multi bird households

[marie83]

Copied and pasted.

This was posted today by a friend.

A bit of a morbid subject but I would just like to stress the importance of having a proper Pathology report done when a bird from a flock situation dies with no definite veterinary diagnosis having been made.

Gracie, my beloved Macaw, whose photo is my cover shot, became ill back in July. She had began eating less and was gradually losing weight so I took her straight over to Mark Naguib at Battleflatts Vets in York. After several appointments and despite having x-rays, blood tests, endoscopy and various medications prescribed, she continued to deteriorate. The various tests had shown an enlarged spleen, swollen proventriculus, black deposits on her lungs and calcified deposits on her air sacs (she had lived in a pub for many years and been extensively exposed to cigarette smoke )

Desperate to get some help for Gracie, I took her over to Aiden Raftery in Manchester, who examined her, looked over her clinical notes and x-rays and took samples for an ABV test as he suspected PDD. The test subsequently came back negative but I was informed that false negatives are common and as Gracie was displaying classic symptoms of PDD and she was prescribed a course of Metacam, which has had some effectiveness in past trials for treatment of PDD.

For the next couple of months I struggled to keep Gracie's weight up, first syringe and later gavage feeding her and administering several injections of Emiprid daily to help her digest the feeds.

I was utterly devasted when a couple of weeks ago Gracie took a sudden turn for the worse, began seizing and vomiting and passed away in our arms at 10pm on Sunday night

The next morning, I decided that given the diagnosis of probable PDD and the fact that I have several other Macaws who share a bird room with Gracie, a PM was essential. Aiden Raftery was out of the country and Mark Naguib refused to conduct the PM as Gracie had been seen by another vet subsequent to him. So I contacted the International Zoo Vet Group in Leeds and referred myself to their Pathology labs.

I was too upset to drive to Leeds that day but the next morning I drove Gracie down to the laboratories in Leeds and met Mark Stidworthy the Pathologist there. I cannot praise Mark's understanding and professionalism enough. He explained that he would carry out a gross post mortem and call to let me know his initial findings when we would then discuss any further tests that may need carrying out for a definitive answer.

Mark rang me later that afternoon and told me that his initial findings indicated PDD. Poor Gracie's entire digestive tract was flaccid, swollen and almost translucent. However, he would be performing histology tests on harvested tissue to confirm the plaques which are consistent with PDD were present.

Today I've received the full histology report which indicates that contrary to both the vet suspicion and initial pathology findings, Gracie had intestinal cancer and not PDD.

This news is both a relief and a sorrow but I just wanted to share this as a caution - both against the dangers of assuming a reason for a bird's death and also against the dangers of smoking around our birds. Not only do they inhale smoke but also please always wash your hands after smoking and before handling your bird. Nicotine and other deposits on your fingers will transfer to their feathers and be ingested when they preen.

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Dear Ms XXXX,

Please find attached a final report for Gracie. Additional investigations have shown that Gracie had cancer of the intestine, which was the cause of narrowing and paralysis of the affected part (just after the stomach) and the reason for the dilation of crop, oesophagus and stomach. There is no evidence, after exhaustive microscopic examination (and taken with the PCR and serology results), that Proventricular Dilation Disease(PDD)/avian bornavirus is relevant in this case. Cancer causing problems with the intestines, resembling PDD, is rare, and diagnosis of these cases can be difficult. Unfortunately, the cancer was spreading through the wall of the intestine, and would likely have spread further inside her body if the complications had not occurred.

I hope this can set your mind at rest that you had offered Gracie the best possible care, but that the problem she had was not one from which she would have been able to recover in the long term.

All of the costs of testing were included in the bill you have already paid by credit card. Many thanks.

I will send the paperwork that you brought with you to your home address, as I understand that you need it back.

Mark Stidworthy MA VetMB PhD FRCPath MRCVS

RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Pathology (Zoo and Wildlife)

Veterinary Pathologist
International Zoo Veterinary Group

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[Wolf]

Although this is not my favorite posting it most definitely provides valuable information. You may convey my thanks and my condolences to your fried for this posting and thank you for posting it here.

[Pajarita]

Ditto on the condolences and YES! a necropsy is absolutely essential when you have more birds in the house and the cause of death is not 100% clear.