Birds Flashcards
What are the primary flight feathers also called? What bones are they attached to?
Wing remiges and tail rectrices
The remiges are attached to the carpometacarpal and phalanges
What are primary feathers?
The large wing and tail feathers that provide lift and maneuverability in flight
What are remiges and retrices?
Remiges are flight feathers on the wing, and rectrices are flight feathers on the tail.
What are secondary feathers? What bones are they connected to?
Smaller, lighter remiges than the primary feathers.
Connected to the ulna.
Feathers lay in feathered and non-feathered tracts called what?
Feathered are Pterylae and non-feathered are apterylae
What is the main shaft of the feather called?
The rachis
What does preening do?
Realign the barbules
How thick is bird skin? What suture is used for birds?
2-4 cell layers thick, making it very difficult to suture.
4-0 ,5-0 with swaged/blunt/tapered needle
What birds do not have a bi-lobed uropygial gland?
Amazons, ostrich, emus
What color do birds bruise? Why?
Green. Because they lack biliverdin reductase that converts biliverdin to bilirubin
What is the attachment site for large pectoral muscles?
Keel/breast bone
What is the notarium?
Fusion of the first thoracic vertebrae
What is the synsacrum?
Fusion of the caudal thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and caudal vertebrae
What is the cervical vertebrae number range in birds?
8-25
What is the pygostyle?
Distal fusion of the caudal vertebrae for tail muscle attachment
What is included in the pectoral girdle?
Coracoid bone (strut enabling flight), clavicle and scapula
Name the bird bones of the proximal to distal wing
Humerus, radius, ulna, radial carpal bones, major and minor metacarpals, phalanges, alula (thumb remnant)
Name the bones of the distal hind limb in birds
Femur, tibiotarsus, tarsometatarsus, and phalanges
Name the pneumatic bones in birds
Femur, humerus and some vertebrae
What are the venipuncture sites of a bird?
Right jugular vein (right is ⅔ larger than left), basilic vein (cutaneous ulnar) as it crosses the proximal ulna, medial metatarsal vein
If you can see the refill in the basilic vein, what does this mean in birds?
Suggestive of dehydration or shock
Why should parenteral meds be given in the front half of the body in birds and lizards?
Birds/lizards can shunt blood from the caudal half of the body through the kidneys first before going through the heart via the renal portal system, so drugs given in the caudal half may go undiluted directly to the kidneys before going to the heart
In parrots, how many divisions are in the kidneys?
3, cranial, middle, caudal
What is the primary IM injection site in birds?
Pectoral (breast) muscle
Where are parrot kidneys located?
Dorsally in a concavity of the sacrum
Reptilian and bird nephrons lack what?
A large loop of henle
Instead of BUN, what is tested in bird urine?
Urates/uric acid
Birds can repopulate neurons within the:
CNS
How much of a bird’s body weight is the eyes?
15%
Which bird has highly developed sense of smell?
Vulture
What drug class is ineffective at dilating bird pupils and not used premedically?
Anticholinergics
Which type of muscle is the bird iris?
Voluntary, striated
Which part of the bird eye is avascular?
Retina
What is the pecten in birds?
Pigmented structure attached to the retina and supplies nutrients to the vitreous
How many primary colors can birds see?
4
What is the cere in birds?
Area at the base of the upper beak that surrounds the nares
What is operculum?
Keratinized flap of tissue just inside the nares in parrots
Because birds have complete tracheal rings, which ET tube should be used?
Uncuffed (Cole) to avoid pressure necrosis
Where is the syrinx in birds?
Past the tracheal bifurcation, so birds can still vocalize while intubated
What is the path of airflow in birds?
Through the lungs from the trachea or air sacs to the primary bronchus to the secondary bronchus to the parabronchi to the air capillaries
How large are bird air capillaries?
3 microns vs 10 in mammal alveoli
How many air sacs do birds have?
9
How does oxygen exchange work in birds?
