Important Information Re Sick Birds

[C.F.Admin]

If you have a sick looking bird please feel free to post in this section.

I recommend that if you do have a sick bird is is always best to see a good Avian Vet asap.

It is important to remember that we do not guarantee a cure for your birds illness only advise is given that may help.

[C.F.Admin]

Diseases:

The best way to prevent disease from affecting your birds is to always quarantine new birds that enter your household away from your present flock. A proper quarantine room is one that does not share the same air supply as the rooms where you current birds are. One should always wash their hands thoroughly and it is also a good idea to change clothes and shoes after being in the quarantine area before having contact with your other birds. It is the policy here at Feathered Friends to quarantine new birds coming in form Georgia for a minimum of 30 days out of state birds will be quarantined for a minimum of 90 days, they will be vet checked at 30,60 and 90 days. No new arrival birds will be adopted or socialized during that time. As a state licensed animal shelter a minimum 30 days is requested, here we go the extra 60 days on out of state birds to be safe from diseases here at the shelter. Annual vet checks are also very important, as many times a bird will not show any signs of illness until it is too late, and the chances of recovery are much higher if an illness is caught early. Keep your birds away from places you know they will have contact with other birds (pet stores, bird shows, the home of someone who has birds), and wash your hands and change clothes after being around places where other birds are present, before having contact with your bird. Proper vet care by a certified avian vet is crucial if your bird begins to display any of the symptoms mentioned below, or if they just don't seem right to you.

Aspergillosis- a fungal disease known to attack the respiratory system, resulting in difficulty breathing.

Candida- caused by yeast (Candida albicans). Symptoms may include cheese-like growths in the mouth and throat of the bird, regurgitation, loss of appetite or slow crop, however many adults show no signs at all. Birds are more susceptible when lacking in vitamin A.

Giardia- a parasitic protozoan spread through contaminated food and water. Symptoms include diarrhea, weight loss, loss of appetite, depression and feather picking.

Papillomas- a virus which causes benign tumors to erupt randomly on the birds body.

Polyoma virus - also known as french moult. This fatal disease affects the ability to properly develop wings and tail feathers, and can be spread rather quickly through feather dust, droppings, fecal dust and contact with infected birds. Symptoms include weakness, diarrhea, regurgitation, paralyzation and enlarged abdomens, though adult birds may show no signs at all. No cure is presently known, although a controversial vaccine is available. Talk to your vet about this vaccine.

Proventricular Dilation Syndrome- also known as macaw wasting disease. This fatal disease attacks the birds digestive system, thus affecting the ability to digest food. Symptoms include diarrhea, weight loss, regurgitation, and undigested food in the droppings. No cure is yet known.

Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease Syndrome- PBFDS is a virus which causes a pinched or clubbed appearance to the feathers. Symptoms also include fracturing of the beak, and mouth ulcers. This disease is highly contagious, and is spread through contact with infected birds, mostly affecting young birds under 3 years of age. There is no known cure for this fatal disease.

Psittacosis- also known as chlamydiosis or parrot fever. Infected birds may exhibit nasal discharge, weight loss, depression, loss of appetite, sudden death and lime-green droppings. Many older birds will not show any symptoms at all, or symptoms may not be noticeable for several years. This fatal disease is spread through contact with infected birds, and in rare cases has been known to be transmittable to humans (humans may suffer flu-like symptoms and should seek treatment from their doctor). This disease is treatable in most cases, with tetracycline-laces pellets.


First Aid:

One of the most important items a responsible bird owner should have is a special First Aid Kit just for your bird.

Having a well stocked avian First Aid kit handy can prepare you to handle minor emergencies yourself or enable you to stabilize your bird's condition while getting your bird to your avian veterinarian. A sturdy, medium sized, plastic or metal tool or tackle box makes an ideal Avian First Aid Kit. Decide before hand where you wish to keep this kit. Any easily remembered place.... kitchen, bathroom or the bird room itself are good locations.

Write your regular avian veterinarian's name, address and telephone number taped in the lid of the First Aid Kit, along with at least one 24 hour emergency hospital, clinic or doctor's name and number. Also keep a copy of your bird's medical records; particularly any chronic diseases or recent injuries/illnesses the bird has been treated for in the kit.

Basic First Aid Kit
There are some "musts" for your kit. The following are items we suggest for inclusion in a Basic First Aid Kit, with a brief description of their uses.

