Association of Avian Veterinarians

Thoughts on Aspiration in ChicksAuthor(s): Matthew BondSource: Journal of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Fall, 1991), p. 128Published by: Association of Avian VeterinariansStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27671027 .

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IN MY EXPERIENCE.

who want to save money, will decline

presurgical blood testing or are not even offered the option (as told to their

lawyers). This mentality is complicated by the myth that a health exam means

that if the endoscopie examination

within a few square millimeters of the

gonad looks okay, the bird is healthy. These birds are sincerely presented years later as "always been healthy" due to the fact they were surgically sexed

and pronounced healthy at that time.

The veterinarian, under a time and

economic constraint (working for

peanuts), does not budget time for a

thorough history and physical. A quick review of the diet might find an all-seed

diet being fed in the aviary (still com

mon out there, folks). These birds are

candidates for hemorrhage due to

Vitamin K deficiency. We have wondered whether there

are any documented cases of Pacheco's

or polyomavirus outbreaks associated

with a "sexing clinic." Who would be

held legally responsible for the losses

here? The insurance people will suggest that informed consent documents that

disclose all possible negative results

and causes of death should be signed. These documents are not often used, as

there is an unspoken risk.

Always consider the risks, disclose

the risks, and always recommend the

very best in avian medicine. It's ironic

that a practitioner will do a more

thorough pre-surgical and post-surgical regimen for a five-year-old budgie with a lump than for a macaw for surgical

sexing.

EVALUATION OF HEALTH STATUS

GregJ. Harrison, DVM

The Bird Hospital Lake Worth, Florida

One of the most valuable services

we can provide for clients is to teach

them that their bird's "health" is a

dynamic, ever-changing entity. Just be

cause the gonads (and surrounding or

gans such as liver, lung, kidney, adrenals, air sacs) look "normal" during

surgical sexing, or just because the owners have a two-minute physical exam and a Gram's stain of the stool to

get a certificate to travel to Montana, the

bird is not necessarily "healthy." Even

complete workups do not guarantee

what is going on in the body. Birds need

to be maintained on a quality preven tive program and their "health"

evaluated on a regular basis.

THOUGHTS ON ASPIRATION IN CHICKS

Matthew Bond, DVM

Breeders Research

Rancho Palos Verdes, California

The comments on aspiration in

neonates stimulated further thought.

Many chicks that are sick or weak often

have aspiration as a secondary sequela.

They are frequently fed formula with a

thin consistency. Although this usually

digests easier, it is also easier to

aspirate. It is imperative that babies be

supported in small, deep, snug-fitting containers ? towel rolls work well for

this. This setup keeps them vertical and

prevents them from falling over and

aspirating crop contents when they are

too weak to right themselves.

Occasionally we have found chicks

dead after recovering from previous

problems. On necropsy, several of

these chicks had very "meaty," vas

cular, congested lungs. Histologically these lesions could be compatible with an anaphylactic reaction. Could this be a form of "crib death," ie, chronic low

grade aspiration priming the body for

anaphylaxis? We would need anti-bird

globulin to test this theory, preserving the tissue in "Michelles" media or freez

ing; formaldehyde would denature the

proteins (immunoglobulins).

ASCENDING PARALYSIS IN FLEDGLING

MOCKINGBIRDS

Michael E. Lutz, DVM

Mobley Veterinary Clinic

Nashville, Tennessee

Recently I have been presented with four fledgling age mockingbirds from a local rehabilitator. Each has had a history of progressive ascending

paralysis of variable duration. All have

been fed a cat food-based diet. In the

past year, prior to my consulting in the

case, 12 out of 12 others had been so

afflicted and died. Postmortem ex

aminations reported findings sugges

tive of a viral encephalitis. On presen

tation the birds showed signs reminis cent of selenium/vitamin E-responsive

paralysis in cockatiels. All birds have

responded to parenteral administration

of Seletoc (Schering Corp. - 1 mg/ml

selenium) and follow up oral vitamin

supplementation. No other species has

been afflicted. I invite comment by others who might have seen similar

conditions.

CLINICAL TREATMENT OF CLOACAL PAPILLOMAS

(From Kaal Th F: Venereal disease in parrots ?

artificial insemination as a possible prevention. Proc Intl Parrot Symposium, Tenerife,

Spain, I99O.)

Within the last few years, I have

tried several therapies (for the treat

ment of cloacal papillomas) ?

surgical

extirpation, cryosurgery, etc. ? but

none has proved satisfactory. That is

why I have taken to chemical cauteriza

tion with silver nitrate. The tumors are

swabbed every day or every other day. In most cases the papillomas have dis

appeared after 10 days. Only in a few cases does a

relapse occur. It is obvious

that this treatment should take place under sterile conditions. I have used

this method now for more than two

128 JAAV

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