Exotics: Birds Introduction Flashcards
What is needed for a general bird consult?
- Detailed clinical history
- Escape free room
- Dyspnea- open-mouth breathing, tail-bobbing, increased effort
- Demeanour- collapse, laying on the bottom of cage
- Obvious signs of trauma, bleeding
- Have all necessary equipment ready beforehand
- Try to perform the clinical exam as briefly but thorough as possible
- Some individuals might benefit from sedation
What nutrition related problems are common?
- Hypovitaminosis A
- Hypocalcemia and metabolic bone disease
- Obesity
- What type of bird are commonly affected by hypovitaminosis A
- What is the pathology?
- What are the main signs?
- Psittacines
- Epithelial metaplasia- salivary glands, other epithelial surfaces
- Choana papillae atrophy, swellings around eyes and throat (sterile abscesses/debris)
Blepharitis, keratoconjunctivitis
Pseudomembrane on oral cavity
Generally poor feather/skin quality
- What species are overrepresented for hypocalcaemia?
- What are the risk factors
- What does it lead to?
- African greys
- Seed based diets, lack of calcium/vit D, Inadequate Ca:P ratio, lack of UV-B
- Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism
How does a parrot preset with hypocalcaemia?
- Typical history- falling from their perch, screaming and flapping in the bottom of cage, seizuring
- Clinical exam:
Generalised weakness
Quiet, dull
Ataxia
Seizures
Post-ictal phase
Paresis/paralysis
How is a seizuring parrot managed?
- Midazolam 0.5-1mg/kg- can be repeated
- Placment in padded incubator with supplemental O2
- Calcium gluconate IM to suspected cases
- Once stable consider blood collection
- Start additional supportive care: fluids, supplemental feeding
- Switch to oral calcium gluconate as soon as stable
- Correct diet and husbandry
Other then seizuring how can a bird present with hypocalcaemia?
Subclinical hypocalcaemia
* Bird with non-specific signs of illness
* Some feather plucking birds
* Detected on routine bloods
* Same advice regarding diet and husbandry
Nutritional osteodystrophy
* ‘rickets’- abnormal bone curvature
* Young growing birds of any species
* Mild cases can be corrected
* Radiographs
Dysotcia
* In egg-laying birds
- What species more commonly become obese?
- What are the main causes?
- What secondary problems are linked to obesity?
- Amazona parrrots, budgies, birds of prey
- Diet, lack of excercise, boredom, thyroid function
- Hepatopathies (heptic lipidosis), atherosclerosis and heart disease, pododermatitis, lipomas, repro failure, xanthomatosis
How is bird skin and plumage assessed?
Check
* Over all colour pattern- normal
* Feather quality
* Areas of alopecia
* Moult
* Signs of pruritis or self-trauma
* Other skin lesions
Beak
Eyelids and cere
Feet, legs and nails
What external parasites can affect birds?
How is it treated?
- Feather lice
- Feather mites
- Blood sucking mites:
Dermanyssus sp, ornothonyssus, poultry, canaries
Require treating the environment
Pyrethrin sprays- fibronil
- When can blood sucking mites cause significant mortality?
- What diseases can they act as vectors for?
- What themselves do they cause?
- Nestlings, incubating birds
- Paramyovirus, E. coli, Pasturella sp, Salmonella
- Anaemia and skin irritation
- What species are commonly affected by knemidocoptic mange?
- What areas of birds are more affected?
- What are typical lesions
- How can diagnosis be confirmed?
- How is it treated?
- Budgies, Canaries/finches, chickens and poultry
- Un-feathered areas (legs, beak, eyelids
- Pruritis crust like lesions
- Skin scrapes
- Ivermectin percutaenously
- When do feathers recieve blood?
- When is the bleeding more severe?
- What is the approach?
- During moult feathers receive blood
- More severe in wings/tail feathers
- Apply pressure on feather, don’t apply silver nitrate, analgesia, only remove feather only as last resource
- What are the risk factors for bumblefoot/pododermatitis?
- What are the species at risk?
- Risk factors:
Over weight/obese
Inapprorpriate perches
Hard flooring
Hypovitaminosis A
Skin trauma
Vascular disease - Birds of prey, ducks and waterfowl, parrots
What is the treatment approach to bumble foot?
Husbandry managment
* reduce weight, increase excercise
* Improve perches and flooring
* Improve hygiene
Dressings to relieve pressure from affected areas
Medication:
* Meloxicam
* Antibiotics- ideallt dependent on C&S
* Local treatment- antiseptics, skin soothin agents
Surgery- severe cases, radiograph
- What are the main presentations of respiratory disease in birds?
