Articles:
> First Aid for Birds
NOTES
ON KIM FRYER’S LECTURE
Birds hide the symptoms, when ill, they try to look well.
Hunters Rule – weakest easiest to catch. Hunted Rule – look strong, or be eaten.
This relates to Budgies, they are great at not telling us that they are ill.
Subtle Changes.
They try to hide these changes from us eg. change in droppings.
Change in normal routines, change in behaviour
Change in posture.
Look at Droppings.
Green solid droppings – may be change with diet
White urates – Kidneys
Watery – Kidney also – should be clear
Diarrhoea increase in faeces – probably intestines
Urates – increase – kidneys
Budgies produces about 20/30 droppings per day
All white droppings – kidneys – bird hasn’t eaten for a while
Posture - a normally active bird is now
· Quite sleepy, fluffed ups to maintain body temp – birds temp is around 40°
· Sitting on bottom of cage – again observe posture or may try to hide somewhere
· Not eating or drinking – some will play with seed but not actually eat
· Eating frantically or constantly – no husked seed, mucous around beak and seed stuck to mucous
· Sneezing a lot, nasal discharge or discolouration above nostrils
· Rubbing eyes – recognising conjunctivitis, red, swollen watery or crusty eyes
· Swelling around eyes – sinusitis – stuff coming out looks like cottage cheese
· Vomiting – they flick the mucous all over the head
· Harboured breathing – effort to keep eyes open – tail down – unusual movement of tail
· Their lungs are rigid but they have many air sacs. If they have a problem in Air Sacs it makes it hard for them to breathe. Same with a Mass (cancer) in abdomen.
Wait and watch = death sentence
First Aid for Sick birds
1. Warmth – blanket around a cage is not enough.
Dr. Kim did an experiment with putting a thermometer inside a cage and wrapped a blanket around the cage. Temp at start was 17.1 in 8 minutes the temp had dropped to 16.5
Add a 40 watt light to the area. With the temp now at 16.5 heat was directed at the cage, right up close, in 8 minutes the temp had risen to 18.1 - try to achieve a temp of 40°.
Heat is most important, put the heat towards the bird - it will move away if it is too hot.
2. Phone for appointment with an Avian Vet.
Vets cannot diagnose over the phone, cannot see the bird. When taking the bird do not clean the cage, put some foil in the bottom of the cage to catch the droppings.
Also take a collection of droppings from the aviary for the vet to see the aviary picture if you have an aviary
3. Fluids and food.
If drinking add glucose or sugar to water, or using a syringe give drops to the beak.
Polyaid plus – give via crop needle/dropper/syringe – energy source.
If bird is used to fruit then you can give orange juice. Offer food of various types.
Note: Birds must be strong enough to swallow before attempting to crop feed.
Test first by putting some food/fluid in syringe then get the bird to eat from the end of the syringe and/or and put some to the beak. This also helps to get the crop needle down as it moistens the oesophagus and makes it easier to insert the crop needle.
Bleeding birds
Apply pressure. Amount of blood in a budgie is approx 10% of birds weight. ie about 6mls.
They make red blood cells faster than humans.
Blood quill.
1-2 minutes pressure in a budgie. Wound on chest – apply pressure but be mindful of body (air sacs)
Nails – dip in flour, rub over softened bar of soap, Stypic – from chemist.
Broken bones – Are painful
· Every movement of the broken bone causes more damage to supporting muscles and tissue.
· Fractures that are stabilized heal better and faster – see the Vet.
Broken wing
Cut a length of non adhesive bandage. Strap wing in normal position against the body.
(Over the bad wing and under the good wing in front of the legs.
Broken leg, look for bruise, remove perch
Soft pad on bottom of cage, prevent climbing.
Heals in 2 weeks fully strong in 4 weeks.
With a broken lower leg a match stick or toothpick is a good stabilizer. Cut several layers of elastoplast and place the matchstick in position where the break is and put the elastoplast layered either side of the matchstick and break and extend about ½” either side of the matchstick.
You can leave this on for about 2 weeks but watch the break and observe that the elastoplast does not get too tight, especially with young birds.
SELF MEDICATING BIRDS
Self medicating the birds can mask what is really going on. You give some antibiotics to your birds then take them to the Vet after them being on what you have been giving them, this changes the picture for the Vet and makes it virtually impossible to get the right diagnosis.
DO NOT SELF MEDICATE THE BIRDS
GIVE ALCOHOL OR COFFEE? – THAT IS FOR THE BREEDER NOT THE BIRDS
USE FIRST AID AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR VETERINARY ADVICE- 1st Aid is to help you get the bird to the Vet alive.
If the bird dies – do not freeze the bird. Wet the bird down, wrap in glad wrap and seal in plastic bag and put in Fridge and get the bird to the Vet ASAP.
Putting the bird in the garbage bin is not a diagnosis – just endangers the rest of the flock.
PLEASE KEEP YOUR AVIARY AND BIRD ROOM CLEAN, FREE FROM VERMIN – MICE – RATS & COCKROACHES
YOU CANNOT EXPECT THE VET TO GIVE YOU THE MEDICATIONS FOR YOUR BIRDS WHEN THEY ARE SICK AND THEN YOU GO HOME, GIVE THE MEDICATION BUT DO NOT CLEAN YOUR AVIARY OR BIRD ROOM.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AND THE VETS TIME IF YOU DO NOT DO YOUR PART – KEEP THE AVIARY CLEAN
IF THIS IS YOUR METHOD OF BREEDING – THEN GIVE UP.
