That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

Avian Medical Emergencies: What to do if Your Pet Bird Receives a Burn Injury

Birds at large in our homes, especially the ever-curious parrots, are at risk for burn injuries. If this happens, calm, quick and medically-appropriate action is absolutely essential if your pet is to survive.

First Step: First Aid

Areas burned by fire, liquid or chemicals should be flushed for 15-20 minutes with cool (not cold) water and then covered with a cool, sterile dressing. Use only medical dressings to cover the afflicted area, as the fibers from blankets, towels and other such materials may stick to the wound. If feathers or other debris have worked their way into the burn site, leave them in place…these should be attended to by a veterinarian.

Grease, butter and ointments should not be used, as they cause a rise in skin temperature and increased pain. Also avoid ice, and do not puncture any blisters that form.

Second Step: To the Vet
All burns require veterinary intervention. Be sure to call your vet with your estimated arrival time – injured birds often go into shock, and time is of the essence. Transport your pet in a warm (use a hot water bottle or plastic bag filled with warm water), dark container and disturb it as little as possible on route.

Electrical Shock and Burns – Your Own Safety Comes First!
Electrical burns are another matter, as CPR and assisted breathing may be necessary…I’ll address this in the future.

In the meanwhile, if your bird suffers an electrical shock (i.e. by biting an appliance cord), it is absolutely essential that you do not touch the bird until you are certain that it is no longer in contact with the current – no good will come from having 2 shock victims!

If the bird is in contact with the electrical current, shut the power from the source (i.e. circuit breaker) or move the wire or appliance away from the bird with a non-metallic object (i.e. wood, plastic, cardboard).

Further Reading
Burns are only one of the hazards that our avian friends may run into while under our care. For a discussion of the leading causes of pet bird deaths, please see http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/topten.html.

Overly-dry indoor air is a common throughout much of the US, particularly in the colder months when naturally arid air and house-heating systems are both at work.  Bird and human skin can suffer as a result.  Daily misting of your pets can help, but in some cases it might be wise to consider a humidifier.  Zoo Med’s Habba Mist  is ideal… designed for use with pet birds and reptiles, it has 4 different interval and spray duration settings and is easily moved from place to place.

The fine powder down produced by cockatoos (including the cockatiel) is a quite necessary grooming aid but can pose a health concern to people with allergies or compromised lungs.  Feather dust can also be a concern with other birds (i.e. the African gray parrot), especially if large numbers are kept. Installing an air purifier can make a great improvement in indoor air quality…even if you are not overly sensitive to dust, you will likely notice and enjoy the difference.

All too many birds are difficult to breed in captivity, but the opposite problem – chronic egg laying – is common to some popular species as well.  It is most often seen in cockatiels and budgerigars, but is by no means limited to them.

Health Risks

A hen that produces multiple clutches on a regular basis will be prone to a host of medical problems, the most frequent and dangerous of which is calcium depletion.  Without adequate calcium, egg-binding (wherein the bird cannot expel her eggs) and osteoporosis are likely.

Adaptive Value of Rapid Onset Breeding

It’s no coincidence that many of the species prone to chronic egg-laying are native to harsh environments, where weather conditions or food shortages may prevent breeding for periods of a year or more.  These birds must be ready to lay as soon as conditions are favorable, and so come into breeding condition very quickly, and produce multiple clutches whenever possible.

Such species respond more to the presence of certain environmental cues – i.e. rain or sprouting greens, than to gradual seasonal changes (as do most other birds).  Budgerigars and cockatiels are classic examples of opportunistically breeding birds.

Common Factors Influencing Egg-Laying

We must, therefore, keep in mind the effect of environmental conditions that might not, at first glance, seem important to us.  A high fat diet, too much food, or a very long photoperiod (i.e. if the bird is kept in a room that is lit for 16 hours or so) may signal the arrival of “good times” and function as a breeding stimulus. Even daily misting with a water bottle might be at the root of the problem, functioning as a mini “rainy season”, especially if the bird has not been regularly sprayed in the past.

