AVIAN VETERINARY EXAMINATION

By David Hannon, DVM

We recommend that all pet birds have a veterinary health check annually. Unlike dogs and cats, it can be difficult to tell whether or not your bird has medical problems. Because of this, we recommend a physical examination and other ancillary tests to make sure that your bird is healthy.

This is a list of the tests and procedures we routinely offer, as well as the price of each. The bare minimum that we recommend for all pet birds on an annual basis is a physical examination, fecal examination, gram stain, and polyomavirus vaccination. If your bird is sick, or if one of these tests shows abnormal results, further testing may be necessary. However, all of these tests and procedures are available to all of our avian patients. If your have a newly acquired pet, an expensive or endangered bird, or a new bird that you are planning to add to a collection of other healthy birds, we recommend all of these tests, so that you can be guaranteed to have a healthy pet that is not going to spread disease.

Physical Examination - A lot of information can be obtained just by handling and examining a bird. We examine the eyes, ears, and mouth; palpate the keel and abdomen; listen to the heart, lungs, and air sacs; and thoroughly assess the bird's feathers, beak, feet, and other external features.

Fecal Examination - This test involves looking at your bird's droppings under a microscope to check for worms or protozoal parasites.

Gram Stain - We take swabs of your bird's mouth, droppings or cloaca, and sometimes the crop, and do a special stain to look at the bacteria and yeast that may be present. Some types of bacteria are good to have (gram positive), and some types are bad (gram negative). An altered gram stain can indicate an infection, or it can be secondary to a more serious problem.

Chlamydophila Test - Chlamydia is a very serious disease of birds that can also be transmitted from birds to humans and vice versa. It can have almost any clinical symptom in birds, but in humans it usually causes a flu-like illness. By taking a swab of the cloaca, we can screen for this disease. If the results are questionable, a blood sample can be sent to an outside lab to confirm the results.

Complete Blood Count - By identifying and counting how many of each blood cell type your bird has, we can tell if it has an active infection, anemia, blood parasites, or other problems. A small blood sample is required to run this test.

Serum Chemistries - We have a laboratory analyzer which can detect levels of certain components in your bird's blood. This allows us to determine liver and kidney function, blood sugar levels, and electrolyte imbalances in just a few minutes. A small blood sample is also required for this test.

Radiographs* - By taking an x-ray of your bird we can look at the size, shape, and location of your bird's internal organs, as well as assessing bone damage, respiratory problems, and a variety of other abnormalities that may not be otherwise detectable.

Choanal/Fecal Culture - Swabs from the mouth or the droppings can be cultured for bacteria, if abnormal bacteria is noted on the gram stain. This will tell us exactly what bacteria is growing, and what antibiotics we can use to treat it. This test usually takes 2-3 days to get results.

Polyomavirus Test - Polyomavirus is a highly infectious disease of birds that can cause a variety of clinical symptoms, and is one of the leading causes of death in newly-hatched chicks. This test involves sending a cloacal swab and/or a blood sample to an outside laboratory. The blood test is more accurate. Results usually take 7-10 days.

PBFD Virus Test - Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) virus causes abnormalities in feather and beak growth, as well as immune suppression and other problems, and it is often terminal. It is very infectious to other birds, but difficult to diagnose. This test involves sending an affected blood feather or a blood sample to an outside laboratory. Results usually take 7-10 days.

Aspergillus Titer - Aspergillus is a fungus that can infect the respiratory tract and other organs of birds. Often birds have some clinical sign of infection, but they can carry it without symptoms. It is a treatable disease, but the treatment is often prolonged and difficult. The test involves sending a blood sample to an outside laboratory. Results usually take 7-10 days.

Grooming - We recommend that all pet birds have their wings trimmed if they are going to be handled or taken out of their cage on a regular basis. When done properly, this allows them to break their fall, while helping to prevent them from escaping or injuring themselves. Toenails that grow too long can break or get caught in the cage. Beaks that grow too long can break easily or prevent a bird from eating properly, and may harbor dangerous bacteria. We recommend that both be trimmed on a regular basis as needed.

Polyomavirus Vaccination - We recommend that all psittacine birds are vaccinated against polyomavirus annually. All birds that are boarded must be vaccinated. Chicks can be vaccinated as early as 20 days old. The first vaccination requires a booster shot in 2-3 weeks, and annually thereafter. Polyomavirus is much easier to prevent than treat, and almost all birds can be at risk. Please ask the receptionist or technician for additional information on the vaccine.

Chromosome Sexing - Since most birds are do not exhibit any external characteristics to distinguish their gender, it must be determined by surgical endoscopy or chromosome analysis. We recommend chromosome analysis because it is very accurate, less expensive, and does not require anesthesia or surgery. A small blood sample can be taken from a cut toenail and sent to an outside laboratory. Test results are available in about two weeks.

* This test may require that your bird be sedated. In birds that are aggressive or easily prone to stress, it is often safer and quicker to sedate them to obtain radiographs or a blood sample. We use only isoflurane anesthesia, which is the safest gas anesthetic available, the same one that is used in humans.