Intro to Companion Birds: Physical Diagnosis

Question 1

What history should be obtained during an avian physical?

Answer 1

• Signalment - Sex, Age
• Captive environment
• Diet
• Past medical hx
• hx of current presentation

Question 2

What are the methods or sexing birds?

Answer 2

• DNA sexing - blood or feather
• Endoscopic (surgical)
• Hx of egg laying

Question 3

What species of birds are sexually Dimorphic?

Answer 3

• Budgerigars (wild phenotype)
  
  • male cele (nostril part) is blue
• Cockatiels (wild phenotype)
  
  • Males have a darker cheek spot and larger yellow color through head
• Cockatoos
  
  • males have dark iris
  • females have light iris
• Pacific Parrotlet
  
  • Male has a blue line on the end of its wing
• Eclectus Parrots
  
  • Males are green
  • Females are red

Question 4

What is the average lifespan of a birds?

Answer 4

• parrot 20-30 years
• Macaw 50-60
• Cockatiel 10-20

Question 5

Why are TVs a bad idea for bird environments?

Answer 5

• Birds can resolve alternating light frequencies up to 130-150 Hz (humans 50-60 Hz)
• UV vision - ability to see a whole sectrum of colors invisible to humans
  
  • Tetrachromats - see 4 colors (UV, blue, green, red)

Question 6

should birds have fluorescent or halogen lighting?

Answer 6

halogen

Question 7

Why are birds prone to behavioral issues?

Answer 7

• Highly social
• Highly intelligent - need
  
  • environmental enrichment
  • foraging opportunities
  • Reproductive behaviors

Question 8

What should a bird diet include?

Answer 8

• Pelletized diet (minimum of 60-70% overall diet)
• Small amount of fresh vegetables and fruit)
• Occasional seeds and nuts

Question 9

What should NOT be fed to a bird?

Answer 9

• All seed diet - high fat, low nutrient
• Animal products
• Table food

Question 10

What are some toxic foods for birds?

Answer 10

• Avocado
• Chocolate
• alcohol
• mycotoxin containing foods (corn, nuts)
• salty food

Question 11

What equipment will you need to restrain a bird?

Answer 11

• Towel for Parrots
• Gloves for raptors
• Goggles for water birds (herons, loons, stork)

Question 12

Why is it important to not press on the keel?

Answer 12

• Birds lack diaphragm
  
  • restricting body movement means they will be unable to breathe

Question 13

What are the goals of avian physicals?

Answer 13

• Do not break trust of bird with owner
• Be as minimally intrusive as possible BUT
• maximize the information you get while the bird is restrained

Question 14

How should parrots be restrained?

Answer 14

• Observe at a distance for subtle signs
• Approach slowly and calmly (towel out of sight)
• Encourage bird to step up
  
  • Hold digits 2 & 3 and bring bird to your chest
• Drape towel over bird’s back/head
• Hold head with one hand and support the legs and body with the other
  
  • All fingers below the mandible
  • Encircle bird’s neck with thumb and forefinger
  • Place knuckle of thumb in bird’s intermandibular space
• Use towel to help restrain wings

Question 15

What are the risks of restraining parrots?

Answer 15

• Handling is stressful
  
  • hyperthermia in 15 minutes
  • Challenging to take blood if struggling
  • Vocalizations are very loud

Question 16

How can a parrot be sedated?

Answer 16

Butorphanol + midazolam intranasal or IM

Question 17

What should be observed during the distant examination of birds?

Answer 17

• Diet in the cage
• Droppings
  
  • watery ?
  • color change?
  • undigested seeds?
• Bird:
  
  • fluffed up?
  • eyes closed/head tucked?
  • Respiration - effort? tail bob? open beak?
  • abnormal feathers - stress bars, color, absence
• Safe to handle or incubator first

Question 18

Avian BCS

Answer 18

can give idea of chronicity of problem

Question 19

When should blood be collected from birds?

Answer 19

• If possible - prior to handling / full physical
  
  • Stress leukogram
  • increased muscle enzyme - CK, AST
  • Increased BG

Question 20

What blood vessel can be used for blood draw in birds?

