Pet Birds: Management and Common Diseases

Pet Birds: Management and Common Diseases

Submitted by : Sumnil Marwaha¹*, Rachna Poonia²

¹Senior Technical officer (Veterinary Medicine) ICAR- National Research Centre on Camel, Bikaner

²Ph.D. Scholar, Veterinary Pathology, RAJUVAS, Bikaner

*marwahasumnil828@gmail.com

Introduction:

There is increasing trend of having exotic animals as pet and birds are the most popular among them. However, the history of keeping birds dates back to Rig Veda, approx. 3000 years ago; the text contains the first record of a pet parrot. Birds are becoming popular over dogs and cats as they are more suited for small spaces, have low maintenance requirement, relative low cost of maintenance and live longer life.

Common types of pet birds:

There are many bird species that are domesticated, most common among them are Parakeets, Budgerigars, Cockatoos, Mynah, Mannikins, Pigeons and Doves. However caging the birds native of India is considered as illegal as per Indian wildlife act, 1972. Exotic birds are exempted from this regulation. Pscittacine and Passerine are most commonly used as pet. Some common pet birds are listed below:

1. Passerines (Song birds/ Perching birds): They are known for their beauty and singing ability. These birds have four toes, out of which three are directed forward and one backward. They include finches, canaries and mynah.
2. Canaries: They are small birds known for their singing abilities. Mostly, they have yellow plumage, but other colours may also be seen. They are 5-6 inches long from head to toe. They are either kept in pair or alone if daily human interaction is given. They have life span of 10-15 years.
3. Finches: They are easy to maintain as compared to other pet birds. They delight their owners with their aerial antics and social interactions with one another. They are suited for either indoors or garden aviaries.
4. Pscitacines: These birds are known for their beauty and companionship. They are characterized by curved bill, vibrant colours, upright stance, and during perching two toes directed forward while other two in backward direction. They show very little or no sexual dimorphism. Birds in this order includes Budgerigars, Love birds, Cockatoo and Cockatiel.
5. Budgerigars: They are small, about 8 inches in length and have variety of colours. They show sexual dimorphism, the colour of ceres in adult female is brown while in adult male, it is bluish-purple. They have lifespan of 5-10 years.
6. Cockatiels: They have good companionship qualities and are good for novice owners. They are small grey birds with yellow face and orange cheek patches. They have lifespan of 16-25 years.
7. Love birds: There are many types of love birds, but most popular are peach faced and black masked. They are aggressive in nature and required to be handled daily for retaining its companionship qualities. It is better to keep a single bird. They have life span of 20 years.
8. Cockatoo: They are known for their capability to mimic voice of humans and other voices. They are generally white or black in colour with coloured features in the crest, cheeks or tail and have curved bill.
9. Macaw: They are large sized, intelligent birds and have loud vocalization.Macaws can be distinguished from other parrots by their larger beaks, long tails, and lightly feathered pale colored medial facial patch. They have lifespan upto 50 years.
10. Other birds: Conure, African grey parrot, Parrotlets, Eclectus parrots.

Care and management:

1. Housing: An appropriate housing will lead to physiological and psychological well-being. Birds should have proper cage size according to their body size in which they can turn and move around freely. Aviaries are also good option as it gives space needed for flight and reduces territorial stress. The cage should provide protection from extreme environment and predators. Cage should not be made up of galvanized metal as it may cause zinc poisoning. In case of small birds like budgerigars more than one bird can be placed in one cage but stocking density should be appropriate.
2. The cages should be such that they are easy to clean. Solid floors are generally preferred as they are easy to clean. Floor must be covered with any absorbent litter like newspaper, sand etc. Litter must be changed frequently as it may develop bacteria and fungi in unhygienic condition.
3. Cages should have perches or roosting site. Generally tree twig or any hardwood perch are better.
4. Cages should also include some toys especially for pscittacine birds for behavioral enrichment. If breeding is required then nest boxes must be installed in aviary.
5. Feeding and watering bowls must be freely accessible and placed so that there is minimum contamination by faeces. Steel or ceramic feeder and waterer are preferred. They should be easily cleaned and refilled.
6. Cage must be located at a place where there is natural light, away from predators approach, in well ventilated areas as birds are susceptible to fumes and smoke.

