Common Diseases of Pet Birds
Common diseases of pet birds are diseases of integumentary system, laceration, feather haemorrhage, breast blisters, Bumble foot (Pododermatitis), etc.
Diseases of the Avian Integumentary System
The avian integuments is a series of highly specialized structures that show extreme variation between species of birds, depending on the interaction of evolutionary processes with the birds habitat and life styles.
The most important function of the feathers related to thermoregulation, and to the possibility of flight.
Disease of the avian integument are therefore likely to endanger survival of the individual.
Trauma Associated Disorders
Trauma associated disorders in pet birds are:
- Laceration
- Feather Haemorrhage
- Breast Blisters
- Bumble Foot (Pododermatitis)
Laceration
Serious abrasion and lacerations, with or without mortality, result when birds run into enclosure fences when panicked by stray animals, especially barking dogs.
Small skin lacerations can be cleaned and treated as open wound with antibiotic powered such as Tricin or Terramycin in preference to ointments, which often mat the feathers.
Healing os very rapid and contraction good. Large laceration can be debrided and sutured.
Avian skin is loose and easily mobilised and hence quite large defects can be adequately covered.
Feather Haemorrhage
A blood feather is a newly emerging, immature, actively growing feather.
Trauma, either accidental or iatrogenic (as in win trimming), to the keratin sheath surrounding these blood vessels can produce severe haemorrhage. Haemorrhage inside the follicle often result sin death of the feather.
Treatment is best accomplished by grasping the blood feather with pliers or artery forceps and removing it form the follicle in the direction in which it was growing.
Breast Blisters
Brest blisters in birds are false bursae; one or more can occur along the sternum, varying in length from 1 to 8 cm, they occur most commonly in male birds of heavy breeds during the growing period.
The cause is mechanical, due to pressure on, or injury to the sternum.
Pressure may be caused by the weight of the bird forcing the sternum against wire, slatted floors or perches. Incising the infected blisters and expressing the content reduced their size.
Bumble Foot (Pododermatitis)
Bumble foot or pododermatitis refers to localized and generalized inflammation of the feet. Bumble foot occurs in species of birds forced to perch or walk on unnatural surfaces )e.g. concrete floor for anseriforms), especially those surfaces heavily contaminated with feces.
In Budgerigars bumble foot is a very common cause of bilateral lameness. It develops because of the abrasive action of sandpaper perches or perches that are too smooth or cylindrical.
Bumble foot in Budgerigars may also be predisposed by insufficient vitamin A in the diet.
Bumble foot is associated with swelling of the ball or soft pad of the foot, which may not be obvious until the bird is handled.
Prevention and treatment of bumble foot should include replacement of soiled, abrasive or cylindrical perches with clean, nontoxic tree branches of several diameters.
Use of antibiotics like trimetoprim, tylosin and topical application of dexamethasone can be used for treatment.
Surgical treatment involves curettage or dissecting out of infected caseous material, closing the wood with 5-0 silk or placing a drain tube to be flushed with antibiotics allowing the lesion to granulate.
Viral Diseases of Pet Birds
Herpes Virus Infection
Herpes viruses are known to be pathogens for domestic poultry and account for diseases such as infectious laryngotracheitis, duck virus enteritis and Marek‘s disease, few herpes virus infections of exotic and caged birds have been described.
Herpes virus infections have been described in raptors, parrots, pigeons, cranes. In psittacines three distinct Herpes virus infections have been reported.
Pacheco‘s disease is best known, but there are descriptions of an infectious laryngotracheitis like herpes virus that affect Amazon parrots and of a herpes virus of Budgerigars that is harbored predominantly in the feathers and may cause decrease hatchability of eggs.
Transmission is mainly by latent infection.
Clinical signs in affected pigeons are listlessness, loss of appetite, dyspnea, ocular and nasal discharge. The disease cause mortality up to 50% and is most severe in birds less than 6 months of age.
Pigeon herpes encephalomyelitis virus showed nervous signs before death. Depression, inappetence and inability to fly were followed by paresis and paralysis of extremities.
Head tremor, circling movement, torticollis and greenish diarrhea were also observed.
With Pacheco‘s disease the signs of illness vary to some degree with the species of psittacines affected.
Smaller psittacines (lovebirds, parakeets, pionus spp.), amazons and cockatoos often die acutely after showing minimal signs of illness.
They continue to eat and drink and may be obviously weak and listless for only a matter of hours prior to death.
Some larger psittacines, especially macaws, may become visibly ill, exhibiting lethargy, regurgitation and diarrhea with a distinctive orange coloration. These birds may also show increase thirst, and some may recover.
No vaccines are available for the known herpes virus infection of caged and aviary birds. Since the different herpes viruses are serologically distinct, vaccination with the products designed for poultry would be of little value for aviary birds.
With out the benefit of vaccines, the aviculturist may rely on strict sanitation and good husbandry procedures to prevent or control herpes viral infections.
Stressful condition such as overcrowding must be avoided. Food and water containers should be covered to minimal fecal contamination.
Daily washing and disinfection of dishes should be done, with care taken to return them to the cages from which they come.
Since healthy carrier birds may introduce disease, new birds should be acquired from trusted sources only and quarantined 2-4 weeks before introduction to an established aviary.
Newcastle Disease
Newcastle disease is a highly contagious virus disease of birds. Four major strains of the virus affect poultry and non domestic birds. Transmission is primarily by aerosols.
Infection is also spread to other facilities either by moving people form one place to another.
Most of the families of the order Psittaciformes has reported occurrence of ND.
Passerines seem to be more resistant, but Mynah, Java sparrow and canaries have experienced mortality when exposed to VVND virus.
Some of the pets like Amazon parrots, Indian hill Mynah, Budgerigar and some conures act as carrier and shed virus for long period following infection.
Clinical signs are in young birds, especially the only sing may be a per acute disease unresponsive to antibiotic therapy and with high mortality.
In more susceptible birds yellowish or hemorrhagic diarrhea, coughing, sneezing and dyspnea are noticed.
The central nervous system is commonly affected, resulting in a bird that is ataxic, uncoordinated or hyper excitable.
Other CNS signs include torticollis, opisthotonus, tremors, nodding, jerking of head and bilateral paralysis of the limbs.
Control of the disease is by minimizing the exposure to affected/carrier birds. VVND virus are sensitive to a number of disinfectants. Orthophenyl phenol is a good disinfectant.
Infected and exposed birds should be killed. The vaccination programs so important in commercial poultry operations are not an option for control of VVND in cage birds.
Chlamydosis
Chlamydiosis is formerly termed “psittacosis” in psittacines birds and humans and “ornithosis” in nonpsittacine birds, is the term commonly used to describe generalized infection in mammals and birds caused by Chlamydia psittaci.
The most commonly affected cage and aviary birds are the psittacines (parrots, parakeets, budgerigars, macaws, cockatoos, cockatiels, lories, lorikeets, lovebirds) as well as all types of pigeons and doves.
Occasional clinical disease occurs in pheasants, partridges, ducks, hummingbirds, magpies, thrushes, finches, canaries and cardinals.
