Avian Pets: The Opposite of Mammals | The Wagging Tail

? Gleanings from the 2012 EBVMA Symposium


Posted on June 20, 2012 by Shangzhe Xie, DVM

As bird owners would testify, having a bird as a pet is a totally different ball game than having a dog or a cat. Being called ?bird-brained? may not be a compliment for most people, but thinking like a bird is essential for establishing the ideal pet-owner relationship.

Being a veterinarian for avian pets requires the same type of thinking, but a major confounding factor is that many of the approaches that apply to dogs and cats are very different for birds. Some examples:

1. Gender determination: The most common question I get asked in practice when presented with a bird is: ?Is it a boy or a girl?? While this is a relatively straightforward answer for a dog or cat, it?s not the case for a bird. Most birds do not have external organs indicating their sex, and while some have obvious color differences, most of the time it is impossible to tell just by a physical examination. A DNA test is the least invasive way to determine a bird?s sex, but an endoscope can also be used.
2. Musculoskeletal: Birds have wings, which look and function very differently from the forelimbs of dogs and cats. A bird?s ulna is also larger than the radius, so don?t get confused when looking at radiographs. Birds have hollow bones that are easily broken, so they need to be handled very gently.
3. Respiratory system: Another important anatomical difference between birds and dogs/cats is that birds have an intricate system of air sacs in addition to the lungs. This allows them to breathe more efficiently, but it also means that care must be taken to avoid the air sacs when giving a bird an injection. Birds do not have a diaphragm, so ensuring that they are able to expand their chest when being handled is very important.
4. Therapeutics: In general, a bird?s chest is a safe zone for injections because the pectoral muscles are large and away from the air sac system. Birds metabolize drugs differently than mammals and have different drug receptors. One good example is that, compared to mammals, they have more kappa opioid receptors than mu receptors. Therefore, butorphanol tends to work better for pain control than other opioids commonly used for mammals.

There are many more differences between birds and mammals, and it is important to take them into account when treating them. For more information about treating avian pets, consider the resources below.

Recommended reading:

1)??? Altman RB, Clubb SL, Dorrestein GM, Quesenberry K (eds). Avian Medicine and Surgery. 1997. WB Saunders Co., Philadelphia, Pa.

2)??? Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV) website.

3)??? Ritchie BW, Harrison GJ, Harrison LR (eds). Avian Medicine: Principles and Application. 1994. Wingers Publishing Co., Lake Worth, Fla. Also available online.

About Shangzhe Xie, DVM

Shangzhe Xie, DVM, graduated in 2008 from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, and completed a Master of Veterinary Studies in Conservation Medicine from Murdoch University in 2010. Dr. Xie joined Banfield Pet Hospital of Burbank, Ill., in July 2010 and has expanded the clientele to include exotic species. He also served on the Banfield Exotic Pets Care Guidelines Committee in 2011. View all posts by Shangzhe Xie, DVM ? ? Gleanings from the 2012 EBVMA Symposium

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