Answer 20

• Jugular vein
• Brachial/ulnar vein
• Medial metatarsal vein

Question 21

What structures are being examined when looking at a birds head?

Answer 21

• Eyes, Ears, Nares, Beak
• Oral exam
  
  • Choana
  • Choanal papilla
    
    • should be sharp
    • blunt from Respiratory infection or Vit A deficiency
  • Infundibular cleft
    
    • prevent ear popping at high elevations

Question 22

What structures of the body should be palpated on a bird?

Answer 22

• Crop
• Coelom
  
  • Concave window between end of the keep and pelvic bones
• Wings
• Legs
• Cloacal
  
  • Evert with moistened Q-tip
  • birds >100g look for papillomas
• Uropygial gland (preen gland)
  
  • impactions
  • Neoplasia

Question 23

What are some Abnormalities that can be palpated in the coelom of birds?

Answer 23

• Egg - hard, round, caudal
• Ventriculus, left sided, hard and round
• Mass
• Liver enlargement beyond the edge of the keel

Question 24

Which birds do not have a uropygial gland?

Answer 24

• African greys
  *

Question 25

How is hydration status determined in the bird?

Answer 25

• skin movement over sternum
• eyelid pinch
• ulnar vein refill time

Question 26

How are the heart and lungs auscultated in a bird?

Answer 26

• Heart:
  
  • midline on keel
  • FAST - can be hard to pick up murmurs
• Lungs and air sacs:
  
  • over back and over entire coelom
  • Resting RR: 15 - 40/min

Question 27

How is temperature taken in birds? what should it be?

Answer 27

• Cloacal temperature
  
  • Not routinely measured - hyperthermia from stress
  • used more in critical patients for hypothermia
• 100.4 - 105.8 F

Question 28

Why would a wellnes exam be recommended for birds?

Answer 28

• Allows review of captive husbandry ad diet
• heath screening
• Obtain baseline information
• Infectious disease screening
• Sexing
• Disease prevention recommendations
• vaccination
• preventative therapy
• Screening tests

Question 29

What screening tests can be done on birds?

Answer 29

• Blood work (CBC, Biochemistry)
• Crop and fecal cytology
  
  • screen for yeast
• Fecal parasite testing
  
  • new bird
  • bi-annual in raptors, poultry, ducks, pigeons

Question 30

What specific diseases do birds get that can be tested for?

Answer 30

• Psittacine Circovirus (PRFD)
• Avian Bornavirus (PDD)
• Avian Polyomavirus
• Avian Chlamydiosis

Question 31

Who does Psittacine Circovirus affect? test?

Answer 31

• Who:
  
  • juvenile birds
  • old world species (mainly)
• Test: DNA on blood

Question 32

Who is affected by Avian Bornavirus? test?

Answer 32

• Who: any bird except budgerigars
• Test: DNA on cloacal swab and pooled feces
• Carrier vs sick

Question 33

What are old world psittacines

Answer 33

• African greys
• Cockatoos
• Cockatiels
• lovebirds

Question 34

What are New world Psittacines?

Answer 34

• Conures
• Amazon Parrots
• Macaws
• Ciques
• Parrotlets
• Pionus Parrots
• Quaker parakeets

Question 35

Who is affected by Avian Polyomavirus?

Answer 35

• Only chicks are susceptible

Question 36

Who is affected by Avian Chlamydiosis? test?

Answer 36

• Cause: Chlamydia psittaci
• Who: mainly cockatiels and budgerigars
• Test: DNA on conjunctival-choanal-cloacal (CCC) swab
• ZOONOTIC

Question 37

how many feathers should be trimmed during a wing trim?

Answer 37

• Small bird: 10 feathers
• Medium: 5 - 7 feathers

Question 38

What vaccinations can be given to birds? what birds?

Answer 38

• West Nile virus - raptors and birds with outdoor aviary
• Salmonella and PMV - pigeons
• ILT, Infectious bronchitis, Salmonella, influenza PMV - Chickens