
o Expiratory/mixed (lower respiratory)
o Voice change (syrinx)
common changes to see in urofeces for sick bird
o Polyuria (watery)
- Lots of causes, not specific
o Color changes
- Red: blood, myoglobin, hemoglobin
- Green: biliverdinuria
- Black: melena
o Undigested seeds
- Stomach issue
common clinical neuro / muskuloskeletal signs? important question to ask?
- Neurological / musculo- skeletal signs
o Falling off perch
o Posture abnormalities o Seizuring
o Ataxic / lame
o Unable to fly - Ask again about exposure to heavy metals (lead)
common reasons for straining in bird? can be confused with what?
oEgg binding oCloacal issues
oCan be confused with a breathing problem
common clinical signs that people bring in birds for
- General sickness= Non-specific signs
- Dyspnea
- Changes in urofeces
- Neurological / musculo- skeletal signs
- Straining
- Other common presenting complaints
o Masses
o Ocular issues
o Cloacal prolapse (which part is prolapsed?)
o Feather loss
o Egg laying problems
o Regurgitations/vomiting
distance exam for bird: what do we look at?
o Look at diet in the cage
o Look at urofeces
- Watery (beware of oversupplementation with fruits)
- Color change (beware artificial diet colorants)
- Undigested seeds
o Look at the bird
- Fluffed up, eyes closed
- Breathing pattern (increased efforts, tail-bobbing, open beak)
- Feathering (stress bars, dull colours)
- Wing and leg position, etc.
o Decide if placed in incubator/oxygen or safe to do a hand- on examination (can also keep the head in oxygen)
why do we weight bird on PE?
o Estimate of body condition
o For dosages
o For monitoring