- What is the general approach to disease in birds?
- URT infection/sinusitis, tracheitis, pneumonia, airsaculitis
- Carefully assess patient
Provide supportive care/stabilise patient
Select diagnostic tests
Consider using meloxicam
What are the treatment options for URT/Sinusitis?
Antibiotics
* Ideally with C&S results
* Doxycycline/fluoroquinolones PO
* Also consider eyedrops with similar composition
NSAIDs/Meloxicam
GA + lancing and draining peri-orbital sinuses can provide relief and diagnostic samples
What is the approach to tracheal problems?
Diagnostic options
* Sedate and radiography
* GA + Rigid tracheoscopy to visualise lesions
* Collect samples for cytology and C&S
Common problems
* Gapeworm in poultry
* Other parasites
* Foreign bodies
* Grandulomas (aspergillus)
* Bacterial/viral infections
What can be used to treat disorders affecting the lungs?
Terbutaline IM can be used as a bronchodilator during initial approach
Follow general supportive care for birds with dyspnoea
What primary and secondard disorders can affect the airsacs?
Primary problems:
* Bacterial/viral infections
* Fungal infections- aspergilosis
* Some nematode worms
* Air sac mites
Secondary problems
* Coelomic masses/organ enlargment
* Coelomic effusion
* Adhesions
What is used for diagnosis and then treatment of disorders of air sacs?
Diagnosis:
* Sedation and radiography
* GA and rigid coelioscopy
* Bloods
Treatment
* Antibiotics/antifungals
* NSAIDs
* Oxygen supplementation
* Nebulization treatments
* General supportive
- What are the risk factors for aspergillosis?
- What does it cause?
- Whar are the clinical signs?
- Hypovitaminosis A, immunosupression, other pathogens
- Granuloma formation and toxin production
- Clinical signs depends on the lesion location of lesions: nasal cavities, trachea, air sacs
How is aspergillosis diagnosed?
- Some lesions are directly visible- nasal aspergillomas
- Bloods: anaemia, significant leucocytosis and heterophilia/monocytosis, increased AST, TP, Glob
- Radiography
- Rigid endoscope of air sacs
- Cytology/histology ± culture
- Serology for AB detection not very useful
How is aspergillosis treated?
Intraconazole/fluconazole
* Extended periods
* Might not clear the infection completely
* Careful with possible toxicity
Amphotericin B
* Can be nebulized
* Expensive
Other supportive care
Surgical debridment of aspergillomas
What agent causes chlamydiosis?
What are the clinical signs?
Chlamydophila psittaci- intracellular bacteria
Clinical signs vary:
* Conjunctivitis/rhinitis
* Airsaculitis/lower respiratory infection
* Diarrhoea
* Emaciation/low BCS
* Biliverdinuria
Zoonotic
What agent causes chlamydiosis?
What are the clinical signs?
Chlamydophila psittaci- intracellular bacteria
Clinical signs vary:
* Conjunctivitis/rhinitis
* Airsaculitis/lower respiratory infection
* Diarrhoea
* Emaciation/low BCS
* Biliverdinuria
Zoonotic
How is chlamydiosis diagnosed?
How is chlamydiosis treated?
Diagnosis:
Bloods:
* Significant leucocytosis and heterphilia
* Anaemia and hyperglobulinemia
* Increased AST and uric acid
PCR- swab- conjuntival sac swab > choana > cloaca
Serology- difficult to interpret, might suggest only exposure
Treatment
* Doxycycline- best option
* Other supportive care- liver protectants, fluids, feeding
How should a regurgitating bird be approached?
Very uncommon in birds
Full clinical exam
* Crop- distension, contents consistency
* Head feathers
Locating the problem
* Primary crop problem- infection, obstruction
* Lower GIT disease- infection, obstruction
* Coelomic problem- compression of GIT
* Systemic disease- organ failure, toxicity, infection
Initial supportive care
* Fluids and supplement heat
* Crop flush- provides systemic relief
* Consider: metoclopramide, NSAIDs, ABs
Testing
* faecal testing
* Bloods
* Radiographs
- What is a common cause of diarrhoea in birds?
- What should be closely checked in a clinical exam?
- What initial supportive care should be given?
- Polyuria
- Weight and BCS, hydration status, feathers around cloaca
- Fluids and heat, supplemental feeding
- What tests can be done for a bird with diarrhoea?
- What treatment may be useful?
- Fecal testing, bloods, radiography
- Fluids, feeding, ABs (amox + clav then aminoglycosides, then fluoroquinolones)
Yeast- nystatin PO
Parasiticides
Activated charcoal if suspected toxicity