Oxygen exchange occurs both on inspiration and expiration since air can go from the air sacs to the lungs as well as from the trachea to the lungs
There is no abdominal cavity in birds, instead it’s:
a coelemic cavity
Describe the anatomy of the bird esophagus:
2 sections (cervical esophagus and thoracic esophagus) divided by an out-pouching called the crop (ingluvies)
What is the entrance to the bird trachea?
Glottis
What is the choana in birds?
Hole in the roof of the beak that goes into the frontal sinus
What is the crop/ingluvy in birds?
Pouch that stores food and has waves of peristalsis that occur at a rate of one/minute
What is the true stomach of birds?
Proventriculus
What is another name for the ventriculus?
Gizzard
Chickens possess a cecum, but which birds do not?
Parrots
What is the gizzard?
Muscular part of the stomach used to grind up food
Parrot feces contain 90% of which type of bacteria?
Gram positive
Which birds have mostly gram negative bacteria?
Water fowl, raptors, poultry
Passerines have little bacteria in their feces, but when they do what kind is it?
Gram positive
Clostridium spp in birds is characterized by what?
Septic tank smell
What are the 3 parts of the cloaca and describe them
Copradeum (receives feces from the rectum), Urodeum (receives urine and urates from the ureter and sperm and eggs from the vas deferens and uterus/vagina), Proctodeum (the opening just before the opening (vent))
What are the reproductive organs of male birds?
2 intra-abdominal testes and a phallus (rudimentary fold of tissue)
Tomial tooth is only found on which birds?
Birds of prey
What are the reproductive organs of female birds?
1 functional left ovary, infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, uterus (shell gland), short vagina
Which birds do not have a crop?
Birds that are born precocial
Blood sexing involves what?
Evaluating 0.2ml of blood via an ELISA test for a heterogamete (female is ZW) or homogamete (male is ZZ
Which birds have lymphocytes as the primary WBC?
Amazons, Cockatiels, budges, eclectus
Birds can show up to 8% polychromasia because
the RBC lifespan is so short at 38 days
African grey parrots with hypocalcemia suffer from what?
Seizures
What is the best way to check for protozoa in bird feces?
Fresh smears with saline and a coverslip
What does clostridium look like under the microscope?
Large, rod shaped, larger than normal rod shaped bacteria, has a “headlight” that reflects back under the microscope
Sick birds should be kept at what temperature?
80-90 F
What is a coacal swab for?
Determines bacterial flora of lower GI tract, inflammatory cells, C&S, chlamydia psittici, or viral isolation
A choanal culture should be taken when?
When birds are exhibiting upper respiratory signs
Where is the culturette placed in birds when doing an exam?
In the rostral area of the choana to prevent cross contamination with flora in the oral cavity
What is a crop wash for?
Important for a direct microscopic examination to check for protozoans, such as Trichomonas spp or yeast (Candida albicans) using a wet mount technique
What is the calculation for energy requirements in birds?
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) K(W^0.75) in parrots. K value for parrots is 78,, W is the weight in kg. In passerines, 130 (W^0.7)Should be doubled for sick birds.
How should a bird feeding tube be placed?
The tube should be passed over the trachea at the base of the tongue down the esophagus and palpated in the crop at the level of the thoracic inlet
What temperature should tube food be?
Between 98 and 101 F
What is the rule of thumb for feeding tubes in birds?
when using a tube for either feeding or a crop wash, try to pick a tube with a diameter larger than the glottis
What size needle and gauge should be used in bird venipuncture?
3ml, 26G in most birds, 1ml 30G in passerines and very small psittacines
Potentially toxic drugs, such as aminoglycosides, should:
never be administered by injection into the legs except in ostriches, emus, and rheas, and only when patients are adequately hydrated
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What are signs of egg binding?
Abdominal straining, wide stance, depression, loss of appetite, swollen abdomen, fluffed feathers, droppings stuck to vent, egg seen in vent
What are the 4 common avian diseases?
Psittacosis(“parrot fever”), Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD), Fatty Liver Disease, Knemidokoptes
What is Knemidokoptes? How is it treated?
