"The Power Of Observation"

 

In our birds, early signs of illness are often slight and often overlooked. In fact, often the smaller the bird, the more severe the illness becomes before it is recognised. Additionally, birds in general show indications of pain and discomfort to a much lesser degree than most mammals. Mammals, for instance, wince or cry out when a painful area is touched. Except in certain specialised areas such as the cere, nostrils, eyes, feet and angles of the beak where the pain threshold is lower, birds seldom respond to pain even when diseased organs or limbs are palpitated. This is further evidenced when cutting or stitching body wounds on birds, there is little or no indication of pain exhibited.

 

In the absence of clearer indications, the knowledge of normal behaviours, activity, appearance and habits is extremely important in order to recognise signs of ill health or injury. This knowledge, supplemented by patient observations and reliance on the senses of sight, hearing, touch and smell to assess the problem, is what ultimately leads us to a diagnosis and interventions, which save our birds lives.

 

The end goal of evaluation is the accumulation and organisation of observations into a factual statement of the presenting problem. We begin this process by standing back and watching from a distance, then recording what we have seen. Look first at the activity level. Anything out of the norm? What is the birds posture like? Normal, huddled, tail up or down, wings drooped or elevated? What is the attitude of the head? Thrown back, drooped forward, tucked in? What is the position of the toes, feet? Are eyes and/or beak open, closed? Are there variations in the contour of the body? Humpbacked, swelling? What is the appearance of the plumage? Tattered, ruffled, moulting? Are any areas matted, such as the mask, top of head, vent? Are there any differences in asymmetry i.e., one wing drooped, the other normal? Is there steadiness on the perch or loss of balance? What are the respiration’s like? Panting, laboured, normal?

 

Now take a closer look. Encourage movement. Do you observe any unsteadiness? Lameness? Un-coordination? Impaired or weakened flight? Now that we are up close, let’s be more precise. Start with the head and face. Any signs of discharge from the nostrils? Discoloration of the feathers above the cere or over the head? What colour is the cere? Any bumps, growth, whitish/yellowish powdery substances on it? How about the beak? Normal growth? Damage or injury? Anything unusual around the hinged area of the jaw? Now to the eyes. Clear and bright? Dull, clouded? Both the same? Redness, swelling, discharge? Clear tears? Cloudy? General feather condition? Quills? Dried blood, bare spots? How about the chest? Evidence of growths or lumps? Wings. Broken feathers, flights, cysts? Any evidence of injury? Is the vent clean? Faecal matter? Wet or dry? Colour? Tail feathers present? Broken or absent? Any impaction or cysts at the feather base?

 

A Further Step

 

So far so good. We have gathered and recorded a lot of useful information simply through our powers of observation. Along the way we have eliminated some things as well as discovered areas to be explored more deeply. Now let's go a step further and begin the physical exam using our ears, nose and touch as the primary diagnostic tools. Pick your bird up in your hand, immobilising the head, wings and feet. Place your ear systematically over different areas of the body, beginning with the head. For our purposes, the unaided ear is more than adequate for detecting normal and abnormal sounds.

 

Do you notice any clicking sound coming from the nostrils? Is there any involuntary sneezing? How about gurgling from the mouth? Listen to the chest. Hissing or whistling sounds originating from the windpipe? Is breathing excessively laboured after handling? Have you noticed any change of voice or loss of voice? These signs may indicate respiratory tract infection, tracheal infection or obstruction, air sacculitis or even pneumonia.

 

As you have hold of your bird take note of its weight. Does it feel full bodied, muscled, fat or thin? Place your finger on the keel bone (centre of the chest). Is it prominent or set back in well developed chest muscles? Weight loss as evidenced by a prominent keel is symptomatic of any number of diseases. Any lumps or fatty deposits? Now open the beak. Examine the tongue and lining membranes of the mouth. What colour are they? Any ulcers, wounds, obstructions, cheesy exudate? Smell the mouth. Any odour? How would you describe it? Push the feathers back from the hinges of the beak. Any growth, lumps, etc.? How about under the bottom of the beak where it attaches? When examining the rest of the body pluck or blow apart feathers and look at the skin colour. Is the skin tight to the body or loose like on your thigh? Taught, tight skin can be a sign of dehydration. Any wounds or other abnormalities? Can you feel any shivering of body muscles? Run your finger over the pelvic girdle. Any swelling or lumps? Can you easily feel the pelvic bones? Fat deposits and fatty tumours are quite common in the abdominal area. Does this area seem to taper down into the tail or does it appear to cut off abruptly? This is often a symptom of wasting syndrome? Just above the area where the tail feathers attach, is the uropygial gland, sometimes referred to as the oil gland or preen gland. Check for infection. Sometimes, the duct becomes blocked with a cheesy yellowish matter.

 

The Extremities

 

Now to the extremities; wings, legs and feet. Any stiffness or swelling? Spread each wing separately. Do you hear any clicking, crunching or grinding? It is not uncommon to find an old healed fracture with stiff arthritic joints. Now do the same with each leg and foot. Joint stiffness? Swelling? Clicking, grinding sounds? Again, trauma can be the cause as well as arthritis. Crippling arthritis can be caused by a systemic bacterial infection. Toes swollen? Missing? Constrictive toe syndrome or gout can be the cause. In gout, uric acid deposits accumulate in the joints of the feet and legs. It is caused by chronic kidney failure. Nails missing? Overgrown? This could affect the ability to mate, especially if it is a male. Now look at the underside of each foot. Any lesions, inflammation or evidence of infection? Staff infections are not uncommon. Be sure to look for evidence of scaly mite also. Run your finger along the point where flight feather shafts enter the skin. Any lumps, cysts, broken shafts? Evidence of blood?

 

You have now completed a physical exam. Obviously there have been limitations regarding the extent to which this exam has been carried out but for our purposes you did a good job! Now take some time to organise and write down your observations.

 

Now one more thing to do before we have fully completed our evaluation. Let's observe the environment. Cage first. Any sign of blood? Clusters of feathers? Scattered food or water containers? How about patches of nibbled paint or chewed areas? Look at the food. Discoloration? Mould? Smell it as well as the water. Any odour? Is there any evidence of regurgitation? Now to output of waste materials. What colour are the droppings? Grey, yellow, green? Are they watery, soft, hard? Copious? Any evidence of mucous? Again, note your findings.

 

With a working knowledge of Budgerigar illnesses and emergency care coupled with the information you have gathered to this point, make the decision. “Do I need a veterinarian or is this something I can treat myself?”

 

 

From THE MASTER BREEDER

Edited April 3, 200916 yr by Daz

Great post Daz. thanks for sharing this with us