The presence of a possible mate or nest site is an important factor…please bear in mind that an imprinted hen may very well see her owner as a mate, and be stimulated to lay by normal daily contact.  Females isolated from males may also react to birds of other species, or even to toys.  Nesting material or nest sites work very well in inducing reproduction – budgerigars may lay at any time of the year when provided with a cavity or nest box.

Correcting and Treating the Problem

Sometimes, the problem can be resolved by removing the egg-laying stimulus, i.e., shortening the photoperiod.  In some cases, hormonal therapy (i.e. human chorionic gonadotrophin injections) may be necessary.

Chronic egg laying can quite easily lead to your pet’s early demise…if all else fails, removal of the ovaries and uterus (salpingohysterectomy) will prevent ovulation.  This was formerly a quite serious operation, but can now be performed endoscopically on most bird species.

You can read more about avian calcium deficiency at:

http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/avian%20diet%202.htm

Cloacal prolapse can occur in any bird species (as well as in reptiles and amphibians) and is evidenced by moist or dried tissue protruding from the vent.  It is frequently associated with egg-laying, and may occur before, during or after the process.  A calcium deficiency is usually at the root of the problem…the muscles, weakened by the lack of calcium, cannot contract as forcibly as is necessary, and the resultant straining pushes the cloaca outward.  Weakness in other muscles, i.e. the sphincter, adds to the problem.  Less commonly, a prolapse may be caused by an infection in the uterus or cloaca.

Emergency Care

A prolapsed cloaca is a matter for your veterinarian, but there are some steps you can take to alleviate the situation.  Most important is prevention – assure that your birds, especially breeding hens, are in good health and are receiving optimal amounts of calcium and other minerals and vitamins.  

Upon noting a prolapse, you can try lubricating the tissue with a water-soluble product, such as KY Jelly.  The bird should be kept warm, as its metabolism will be functioning poorly, and may have difficulty generating enough heat.  Liquid calcium might be an option, especially if it will take some time to get the bird to a veterinarian.  Plan ahead and ask your vet to suggest a product to keep on hand.

Veterinary Care

Your veterinarian may place a suture in the vent while the cloaca heals.  Antibiotics will usually be given, as an extruded cloaca is susceptible to infection.  If all else fails, or if too much time has elapsed and the tissue is beyond repair, surgery may be necessary.  Such is usually successful for birds of cockatiel size or beyond, less so for smaller species.

The importance of calcium and Vitamin D in parrot metabolism is discussed in an article posted at:

http://www.avianmedicine.net/articles/stanford-calcium.doc

The presence of whole, undigested seeds in a parrot’s stool is cause for concern.  It is usually associated with hyper-motility of the gastrointestinal (digestive) tract — in other words, food is passing too quickly through the system, and digestion is not taking place.  The problem usually centers in the glandular stomach (proventriculus) or the gizzard (ventriculus).

A gram-negative bacterial infection, which may be caused by organisms such as Enterobacter mega-bacteria or various spirochetes, is often involved.  Fungal infections, and parasites such as Giardia or roundworms, are also possibilities that must be considered.  Less frequently, gastrointestinal hyper- motility can arise due to cancer, or to problems in the functioning of the crop and pancreas.  The possibility that your bird has contracted the very serious Proventricular Dilation Disease (PDD, or “Macaw Wasting Disease”) must also be investigated (please see reference below).

You should contact your veterinarian if undigested seeds show up in the feces of any species of parrot that you might keep.  The first step is usually to submit a fecal sample.  This may be followed by a radiograph or, if necessary, a biopsy of the area in question.

Please write it with health-related questions or to share your experiences in caring for sick or injured birds.

You can learn more about Proventricular Dilation Disease at:
http://www.gtpc.ca/documents/PDD-AABirds%20_1_.pdf