Genus of parasitic mites that infect the skin or feather follicles of birds, especially gallinaceous birds, parakeets and canaries. Called scaly leg and face mites,burrows into top layer of skin, spreads through direct contact and is treated with ivermectin.
What are signs of Knemidokoptes?
White to gray lesions over face, beak, skin and legs, itchiness, feather plucking/loss.
What is Chlamydophila psittaci also known as?
Avian chlamydia and Parrot Fever, considered a top differential diagnoses for a sick bird with nonspecific clinical illness
What is a zoonotic and potentially fatal bird disease? How is it contracted?
Parrot Fever.
Respiratory inhalation
What are the 2 forms of PBFD?
Acute and chronic
What are the signs of PBFD?
Depression, diarrhea, weight loss, abnormal feather development, anorexia, growth deformities of the beak, oral lesions, death
What are signs of hepatic lipidosis in birds?
Sudden loss of appetite, lethargy, swollen abdomen, green droppings, obesity
What prevents the yolk from moving in the egg?
The chalazia
What is the main source of nutrition for the bird embryo?
The yolk
What gives yolk its color?
Fat. The darker the yolk, the more fat.
Barbules attach to the barbs and nearby barbules at what angles?
45 and 90 degrees respectively
Growing feathers have an active blood supply and are called what?
Blood feathers, and the large wing blood feathers are attached to bone.
What happens if a blood feather breaks?
Bird can bleed to death because the blood supply at the proximal end of the feather doesn’t vasoconstrict, so it needs to be pulled
Birds on an all seed diet are deficient in what vitamin?
Vitamin A
Which birds have iron storage disease that requires them to have a low-iron and vitamin C diet?
Toucans, mynah birds, some lories
How can dyspnea be determined in birds visually?
Tail bob with each breath
A normal choanal slit is lined with papilla. What deficiency can cause it to become blunted or disappear?
Vitamin A
What vein is used to determine hydration status in a bird?
Cutaneous ulnar (basilic) vein. 1 sec to refill is 10% dehydration or shock
Macaws commonly regurgitate after getting which antibiotics?
Trimethorpin-sulfa and doxycycline.
How is poxvirus transmitted?
Mosquito bites and breaks in the skin
What are signs of poxvirus in birds?
blepharitis, ocular discharge, rhinitis, and conjunctivitis associated with raised papules. Clinical signs can be divided into “dry” pox, which consists of cutaneous papular lesions, and “wet” pox which consists of mucosal papular lesions of the oropharynx. Occasionally birds may display neurologic signs.
How is poxvirus diagnosed?
Bolinger bodies found histologically in the dermis
Polyomavirus are most common in what birds?
Immature
What are signs of polyomavirus?
12 to 48 hours of depression, anorexia, delayed crop emptying, regurgitation, diarrhea, dehydration, subcutaneous hemorrhage, dyspnea, and polyuria.
What lethal virus is there a vaccine for in birds?
Polyomavirus
What are signs of proventricular dilation disease(PDD) in birds? What is it caused by?
What is it caused by? Include severe, chronic weight loss, regurgitation, delayed crop emptying, ravenous appetite, undigested food in stool, and neurologic signs (i.e., falling off perch). Bornavirus.
What does PDD do in birds?
Paralyzes the nerves in the proventriculus and the bird starves to death despite eating.
Besides PDD, what causes proventricular dilation?
from parasites, yeast, avian gastric yeast, Mycobacterium, foreign bodies, neoplasia, and lead and zinc toxicosis.
Papillomatosis, or wart-like gastrointestinal/cloacal lesions most commonly infect which psittacines?
Amazons
What are signs of Papillomatosis in birds?
weight loss, signs of straining to defecate, soiled vent, or blood in stool. Some cases have a gastrointestinal obstruction with associated clinical signs.
What are predisposing factors to Aspergillosis?
immunosuppression, including hypovitaminosis A, and being exposed to and inhaling massive quantities of fungal spores, which can easily occur when corn cob, wheat or pine straw is used as bedding.
