Follow this step-by-step tutorial for the proper way to trim your bird’s wings.
Exotics
Calcium
May 3, 2016
It was a very odd week. Monday started out with an African Grey parrot that was rushed in because of odd seizures observed by the owner. Popeye made the trip in a cat carrier since he couldn’t perch, and when I opened the grated door I had to laugh : a sizeable grey parrot with a dark maroon tail was fluttering convulsively but at the same time reaching out greedily to gobble down some peanuts just out of reach. He had figured out how to roll just right with each shake of his wings and was inching ever closer. Popeye wasn’t at all perturbed by his mild convulsions but was very upset that the peanuts kept evading him. After a brief discussion where I learned that he was fed almost exclusively on sunflower seeds I drew some blood tests and treated him for a calcium deficiency. Seeds may be high in protein and fat but are notoriously deficient in calcium and trace minerals. No single food item will ever provide complete nutrition to any animal. Popeye’s recovery was dramatic.
On Tuesday an owner presented his middle-aged Dachshund “Dracula” for a second opinion. The little dog just seemed to have muscle twitches all the time. He’d had some blood tests run, but nothing conclusive had turned up and regular anti-seizure medication had been of no help. Dracula lived a quiet life, mostly indoors and had never had any other medical issues. He trotted around the exam room, with a fine tremor marring his step. He wasn’t shaking from anxiety, nor did he act oddly in any other way. Looking over the chart shared by my colleague I noted that his blood calcium test was quite low. Since any single test may occasionally be off due to lab error I recommended we repeat these tests as a starting place. Again, his calcium levels came back very low. Diagnosis : A disorder of his parathyroid gland, which regulates calcium in the body. Treatment with calcium and Vitamin D supplements provided immediate relief while his case was fully worked up.
When the Green Iguana showed up on Wednesday I had a sneaking suspicion that I was having a “run” on calcium related issues. The lizards’ lower jaw was puffed out, looking mismatched to her upper face. She had an odd crook in her front leg from a “folding fracture”, indicating soft bones. Once again I investigated her diet and light exposure – never outdoors in natural sunlight (no creature was bred to live totally indoors!) and fed iceberg lettuce, no dark leafy greens, no vitamin supplements. Diagnosis : Metabolic Bone Disease or “Iguana Rickets”. Real sunshine and an improved diet did wonders for her.
By Thursday the staff had started to joke about it. Our 10 o’clock appointment was a young man with a muscular Pit Bull puppy, only 12 weeks old. The puppy had broken both his front legs. As I observed the heavy bodied male, named “Oscar”, I noted that he was unusually cheerful as he ran around the room, clumsily trying to chew on my assistant’s pants leg. He looked bow legged in front and indeed, both of his wrists (carpi) bulged and kind of knuckled over. He was walking on these legs, which a dog with a fracture usually cannot do, as it’s too painful and the bone actually can’t support weight as it slides apart. Questioning brought out the history of a puppy fed an exclusive diet of steak and hamburger. Oscar’s owner was proud of his beautiful dog and wanted to provide only the best for him. He had spared no expense by feeding an all-meat diet. What I was looking at was a very old-fashioned case of rickets or osteomalacia (soft bones). Without a balanced diet – and without bones meat alone is deficient in calcium – Oscar’s rapidly growing bones had softened and he couldn’t support the weight of his own body. The bones had started to fold down. Caught early, a corrected diet of simple commercial puppy food could reverse the process and over time the bones will straighten, though not always 100%. Happily, within two weeks Oscar was moving more normally.
The body is a marvel. Calcium is rich in many foods: dairy products like cheese, yogurt and milk, dark leafy greens, fish canned with their bones, bone meal by-products. Calcium is added to all pet foods formulated commercially, just as it is added to products like orange juice for people. But eating calcium rich food is not enough. The body requires Vitamin D3 to absorb and use the calcium taken in. Dogs, cats, birds and reptiles can all make their own Vitamin D when exposed to natural sunlight, through a complex interaction with UV light on their skin. Vitamin D is found naturally in egg yolk, fish oils and fatty fish like salmon or tuna, and cheese. Many animals, especially birds and reptiles, don’t naturally eat these foods and if kept deprived of sunlight (indoors/caged) will develop rickets, broken bones, and even seizures or death because they cannot make the Vitamin D they need. Even if their diet includes a calcium supplement they will suffer. For this reason special UV lights are recommended for indoor pets and at least weekly outings into real sunshine. All diets should include both fresh foods and commercial foods fortified with Vitamin D and Calcium, from turtle pellets to bird feed and other pet foods. Leave the balancing up to the professionals!