FINALLY
THE BEST DISINFECTANT IS ELBOW GREASE
Article Kindly Donated By Betty Berry
Birds hide the symptoms, when ill, they try to look well.
Hunters Rule – weakest easiest to catch. Hunted Rule – look strong, or be eaten.
This relates to Budgies, they are great at not telling us that they are ill.
Subtle Changes.
They try to hide these changes from us eg. change in droppings.
Change in normal routines, change in behaviour
Change in posture.
Look at Droppings.
Green solid droppings – may be change with diet
White urates – Kidneys
Watery – Kidney also – should be clear
Diarrhoea increase in faeces – probably intestines
Urates – increase – kidneys
Budgies produces about 20/30 droppings per day
All white droppings – kidneys – bird hasn’t eaten for a while
Posture - a normally active bird is now
· Quite sleepy, fluffed ups to maintain body temp – birds temp is around 40°
· Sitting on bottom of cage – again observe posture or may try to hide somewhere
· Not eating or drinking – some will play with seed but not actually eat
· Eating frantically or constantly – no husked seed, mucous around beak and seed stuck to mucous
· Sneezing a lot, nasal discharge or discolouration above nostrils
· Rubbing eyes – recognising conjunctivitis, red, swollen watery or crusty eyes
· Swelling around eyes – sinusitis – stuff coming out looks like cottage cheese
· Vomiting – they flick the mucous all over the head
· Harboured breathing – effort to keep eyes open – tail down – unusual movement of tail
· Their lungs are rigid but they have many air sacs. If they have a problem in Air Sacs it makes it hard for them to breathe. Same with a Mass (cancer) in abdomen.
Wait and watch = death sentence
First Aid for Sick birds
1. Warmth – blanket around a cage is not enough.
Dr. Kim did an experiment with putting a thermometer inside a cage and wrapped a blanket around the cage. Temp at start was 17.1 in 8 minutes the temp had dropped to 16.5
Add a 40 watt light to the area. With the temp now at 16.5 heat was directed at the cage, right up close, in 8 minutes the temp had risen to 18.1 - try to achieve a temp of 40°.
Heat is most important, put the heat towards the bird - it will move away if it is too hot.
2. Phone for appointment with an Avian Vet.
Vets cannot diagnose over the phone, cannot see the bird. When taking the bird do not clean the cage, put some foil in the bottom of the cage to catch the droppings.
Also take a collection of droppings from the aviary for the vet to see the aviary picture if you have an aviary
3. Fluids and food.
If drinking add glucose or sugar to water, or using a syringe give drops to the beak.
Polyaid plus – give via crop needle/dropper/syringe – energy source.
If bird is used to fruit then you can give orange juice. Offer food of various types.
Note: Birds must be strong enough to swallow before attempting to crop feed.
Test first by putting some food/fluid in syringe then get the bird to eat from the end of the syringe and/or and put some to the beak. This also helps to get the crop needle down as it moistens the oesophagus and makes it easier to insert the crop needle.
Bleeding birds
Apply pressure. Amount of blood in a budgie is approx 10% of birds weight. ie about 6mls.
They make red blood cells faster than humans.
Blood quill.
1-2 minutes pressure in a budgie. Wound on chest – apply pressure but be mindful of body (air sacs)
Nails – dip in flour, rub over softened bar of soap, Stypic – from chemist.
Broken bones – Are painful
· Every movement of the broken bone causes more damage to supporting muscles and tissue.
· Fractures that are stabilized heal better and faster – see the Vet.
Broken wing
Cut a length of non adhesive bandage. Strap wing in normal position against the body.
(Over the bad wing and under the good wing in front of the legs.
Broken leg, look for bruise, remove perch
Soft pad on bottom of cage, prevent climbing.
Heals in 2 weeks fully strong in 4 weeks.
With a broken lower leg a match stick or toothpick is a good stabilizer. Cut several layers of elastoplast and place the matchstick in position where the break is and put the elastoplast layered either side of the matchstick and break and extend about ½” either side of the matchstick.
You can leave this on for about 2 weeks but watch the break and observe that the elastoplast does not get too tight, especially with young birds.
SELF MEDICATING BIRDS
Self medicating the birds can mask what is really going on. You give some antibiotics to your birds then take them to the Vet after them being on what you have been giving them, this changes the picture for the Vet and makes it virtually impossible to get the right diagnosis.
DO NOT SELF MEDICATE THE BIRDS
GIVE ALCOHOL OR COFFEE? – THAT IS FOR THE BREEDER NOT THE BIRDS
USE FIRST AID AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR VETERINARY ADVICE- 1st Aid is to help you get the bird to the Vet alive.
If the bird dies – do not freeze the bird. Wet the bird down, wrap in glad wrap and seal in plastic bag and put in Fridge and get the bird to the Vet ASAP.
Putting the bird in the garbage bin is not a diagnosis – just endangers the rest of the flock.
PLEASE KEEP YOUR AVIARY AND BIRD ROOM CLEAN, FREE FROM VERMIN – MICE – RATS & COCKROACHES
YOU CANNOT EXPECT THE VET TO GIVE YOU THE MEDICATIONS FOR YOUR BIRDS WHEN THEY ARE SICK AND THEN YOU GO HOME, GIVE THE MEDICATION BUT DO NOT CLEAN YOUR AVIARY OR BIRD ROOM.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AND THE VETS TIME IF YOU DO NOT DO YOUR PART – KEEP THE AVIARY CLEAN
IF THIS IS YOUR METHOD OF BREEDING – THEN GIVE UP.
FINALLY
THE BEST DISINFECTANT IS ELBOW GREASE
Article Kindly Donated By Betty Berry
