Veterinarians play an important role in caring for pet birds. From routine checkups to major surgeries, avian vets help keep birds healthy and happy. Here’s an overview of the key services vets provide for our feathered friends.
Annual Exams
Just like cats and dogs, pet birds should have regular wellness exams with an avian vet. Annual checkups allow vets to assess a bird’s overall health, identify any potential issues early, and establish a baseline in case of future illness.
During an annual exam, the vet will:
- Weigh the bird and check body condition
- Listen to the heart and lungs
- Examine the eyes, nose, mouth, skin, and feet
- Palpate the abdomen
- Collect a choanal or cloacal swab to test for disease
- Trim wing feathers
- File overgrown beak and nails
The vet will also discuss diet, behavior, and housing with the owner. They can provide suggestions to optimize the bird’s well-being. Annual bloodwork helps detect hidden issues like liver disease, kidney disease, and cancer.
Diagnosing Illnesses
Vets play a critical role in diagnosing and treating bird illnesses. Some common conditions they treat include:
- Respiratory infections – Bacterial, viral, or fungal infections of the respiratory tract. Symptoms include discharge, sneezing, tail bobbing.
- Gastrointestinal issues – Common problems like crop impactions, proventricular dilation disease, and megabacteria.
- Skin infections – Bacterial or fungal infections manifesting as lesions, scabs, and feather loss.
- Egg binding – When a female bird cannot pass an egg. An emergency condition.
- Trauma – Broken bones, head trauma, and dog/cat bites.
- Tumors – Birds can develop benign and cancerous masses. Vets perform biopsy and surgery.
Diagnostic tests vets use include bloodwork, cultures/stains, endoscopy, radiographs, ultrasounds, biopsies, and more. Proper diagnostics are key to targeted treatment.
Providing Medical Care
Avian vets have extensive training in bird medicine and therapeutics. Some treatments they commonly provide include:
- Prescribing antibiotics, antifungals, and other medications to treat infections
- Hospitalizing very sick birds in oxygen cages for supportive care
- Performing fluid therapy or tube-feeding for nutrition
- Dispensing pain medication
- Removing stuck eggs and impacted crops
- Setting bones and stabilizing fractures
- Suturing wounds
- Administering nebulization and coupage to clear air sacs
- Fitting affected birds with special leg braces
Vets also educate owners on providing follow-up care at home including giving medications, assisting with feeding, and proper husbandry.
Nutrition Consultation
Diet plays a huge role in avian health. Vets offer nutritional consulting to ensure birds get the right foods and supplements. Some topics they may discuss include:
- Ideal diets for the specific bird species
- Transitioning birds to healthier diets if needed
- Recommending pelleted diets vs. all-seed diets
- Advising on optimal amounts/balance of seeds, pellets, vegetables, fruits
- Prescribing vitamin supplements if bloodwork indicates deficiencies
- Dispensing critical minerals like calcium
- Discussing foraging options and safe foods
- Offering tips for converting picky eaters
Following the vet’s dietary protocol helps prevent issues like obesity, malnutrition, liver disease, and more.
Vaccinations
Birds require certain vaccinations for protection against dangerous infectious diseases. Common avian vaccinations include:
- Polyomavirus – Protects against a deadly DNA virus. Given year-round.
- Paramyxovirus – For prevention of a viral respiratory illness called PMV or bird flu.
- Chlamydia psittaci – Reduces incidence of parrot fever or psittacosis.
- Avian herpesvirus – Guards against respiratory tract infections.
- West Nile virus – Reduces severity if the disease develops.
Vets develop and follow a comprehensive vaccination schedule tailored to each bird based on age, medical history, and risk factors.
Testing and Screening
Avian vets perform various tests and health screens to uncover hidden issues in birds. Some examples include:
- Microscopic examination of droppings for bacteria, yeast, parasites.
- DNA tests for deadly psittacine proventricular dilatation disease.
- Serology for antibodies to viruses like polyoma, herpesvirus.
- Endoscopy to visualize internal organs.
- Radiographs to evaluate lungs, air sacs, eggs, bones.
- Blood tests for infectious diseases, anemia, organ function.
- DNA sexing to determine gender.
- Behavioral assessments for signs of illness.
Running appropriate diagnostics allows the vet to piece together the bird’s health status and catch issues early.
Surgeries
Avian vets perform the full range of bird surgeries using specialized microsurgical instruments. Some surgical procedures include:
- Mass/tumor removal – Extracting abnormal tissue growths for biopsy.
- Proventriculotomy – Incising the proventriculus to clear blockages.
- Ovariohysterectomy – Spaying female birds to prevent egg binding.
- Orchidectomy – Castrating male birds to reduce aggression.
- Lipoma removal – Taking out fatty tumors in the abdomen.
- Amputation – Removing damaged toes or limbs.
- Fracture repair – Pinning broken wing/leg bones.
- Cesarean section – Delivering stuck eggs surgically.
Birds usually recover quickly after surgery with proper post-op care. Vets prescribe appropriate pain control medications as well.
Pediatrics
Avian vets also have specialized training in caring for baby birds. Their services include:
- Examining babies for congenital issues like crossed beaks.
- Teaching hand-feeding formula/techniques to breeders.
- Prescribing supplements to support bone/feather growth.
- Dispensing antibiotics if parents regurgitate to babies.
- Advising on ideal weaning timelines/methods.
- DNA sexing babies for optimal housing.
Starting babies off right helps set them up for long-term health and wellness.
Laboratory Services
Avian vets rely on advanced in-house laboratories to diagnose and treat diseases. Common lab services include:
- Fecal floatation to identify intestinal parasites.
- Fecal Gram stains to visualize bacteria levels.
- Fungal and bacterial cultures to pinpoint pathogens.
- Biochemical analysis for organ function markers.
- Hematology for complete blood cell counts.
- Cytology of masses/organs to characterize cells.
- Necropsy of deceased birds to determine cause of death.
- Histopathology of tissues for abnormalities.
- Toxicology to detect heavy metal/toxin exposure.
Precise in-house diagnostics lead to faster treatment and improved outcomes. Vets discuss all lab findings thoroughly with owners.
Inpatient Hospitalization
Seriously ill birds often need 24-hour veterinary care and monitoring. Services include:
- ICU cages with heat support and oxygen therapy.
- Fluid therapy and injectable medications.
- Tube or syringe feeding.
- Blood transfusion if anemic.
- Round-the-clock care from vet techs.
- Physical therapy to improve muscle strength.
- Nebulization of medications into lungs.
- Emergency surgeries.
Hospitalization gives very sick birds the best chance of stabilization and recovery. Vets work closely with owners throughout the process.
Euthanasia Services
One of the hardest parts of an avian vet’s job is sometimes providing euthanasia. Reasons include:
- Very old birds with poor quality of life.
- Irreversible organ failure.
- Catastrophic injuries.
- Terminal cancer.
- Owner financial constraints for treatment.
- Dangerous behavioral issues.
Euthanasia is deeply emotional, so vets provide gentle, compassionate support to grieving owners. They help owners process guilt and find closure.
Conclusion
Avian vets have an indispensable role in preventive care, medical treatment, surgery, diagnostics and more for pet birds. From well-bird checks to end-of-life services, vets aim to help birds live healthy, enriched lives. They are passionate about applying their expertise to serve the unique needs of their feathered patients. With proper veterinary care, birds can thrive and bond closely with their owners for many years to come.