The approximate size of cages of different bird is given as under:

7. Identification: It is usually done by either leg banding or microchip within pectoral muscle.
8. Nutrition: Adequate amount of fresh feed must be available all the times. Feed must be balanced and formulated as per the requirement of particular breed. Generally either seed or pellets are used. Seeds include cereal seeds like canary seeds, corns, millets, and de-husked oat kernels; and oil seeds like sunflower seeds, peanuts, safflower, pine nuts, rape, maw, niger, and linseed. Though some birds have special requirements like nectars like lorikeets. Different types of birds differ in their feed habits.
9. Nutrition of passerines: Pet passerines (canaries, finches) are mainly granivorous e., their main diet are seeds. However seeds particularly cereal seeds are deficient in vitamins (A, D, E, and K), essential amino acids (lysine, methionine) and minerals (Ca). Thus, supplementation with vitamin supplement, fresh fruits, vegetable mainly leafy vegetables is necessary. Calcium can be supplemented through limestone, cuttle fish bone and marble chips. Sprouted seeds can be added to the diet once or twice in week. Plumage colours in canaries partially depend on the pigments in the diet. Thus pigments like b-carotene, lutein and canthaxanthins are fed before breeding season. Small passerine birds can drink nearly 250–300 ml/kg body weight water in a day.
10. Nutrition of psittacines: Psittacine include granivory (grain or seed-based diet, including budgerigars and cockatiels), frugivory (fruit-based diet, including many macaws), and nectarivory (nectar-based diet, including lorikeets and lories).

Some dietary recommendations

• Small psittacines (e.g. Budgerigars, cockateils, love birds)

• Good quality diet contaning mixed variety of seeds should be used as these birds often become fixated on individual seed varieties, leading to malnutrition.
• Obesity is very common in these birds due to high-fat diet and lack of exercise, so, balanced nutrition should be provided.
• Sprouted seed mixtures should be least twice a week. Carrot, apple, fresh chickweed and vegetables can be included in the diet. Supplement with an avian vitamin supplement.
  • Large pscittacines (e.g. Amazon, African greys, Macaw, Cockatoos)
• As a thumb rule the diet should have approximately 20-25% good quality seed, 40% sprouted seeds or pulses, 40% vegetable and fruits and supplement with multivitamin.
• Temperate fruits commonly used in psittacines but they are poor nutrient source, instead of them pigmented vegetables should be preferred.
• If commercial pelleted feed is used ensure that they are palatable by the bird.
• When kept indoors due to lack of ample sun exposure, these birds may suffer vitamin D3 deficiency. The traditional diet which is commonly used also short on Vitamin D. So, Vitamin D supplement should be given.
• African grey parrots must be supplemented with a calcium source.

9. Deworming:

Common deworming drugs used in pet birds (ectoparasiticide and endoparasiticides):

10. Clinical examination :

Prior to clinical examination, complete history of the bird is taken including feeding and watering practices, and housing condition. Clinical examination involve following steps:

1. Examining general body condition, condition of feathers, wings and any external parasites.
2. Examine eyes and nose for presence of discharge.

• Examine oral cavity for thrush or any other lesions.

1. Examine the choanal slit for signs of discharges and inflammation.
2. Palapation of crop to check its fullness, impaction or foreign body.
3. Abdomen must be palpated for checking any abnormal growth.

• Lungs and heart sounds must be auscultated.

11. Common diseases of pet birds:
12. Bacterial diseases:
13. Tuberculosis: It is a potential zoonotic disease affecting both humans and birds. It is caused by Mycobacterium avium avium and M. genavense. It most commonly affects Psittacines (grey-cheeked parakeets, budgerigars and pinous parrots) but Passarines( canary, gouldian finch and zebra finch) can also be affected. It generally affects adult birds and rarely seen in birds less than 1 year of age. Bacteria is shed in faeces of infected birds and transmitted chiefly by ingestion, inhalation and can survive in the environment for years. It is progressive debilitating disease affecting liver and gastrointestinal tract. In chronic cases loss of body weight, diarrhoea, depression, distention of abdomen, difficult breathing and poor feathering. Treatment is usually long requiring 6-12 months.
14. Chlamydiosis (psittacosis, ornithosis): It commonly infects cockatiels, budgerigars, and parrots but all types of pet birds are susceptible. It is also zoonotic. It is caused by Chlamydia psittaci .The pathogen is present in the faeces, naso-ocular discharge of diseased birds and remain viable in organic debris for months. Clinical signs seen are depression, anorexia, oculo-nasal discharge, conjunctivitis, dyspnoea, dehydration and diarrhea. For treatment doxycylcine is given orally for 45 days.