Towel - for wrapping and securing your bird

Scissors - for cutting tape, bandages...and strings which can wrap on birds toes

Quick-stop and/or Styptic Pencil (silver nitrate stick) - to stop bleeding from broken blood feathers or cuts. Avian blood has very few clotting agents in comparison to human/ mammal blood. A bird can literally bleed to death from a broken blood feather

Hemostats and tweezers - for removing broken blood feathers, and/or splinters

Pliers, needle nose - for pulling blood feathers or unbending chains and quick links which birds are known to injure themselves with

Wire cutters - once again, birds are known to wrap themselves in chain and/or wire

Gauze pads - for covering wounds, burns

Cotton balls - for cleansing

Q-tips - for cleaning out small wounds, get stuff out of a bird's mouth or throat

Vet wrap (cut into strips and rolled) - for wrapping broken bones, wings, or binding gauze pads to wounds

Microspore tape (paper surgical tape) - for holding gauze in place

Penlight or small flashlight (A head-mounted light is even better)

Magnifying glasses or "jewelers loop" - especially necessary for those of us at "that certain age".... but since birds are so small and delicate, a pair of magnifying glasses can come in handy for anyone trying to do detail work

Sterile water - for flushing wounds or mixing with food

Pedialyte (or generic equivalent)- for rehydrating a dehydrated bird. Can be mixed with food. Pedialyte contains sugars and electrolytes, which avians quickly lose when dehydrated or sick. Must be discarded within 24 hours of opening since it is a wonderful media for bacteria to grow in. An alternate to Pedialite such as Gastrolyte, Graptolite powders can be used. These should be mixed with sterile water. Both are available through veterinarians. Pedialite, however, is readily available at any grocery store in the baby food section.

Hand feeding formula, jars of human baby food such as veggies, cereals or squash. Often sick or injured birds will be too weak to eat on their own for a few days. During this period of time we may find ourselves having to spoon or syringe feed the bird to help keep their strength up.

Feeding syringes, spoon with bent up sides to facilitate feeding (for above)

Pellets/seeds - If your bird needs to stay at the hospital, they may not have the type/kind of food your bird is accustomed to. It is a good idea to have several baggies of fresh seed and/or pellets available to take with you.

Betadyne or hibitane (chlorhexidine) - as non-irritating disinfectant. Avoid hydrogen peroxide, which is caustic to skin

Aloe Vera - for very minor burns. Many creams and lotions made for humans are toxic to birds, so make sure that you get 100% pure Aloe Vera

Additional Supplies:

For those who are more experienced you may want to add:

Popsicle sticks - for immobilizing broken legs

Ophthalmic ointment - for scratched eyes, minor conjunctivitis Suturing materials (surgical needles and thread)

Gel foam - stops bleeding from flesh wounds. Available from your veterinarian

Tegaderm dressing - helps healing for burns and certain open wounds. Encourages granulation (healing/scabbing)

Lactated Ringer's solution - used for IV rehydrating of dehydrated avians and flushing wounds

Syringes - for inject able medications and irrigation of wounds

Danger Signals and Emergencies

There are many problems, which you should be prepared for. We do not intend to list them all. Any time a bird has any of the following symptoms: stops eating, sits fluffed on the bottom of his cage, is bleeding from mouth or vent, has uncontrollable bleeding, has runny eyes, can't breathe, sneezes with discharge, has diarrhea, has constipation (straining to defecate), has loss of balance, depression, lethargy.... do not wait! Take your bird to the veterinarian!

Birds do not have much clotting agent in their blood. A broken blood feather, or a minor cut can be life threatening. The blood feather must be removed, or bleeding stopped by use of Quik-stop or a styptic pencil. If bleeding does not stop, apply pressure and rush the bird to the veterinarian.

Books
A small Red Cross type first aid booklet may be kept in the avian First Aid Kit. An avian book with descriptions of first aid procedures may be even handier.

For the more experienced bird owner, a copy of Avian Medicine; Principles and Applications by Ritchie, Harrison and Harrison, (1995), Wingers Publishing Inc., which is considered the standard of avian veterinary care, is a "must" for the aviculturist's library.

Traveling and Carrying Your Bird
Even if you only are traveling an hour away, take your First Aid kit with you. Bring additional water and food. If your car breaks down, or worse, you are in an accident, the first aid kit and additional supplies may save your bird's life!

A safe, traveling cage or carrier is also necessary. Covering the carrier minimizes stress on the bird as well as keeping the bird out of drafts.

