Bird Health and Diseases

Question 1

why do birds mask illness in nature?

Answer 1

so predators, other birds won’t see they’re weak

Question 2

signs of health problems

Answer 2

change in droppings
weight loss
fluffed feathers/huddling
respiratory signs
behavioral changes (sleeping more than normal, less vocalization)

Question 3

prevention

Answer 3

proper husbandry (reduce stress, space for exercise, good nutrition, clean water, psychological stimulation)
vaccines, but not many available for pet birds

Question 4

biosecurity

Answer 4

procedures intended to protect humans or animals against disease or harmful biological agents

Question 5

how are diseases spread?

Answer 5

people are most common carriers
some diseases spread by flies, mosquitos, mice and rats, other birds
poor biosecurity

Question 6

how do you have good biosecurity?

Answer 6

limit contact with other birds, equipment; clean and disinfect if contact is necessary
change clothes, shoes
keep other animals out

Question 7

viral diseases

Answer 7

pox
Marek’s disease (chickens)
Pacheco’s disease (psittacines)
avian influenza

Question 8

PBFD

Answer 8

psittacine beak and feather disease (aka cockatoo syndrome):
feather damage, beak and nail damage, eventual neurotic behavior

Question 9

other causes of feather loss

Answer 9

health issues
nutritional imbalances
psychological problems causing plucking of own feathers/each other (boredom, sexual tension)
molting

Question 10

bacterial diseases

Answer 10

tuberculosis
mycoplasmosis
salmonellosis
psittacosis (parrot fever, ornithosis, chlamydiosis)

Question 11

protozoal diseases

Answer 11

coccidiosis
giardiasis

Question 12

fungal diseases

Answer 12

candidiasis: yeast infection in crop, common with poor hygiene in hand feeding, adults can contract after antibiotic treatment

Question 13

parasitic diseases

Answer 13

lice and mites
air sac mites in canaries, finches
scaly leg: mites burrow into skin, under scales
worms: roundworm, gapeworms in trachea especially in galliforms

Question 14

nutritional diseases

Answer 14

hypocalcemia: calcium deficiency, common in laying birds, can cause beak and bone deformities
obesity

Question 15

why did miners take canaries into the mine with them?

Answer 15

as an early warning sign for toxic gases (carbon monoxide)

Question 16

2 gases that birds are more susceptible to

Answer 16

carbon monoxide
overheated teflon

Question 17

toxic nutrient to birds

Answer 17

excessive salt

Question 18

why do you need to trim birds beak and nails?

Answer 18

they scratch/ rub beaks to wear down in the wild

Question 19

why do we wingclip and why only one wing?

Answer 19

so that the bird can’t fly away
only one wing so they can’t fly straight, more lift on one side than the other
reclip after molt/grow new feathers

Question 20

pox

Answer 20

afflicts most birds, wet and dry types, can vaccinate poultry

Question 21

Pacheco’s disease (psittacines)

Answer 21

may die with no symptoms/be asymptomatic carriers, may have nonspecific symptoms

Question 22

avian influenza

Answer 22

mostly respiratory

Question 23

tuberculosis

Answer 23

can affect immunocompromised humans

Question 24

mycoplasmosis

Answer 24

especially in galliforms and passerines, respiratory or swollen joints

Question 25

salmonellosis

Answer 25

respiratory and intestinal, some species where birds are carriers, can affect humans

Question 26

psittacosis (parrot fever, ornithosis, chlamydiosis)

Answer 26

can cause flu-like symptoms, headaches in humans; treatable in both birds and humans

Question 27

coccidiosis

Answer 27

common in galliforms, less common in psittacines, causes diarrhea (bloody), intestinal damage; spread through droppings

Question 28

giardiasis

Answer 28

common in budgies (parakeets), intestinal, humans can contract