It is zoonotic disease causing flu like symptoms in humans. Owner should wear gloves, masks and protective clothing while handling infected birds as well as exposed birds. Proper disinfection of cages using bleach or 1% Lysol is recommended.

• Salmonellosis: Two main salmonella species that affect pet birds include genus Salmonella are enterica and S. bongori. S. typhimurium is also commonly isolated from psittacine birds in outbreaks. Salmonellosis affects all types of birds but among pet birds finches and sparrows are more susceptible. H igh mortality is reported in psittacine birds such as lories and lorikeets, budgerigars, parakeets, and sulphur crested cockatoo.

Infected pet birds, rodents, reptiles, wild birds, contaminated water, feed and eggs act as source of Salmonella spp. Infection occur by food and infected drinking water. It is common when birds visit any exhiviton or in open air aviaries. In acute cases there is mortality especially in canaries. Other birds shows depression, anorexia, delay in the  emptying of crops, laboured breathing and diarrhoea for 3–4 days before death. Greenish-yellow diarrhoea is observed in adult budgerigers in S. typhimurium infection. In chronic cases general symptoms such as anorexia, diarrhoea, dyspnoea, lethargy, cachexia, ruffled feathers, subcutaneous granuloma, crop stasis, conjunctivitis, arthritis and panophthalmitis are seen.

1. Other common bacterial infection: Staphylococcus and streptococcus are common bacteria, generally associated with dermatitis. Staphylococcus causes commonly pododermatitis (bumble foot).

1. Viral infections:
2. Avian polyoma virus (Budgerigar fledgling disease, Psittacine polyomavirus):

Young budgerigars are most susceptible but other pet birds can also be infected. Infection spread by direct contact with infected bird or infected nest boxes, cages and other inanimate objects. Infection is fatal in chicks below 16 week of age while adults are resistant. Common clinical signs are depression, anorexia, crop stasis, regurgitation, ecchymosis in subcutaneous tissues and feather deformities. No specific treatment is available. Vaccination can be done to prevent the disease. Primary vaccination is done at 5 weeks of age followed by a booster after 2–3 weeks, then annual revaccination.

1. Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) : It affects pscittacines as well as Passerines and Columbiformes (pegions and doves). The virus is shed in faeces, crop secretions and feather dust. Transmission occurs by inhalation and ingestion of the virus. There are two forms of disease: acute and chronic. Acute form occurs in young birds which appear dull and lethargic. Generally death occurs in acute form before the lesions of feather appear. Chronic form is seen in adult birds and characterized by feather dystrophy, immunosuppression, lack of powder down on beak and overgrowth and underrunning of the rhamphotheca (cacktoo). Feathers appear clubbed at their base and may have hemorrhage within the developing shaft. The feathers fall out easily and grow back slowly or not at all. There is no specific treatment.

• West Nile virus fever: It is mosquito borne viral disease caused by flavivirus and mainly affect crovids but canaries, psittacines, and raptors can also be affected. Clinical signs include depression, anorexia, weight loss and nervous signs like head tremors, ataxia, blindness, seizures, and death.

1. Avian influenza: It is highly zoonotic disease caused by Infulenza A virus of family Orthomyxoviridae. Commercial and domestic poultry, water fowls and sea birds are considred as its reservoir. It is important disease of poultry but pet birds like budgerigers, parrots, lorikeets, passerines are also affected. Infection can be transmitted through wild birds especially in open aviaries. This virus could also spread from endemic countries to other locations through international trade of exotic birds. Non-specific clinical symptoms such as neurological signs (head between legs), depression, ruffled feathers, and standing at the bottom of the cage are observed. In infection with low pathogenic strains dairrohea and dehydration is noticed.
2. Avian Pox: It can affect almost every species of pet birds specially Amazon and pionus parrots, lovebirds and canaries. It is caused by Avipoxvirus of family Poxviridae. It is transmitted by direct contact with infected birds, scabs or through mosquitoes. It ha stwo forms : cutaneous form and wet or diphtheritic form. In cutaneous form, clinical signs are ocular discharge, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, typical crusty lesions around eyelid margins, on face, feet and feather less areas. Diphtheritic form mortality is usually high. Clinical signs of Diphtheritic form are dyspnoea, necrotic lesions in mouth, pharynx and trachea. No specific treatment and vaccine is available. Infected birds should be separated from the healthy birds. Cages and utensils should be properly disinfected as the virus persists for long period in the environment.