Where is aspergillosis found in birds?
bifurcation of the trachea near the syrinx or in the caudal thoracic air sac, and occasionally the sinuses.
What are signs of candidiasis?
regurgitation, delayed crop emptying and white plaques in the oral cavity. The crop is the most common organ affected and the crop contents will have a yeasty, sweet smell.
Why should the bird’s eye not be allowed to rest on a surface during anesthesia?
Can cause anterior chamber collapse
Syngamus, aka gape worm, is common in which birds?
Waterfowls and robins
A correct wing trim depends on what factors?
Weight of the bird, body type and number of pin (blood) feathers growing at the time
What are immature feathers called?
Blood or pin feathers
How much blood can be taken from a bird safely?
up to 10%
What is the maintenance fluid for birds?
50 ml/kg/day
Why is PCV inaccurate for 24 hrs after a hemorrhagic event in birds?
Because birds can compensate their PCV during blood loss by shunting blood from large skeletal muscle capillary beds and away from the kidneys via the renal portal system to increase blood flow to central areas.
Before giving fluids to birds, what should be done to the fluids?
Warmed to 100F
IO catheters are commonly placed where?
Distal ulna or proximal tibiotarsus, not in a pneumatic bone. Aspiration should produce a small amount of blood.
Where is the crop on a bird?
On the right side of the neck
What is the columella in birds?
Bony structure that replaces the malleus, incus and stapes in the middle ear
What is the furcula?
The wishbone/fused clavicle
What are sperm nests in female birds?
Clusters of sperm stored in the infundibulum to be released to fertilize eggs
Which part of the female reproductive tract secretes shell pigment?
Uterus
Which part of the female reproductive tract secretes the shell membrane?
Isthmus
Which part of the female reproductive tract separates the albumin and chalazia over the egg yolk and sperm?
Magnum
A broiler, or fryer chicken, is how old?
8 weeks
What is a brooder?
Housing unit for rearing birds after hatching
What is the yolk?
Yellow part of the egg containing germinal cells
What are contour feathers?
Body or flight feathers arranged in rows
What are filoplume feathers?
small, hairlike feather with barbs along the shaft. Helps guide the bird in flight and reposition the feathers.
What are plume feathers?
Also called down feathers, stay close to the body and provide warmth
What are tertiary feathers and what bone are they connected to?
Even shorter remiges connected to the humerus
Ramphastids include toucans, toucanets and aracaris. What organs do they not have?
Crop and gallbladder
Normal cloacal flora in Ramphastids include what?
Gram negative like E. Coli, Enterobacter and Klebsiella, and Gram positive like Staph and Strept
Adult Ramphastids lack which type of feathers?
Down feathers
Ramphastids may have faded plumage color due to what dietary insufficiency?
Carotenoids
What is the incubation period in toucans/toucanets?
15-16 days
What age do toucans/toucanets typically fledge?
5 months
What age do toucans/toucanets typically begin eating on their own?
12 weeks
Ramphastids should avoid what in their diet?
Citrus fruits, tomatoes and pineapple, which can increase the absorption of iron
What’s the difference between hemosiderosis and hemochromatosis in Ramphastids who have iron storage disease?
Hemosiderosis is a physiological presence of iron in tissues with no inflammation, hemochromatosis causes pathological cellular derangements
How is iron storage disease in Ramphastids treated?
Weekly phlebotomy of 1% body weight, iron chelators for 30 days, and adding tannin rich foods to the diet such as green and black tea
Ramphastids can be Yersiniosis, which is spread by what?
Rodents entering enclosures
Capillariosis is a common cause of death and sickness in Ramphastids. What is it?
A nematode known as a hairworm that causes lethargy, emaciation and dehydration
What are the signs for metabolic bone disease in Ramphastids?
Soft and rubbery beak, bent or bowed pelvic limbs, fracture of the bill tip, easily broken bones
