Signs of Sickness

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Signs of Sickness

• Changes in activity, personality, or behavior
• Changes in appearance
• Ruffled feathers, weakness, sitting on cage
  floor, convulsions, distended abdomen
• Breathing Problems
• Wheezing, panting, clicking, open-mouth
  breathing, tail bobbing, nasal discharge, loss of
  voice

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Signs of Sickness

• Digestive Problems
• Vomiting, Diarrhea (blood, mucus, undigested
  seeds), straining to eliminate
• Musculo-skeletal problems
• Lameness, droopy wing, change in posture
• Eye problems
• Swollen eyelids, pasted-shut eyelids, increased
  blinking, discharge, excessive tearing,
  cloudiness of eyeball, squinting

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Signs of Sickness

• Skin Problems
• Lumps or bumps, excess flaking of beak or skin,
  overgrown beak or nails
• Feather problems
• Prolomged molt, picking or chewing feathers,
  broken,twisted, crushed, deformed feathers
• Changes in droppings
• Any variation in consistency, number, or color

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Zoonotic Diseases -Zoonoses-
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Chlamydiosis- Psittacosis, Ornithosis, Parrot
Fever -

• Most important avian zoonotic disease
• Birds can be affected even though they appear
  healthy.
• Test all pet birds (esp. new) periodically
• Infrequently transmitted to humans
• Human symptoms are flu-like, fever, headache,
  cough, chills, weakness, pneumonia

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Salmonellosis

• Salmonella infection is most widespred zoonose in
  the world
• Many different animals can transmit disease to
  humans contaminate food and water
• GI tract upset, cramping, diarrhea, vomiting,
  fever, headache few days..
• Mores serious in young, elderly, suppressed
  immune systems
• Wash hands!

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Allergic AlveolitisHypersensitivity Pneumonitis,
Pigeon Lung Disease

• Allergic response to bird feathers, feather dust,
  droppings
• Human symptoms include listlessness, chills,
  fever, short breath, musc pain, cough
• Acute form - hours after intense exposure
• Sub-acute form-after accumulated exposure
• Chronic irreversible. Years of exposure to
  dust and droppings
• Wgt loss, short breath, chronic dry cough

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Avian Tuberculosis

• Caused by Mycobacterium avium
• Human TB usually caused by diff organism
• When M. avium has been found to be the human
  cause, it is a diff subspecies.
• We still worry, because TB is a v. difficult
  disease to treat CAUTION.
• If pet bird has been diagnosed for M. avium,
  risks make it diff decision re treat or euthanize

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Giardiasis

• Giardia is widely-distr intestinal parasite
• Human symptoms include diarrhea, stomach upset,
  weight loss
• Humans contract from crowded, unsanitary
  conditions and drinking contaminated water
• Giardia in humans is usually caused by
  other-than-avian-attacking species, but
  possibility exists.

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Home Care / First-Aid for Sick Bird

• Bed rest, warmth, plenty of fluids.
• Extra heat, extra heat, extra heat
• Ambient environment of 80-85 F
• Heating pad beneath or along side cage, electric
  blanket on low tented over cage, small aquarium
  on heating pad, infra-red 250-watt lamp 2-4
  from cage
• Use thermometer to monitor

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Home Care / First-Aid for Sick Bird

• Make certain the bird eats. Birds have fast
  metabolism, grow weak quickly, do not fight off
  disease, weak from not eating.
• Accessible food
• Caloric intake more imp than balanced diet
• Try to stimulate the appetite favorites,
  soaking, hand-feeding, sweetening, warming
• Monitor weight daily

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Home Care / First-Aid for Sick Bird

• Water Intake.
• Sick birds do not drink enough and droppings
  contain more urine dehydration
• Supply fluids
• Add fruit juice, Gatorade, Pedialyte at full
  strength or diluted karo syrup or honey diluted
  1 tsp per 8 oz water
• Favorite fresh fruits, moistened favorite foods

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Home Care / First-Aid for Sick Bird

• Fluid Therapy
• Fluids mentioned above
• Use plastic straw, eye dropper, syringe, baster
• Finches/canaries 4-5 drops
• Parakeets 6-10 drops
• Cockatiels ¼ tsp
• Amazons 1-3 tsp
• Cockatoos/macaws 1 ½ - 3 tbs
• Several times throughout the day, as needed

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Rest and Relaxation

• Dimly-lit, quiet room
• 12 hrs darkness to encourage sleeping, 12 hrs
  light to encourage eating
• Avoid unnecessary handling
• Keep other pets and children away
• Do medicate as directed

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Avian First-Aid / Sick Bird Kit

• Good Pet Bird Management book
• DVM phones, addresses, office hours
• Towels for catching holding
• Heat source lamp, pad, blanket
• Pen and notebook to record observations
• Styptic powder, silver nitrate stick, cornstarch
  (stop bleeding)

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Avian First-Aid / Sick Bird Kit

• Blunt-tip scissors
• Nail clippers and nail file
• Needle-nosed pliers (broken blood feathers)
• Blunt-end tweezers
• Eye irrigation solution - saline or contacts
• Bandage materials gauze squares, masking tape,
  gauze rolls

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Avian First-Aid / Sick Bird Kit

• Pedialyte, Gatorade, other energy source
• Eye dropper, turket baster, plastic straw
• Syringes for irrigation / feeding
• Penlight (good batteries)
• Cotton swabs, Que-Tips
• Betadine scrub anti-infective soap
• Plastic tool box

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