1. Fungal Diseases:
2. Candidiasis: It is caused by yeast Candida albicans, which commonly affects the gastrointestinal tract. It mainly occurs in immunocompromised birds or in neonates. In adult birds, there is dullness, weight loss, lethargy, and immunosupression. Clinical signs in juvenile birds include anorexia, crop stasis, white plaques in the oral cavity, regurgitation, and weight loss.
3. Aspergillosis: It is caused by members of genus Aspergillus. Most common of them is Aspergillus fumigatus followed by A flavus and A niger are also found. There are many predisposing factors like species predilection (African grey parrots, Amazon parrots, cockatiels, and macaws), aspiration of food or medications, immunosuppression (underlying disease), moldy bedding or feed, and use of corticosteroids. Poor hygiene and inadequate ventilation, especially in warm, humid climates, can also increase the incidence of disease. The main clinical signs are anorexia and weight loss, respiratory signs i.e., dyspnea, tail bobbing, exercise intolerance, and voice change. Extension of infection to the brain can cause CNS signs.
4. Parasitic diseases:
5. Giardiasis: It is caused by Giardia spp. Which is present in feaces of infected or carrier bird. Infection occur by injestion of infected cyst. Cockatiel are most commonly affected and main clinical sign is voluminous and aerated droppimgs , also called “Popcorn poop”. It is diagnosed by demonstration of cyst in faeces either by direct smear examination or PCR or ELISA. Treatment is done by Metronidazole (50 mg/kg/day, for 5–7 days) .
6. Trichomoniasis: It infects almost all pet birds, most commonly budgerigars. It is caused by Trichomonas gallinae. Main clinical signs are anorexia or dysphagia, dyspnoea, whitish yellow, caseous lesions on mucosa of the oropharynx, crop, and oesophagus. Treatment is same as for giardiasis.

• Scaly face/leg mite: It is caused by Knemidocoptes pilae. It is common in budgerigars. Clinical signs are white encrustations around the corners of the mouth, beak, eyes, legs and vent. Mites can be seen in microscopic examination of scrapings of lesions. Treatment is done by Ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg, PO or IM) or moxidectin (0.2 mg/kg, PO or topically).

1. Air sac mites (Sternostoma tracheacolum): It is a parasite affecting whole respiratory tract and can be found in lungs and air sacs. It most commonly affects canaries and finches. Clinical signs include dyspnoea with high-pitched noises, sneezing, tail bobbing, and open-mouthed breathing. Treatment is generally done by administering two doses of Ivermectin (0.2–0.4 mg/kg, PO or IM) two weeks apart.
2. Behavioral problems: Most common in psittacines.  Common problems include biting, excessive vocalization, feather plucking, phobia, one person bird, territorial behavior. These problems can be avoided by giving some basic training like teaching simple commands like yes, no, step up, step down etc. Owner should be able to dominate the bird behavior

Conclusions:

            There is increase in popularity of birds as pets. These pet birds mainly include passerines and pscittacines. Proper diet, housing and health management ensure good quality life of these birds.

References:

Hoppes , S.M. (2021) Management of pet birds . The Merck Veterinary Mannual (online)

Samanta, Indranil, and Samiran Bandyopadhyay. Pet bird diseases and care. Vol. 6. Singapore: Springer, 2017.

Chitty, John, and Deborah Monks. BSAVA manual of avian practice. A foundation manual. British Small Animal Veterinary Association, 2018.

 https://www.pashudhanpraharee.com/care-management-of-parrots-pet-birds/

 https://www.thesprucepets.com/common-diseases-in-pet-birds-390443

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