Christine B. McFadden, DVM
drmc@mcmenagerie.com
Talking Birds
May 26, 2014
Now birds are an altogether different sort of animal. It goes beyond having feathers instead of fur – they are NOT mammals. And somehow “animals” and “mammals” share a bunch of “m’s” and the words start to sound the same and it all becomes very confusing. So let’s get back to the basics – birds are NOT mammals. Ignoring the occasional exception to the rule, it’s kind of interesting that birds have feathers instead of fur, have scales and claws instead of pads and paws, fly much better than they walk or run, and lay eggs instead of giving live birth to their young. Baby mammals receive nourishment from their mother’s milk. Birds regurgitate already chewed up food into their babies crops! Ewww! Science fiction come to life! The crop is a modified stomach, though birds do have a true stomach called the proventriculus, and a gizzard or ventriculus for heavy duty grinding of food. If we narrow bird-dom down to the parrot family we find a group of birds that are highly companionable, brightly colored, and can even talk human! Research with an African Grey parrot named Alex at ASU University demonstrated he could think and figure things out at the level of about a 3 year old child. If you haven’t spent time with a toddler lately, watch out! For example, Alex could differentiate not just a wooden key from a metal key, but a green, square wooden key. Parrots are noted for the use of “tools” such as sticks to obtain food, a sign of higher intelligence.
Although veterinarians traditionally receive training in a wide number of species, from companion dogs and cats to livestock cattle and horses, they are all mammals. Birds are very different. Birds don’t even have normal lungs, but do most of their breathing through cellophane-like little bags throughout their body called air sacs. Some of these air sacs invade the larger wing and leg bones (pneumatic bones), which keeps bone density lighter and helps to deliver oxygen directly where needed for long flights. Pretty amazing!
Since I have been known to say that I have a license to practice medicine and surgery on every living species on earth, with one exception (you), it’s probably obvious that it is the diversity of working with birds that makes them fascinating. Parrots in particular, large and small, are so interactive that they are a joy to study. Sylvester Stallone referred to parakeets as “flying candy” in one of his movies. Of course, working with them up close and personal brings certain features to the forefront. Like beaks. They all come with them and yes, they all bite. That little 30 gram parakeet can dig just so into your cuticle and the lumbering Macaw, a 2 to 3 pound parrot (454 grams to the pound) is capable of breaking fingers. We treat them all with respect.
Birds are adaptable. One of my staff, Amanda, recalled a little bird that had crippled legs. Her owner wrapped the bird in a little shirt with a piece of Velcro, and herself had a broad patch she had sewn onto her clothes. Sure enough, the little bird could fly around, then return to her owner via her personal landing pad.
And if you thought kids say the darnedest things, try birds. Say one bad word once (chances are you said it loudly and with energy) and the bird has it nailed forever. One client taught his Amazon to say “Let me outta here!” I wasn’t aware of this until the bird boarded with us. This was in a small clinic where the ward rooms were very near the exam rooms. Sound carried. You can imagine the look on my clients face – and mine – when suddenly someone started to scream “Let me outta here! Let me outta here!” I actually had to show a few people that indeed it was a talking bird before I could calm them down (the bird thought he was hysterical – we began to feed him special treats about a half hour before afternoon calls to occupy his little mind).
My favorite story of all, though, centers around a woman staff member who opened the clinic early Saturdays. Pat loved her job and usually rushed down extra early to be the first one there, so she was by herself that day, walking from room to room as she checked on patients. She had just turned on the lights as she entered one ward and was crossing the room to open another when behind her she heard a soft voice say “I know what you like”. The hair rose at the back of her neck and she froze – just as the Mynah bird screeched “bananas!” Bananas indeed. Took about 5 years off Pat’s life and we had to post a sign after that warning everyone when that particular bird stayed with us.
Christine B. McFadden, DVM
Valley Animal Hospital, Merced
drmc@mcmenagerie.com
Dr Mc's Veterinary Tales 