VMD 513: Pet animal Breeding, Management, Nutrition and Health Care (1+1)

GASTRO-INTESTINAL DISEASES

• The main symptom of gastrointestinal tract diseases are oral discharge/salivation, vomiting/regurgitation, loose faeces/dysentery, undigested seed in the faeces, white coloured feces, and in case of obstruction no faeces.
• These ma be accompanied by nonspecific signs such as anorexia, depression, ruffled feathers, closed eyes and head in wing.

Crop impaction

• Crop impaction: fibrous materials may be ingested by galliforms which are deprive of greens, Pigeons may ingest soft nesting material, threads from cage cover may cause obstruction in the Budgerigar.
• The main sign of crop impaction is regurgitation movement, often unproductive. Impaction can be diagnosed by palpation.
• Treatment: generally surgical intervention is required if administration of vegetable oil or mineral oil fails to shift the obstruction.

Crop rupture

• Crop rupture: crop rupture generally occur due to attack by some predator like falcons, goshawks, dog etc.
• Trichomonas infection can predispose abscess and rupture of crop wall in pigeons.
• Rupture can be noted with matted feathers.
• Treatment: surgical intervention is required.

Liver diseases

• Liver of birds do the duty similar to that of mammals.
• The gallbladder is absent in may birds and most psittacines except cockatoos and its involvement is less known.
• In most of the liver disease the urate colour changed to mustered yellow or green from white of cream.
• Vomition and diarrhea also noticed in some cases.
• Enlargement of liver beyond xiphisternum can be noticed.
• Etiology may be due to infectious diseases (enteric bacteria, yersiniae, chlamydiae, herpes and papovaviruses and trichomonads and histomonads), toxic metal contamination, metabolic diseases.
• Treatment is with antibiotics, supportive therapy with fluids, feeding sugar rich solution containing essential amino acids and vitamins.