Brooder
All bird owners need a brooder (a warm enclosed environment for a sick or injured bird.) If you cannot go to the expense of a professional hospital brooder, a temporary one can be made using an aquarium with wire lid and heating pad. Line the aquarium with several layers of toweling. Cover that with paper towel (for ease of cleaning.) Set half to 3/4 of the aquarium over the heating pad set on "low" and pre-warm before placing the bird in the brooder. You want part of the aquarium OFF the heating pad, so if the bird feels too warm he has a cooler spot to get to. You will need an accurate thermometer to ascertain the temperature of the brooder. The interior of the aquarium should be between 85 to 95 degrees. A sick or injured bird cannot maintain its body temperature, so warmth, either to prevent shock, or to maintain a sick bird, is necessary. Place a small dish of water in a corner of the brooder to help maintain humidity. Cover the top, back and three sides with another sheet or towel, leaving at least part of the front uncovered for observation.

Antibiotics
The question of antibiotics has been raised on many occasions. Should the bird owner administer antibiotics without having the bird seen by a veterinarian? The answer must be a resounding NO! The reason for this is that not every antibiotic can eliminate every bacteria. And, of course, antibiotics do not work on viruses. It is most important that the bird is seen, that the veterinarian does blood work or cultures before any antibiotics are given. Most antibiotics need to be taken for specific amounts of time, with varying dosages not only by weight of bird, but by species, since some birds are far more "sensitive" to drugs than others. Also, most veterinarians will wish to administer an anti-fungal medication along with the antibiotic. Avian internal systems are extraordinarily susceptible to yeast and fungal infections, which can sometimes do more harm than the original bacterial infection!

There are antibiotics available over the counter at pet stores. Do not use them. The most common antibiotic available "over the counter" is tetracycline which is of value in very few, and only very specific, avian illnesses. Tetracycline can cause severe fungal infection if not used with systemic anti-fungal drugs and should be avoided unless under veterinary care!

In closing...
We are sure we have not covered every possible emergency, which will arise. The suggestions we have made are based on our experiences as well as the experiences of other bird owners, breeders and avian professionals. We hope that in an emergency, the information we have provided you is helpful.


Health:

Birds are very good at hiding an illness and sometimes it's too late to save the bird by the time the symptoms show. The symptoms may be a slight clicking noise, loose droppings, or a fluffed-up appearance. As insignificant as these symptoms appear, they may indicate a serious problem with the bird. Here are some common red flags that may indicate the a bird is ill:

CHANGE IN APPETITE
There will be a change in appetite, with either a loss or increase in food intake. The bird may also drink more water than usual. Dogs, cat, and humans can go a few days without eating and not suffer any ill effects. Birds are quite different because of their extremely high rate of metabolism. They need a constant supply of fuel to keep their body temperatures at the right level.

If a bird stops eating, it should be force-fed and kept warm until a veterinarian can be seen.

CHANGE IN DROPPINGS
Abnormal or loose droppings can be one of the first clues that a bird is ill. The key is understanding what is truly abnormal, and what is just simple diarrhea or loose droppings.

Normal droppings of a seed-eating bird consist of a black or dark green firmer part, and a softer, white part. The droppings of soft-billed birds such as Mynahs and Lories are normally looser. The bird should have between 25 and 50 eliminations per day.

Illness can cause the droppings to become loose or change color. The number of droppings also decreases. This is why it is important to count the number of droppings daily when cleaning the cage. Fewer droppings can be the first indication of illness because it indicates the bird is not eating well.

Loose droppings are a fairly common occurrence in birds. It is a common mistake for a bird owner to see a loose dropping and assume that a bird has diarrhea. If the feces are normally formed within the watery dropping, there is just a lot of water in the urine. If the feces are very runny and lacking in any form or shape, then the bird probably has diarrhea. Here are some cause of both simple loose droppings and diarrhea:

EXPOSURE TO BACTERIA:
Birds can become ill and suffer diarrhea if exposed to a bacteria. Humans have the potential to pass on many types of bacteria to the bird. This is why hands must be kept clean at all times when handling a bird, its food, or even its toys. People who are ill should stay away from their bird since illness can also be transmitted through coughs and sneezes.

DIETARY CHANGES:
A new brand of birdseed, treat, or too much fruits or greens can cause loose droppings. Unfortunately, some pet owners feed their bird too many inappropriate table scraps that ore far too spicy for a bird. Medications can also cause digestive upset as well.

CHEMICALS:
Chemicals can also cause loose droppings. Sometimes birds will react to the chemicals in tap water, and should be switched to bottled, distilled water. Certain aerosol cleaners or polishes sprayed anywhere near the birdcage may cause loose droppings.

STRESS:
Like people, the digestive system of a bird is sensitive to stress. A new cage location, a new family member, new noises, or any other change in routine can cause nervous diarrhea.