Avian Exam Pt. 3: Nutrition, GI Dz Flashcards
(92 cards)
1
Q
What is the gizzard?
A
Ventriculus
2
Q
How do domestic avian diets vary from wild bird diets?
A
- Seasonal variety
- Foraging
- Species differences
- Base domestic diets off of their wild diets
3
Q
Qualities of good avian captive diets
A
- Contain all key nutrients in sufficient amounts
- Palatable
- Storable
- Affordable
4
Q
In respect to food, what would birds choose/prefer to eat?
A
- Instinctively choose high-energy (often unhealthy) foods
- Leads to an imbalanced diet, even if balanced diet is offered
- DON’T LET THEM CHOOSE
5
Q
True or false - seeds are healthy options for bird diets
A
FALSE - high in fat (french fry equivalent)
6
Q
What should a proper avian diet include?
A
- 70-80% = pellets = correct amount of proteins, minerals, vitamins, etc
- 20-30% = vegetables, small amounts of fruit
- Seeds and nuts = only as a treat
7
Q
Which species of birds can have higher seed content in their diet?
A
Budgies and cockatiels (some seeds in the natural diet)
8
Q
Which species of birds can have more nuts in their diet?
A
Macaws
9
Q
Pros and cons of pelleted avian diets
A
> PROS = nutritionally balanced, avoids food selection, simple, clean, already supplemented
CONS = lack of enrichment (may have different colors and shapes), many bird may not eat
10
Q
What percentage of the avian diet should include pelleted food?
A
70-80%
11
Q
How much of the diet should include, and what type of vegetables?
A
20% of diet - feed low starch vegetables (feed raw, DON’T cook them, makes starch more available, leads to behavioral issues)
12
Q
What vegetables should you NEVER feed birds?
A
- Avocados = TOXIC
- Corn, beans, grains = HIGH STARCH
- Foods with high protein, high fat, or carbs = FATTENS the birds, used when you raise animals for meat
13
Q
How much of the avian diet should include fruit?
A
5% or less
- Usually high in sugar - use as TREATS ONLY
14
Q
Are vitamin supplements recommended in avian diets?
A
- Only if a specific deficiency has been identified
- If used = in FOOD and not in the water
- NEVER with pelleted diets = already contains all supplements, can lead to vita-D oversupplementation
15
Q
Who, and with what, do we supplement Ca++ in bird diets?
A
> Use Ca++ carbonate
- NOT Ca++ phosphate
- For any bird NOT on a pelleted diet
- For any actively laying birds
16
Q
What nuts/legumes are recommended to feed birds and which are not?
A
- Preferred = almonds (higher in Ca++)
- AVOID peanuts = high rate of mold contamination, may lead to aflatoxicosis
- To birds that have beaks that can handle nuts
- Only offer nuts WITH the shell
- Macaws should always get nuts
17
Q
Why are seed/nut based diets not good for birds? Acute and long term effects
A
- Deficient in most nutrients
- High in fat
- Low in protein, Ca++, iodine, b-carotene, vitamins C, B, K
- Allows for selective eating
- Long term = poor feather quality, liver disease, obesity, heart and vascular disease
- Lipomas
- Beak overgrowth
18
Q
Should we feed animal products to birds, why or why not?
A
- Ex: cheese, meat, eggs > NEVER FEED ANIMAL PRODUCTS - High in fat and cholesterol - Cholesterol = atherosclerosis - Occurs in Amazons, African greys, and macaws
19
Q
Which birds are prone to obesity? (2)
A
1) Amazons
2) Macaws
20
Q
What multisystemic problems does obesity cause? (4)
A
1) Hepatic lipidosis
2) Lipomas
3) Atherosclerosis
4) Arthritis
21
Q
Treatment/prevention of obesity (3)
A
1) Controlled weight loss
2) Diet modification = switch them to a pelleted diet
3) Gradual exercise
22
Q
Dx? Anorexia, depression, diarrhea, dyspnea, liver failure (elevated bile acids) - CAUSE?
A
> Hepatic lipidosis
- Cause = secondary to obesity (excessive fat and carb intake) and anorexia, uncommonly as a primary disorder
- Dyspnea = compression of air sacs from hepatomegaly
23
Q
Diagnostics for hepatic lipidosis (4)
A
1) Plasma bile acids (liver values aren’t helpful)
2) Radiographs
3) U/S
4) Liver biopsy for definitive dx
24
Q
Treatment and prognosis for hepatic lipidosis
A
> Supportive and symptomatic
- Prevent further mobilization of fat
- Tube feedings
- Vit-K PRN for clotting factors
- Prognosis = varies, based on ability to correct underlying problems
25
Dx? Weakness, seizures, misshapen eggs, egg binding, abnormal growth, skeletal deformities (most commonly limbs)?
Secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism
26
What can cause secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism?
> POOR DIET = low in Ca++, vitamin-D, or high in P
- Diets = all seed, all muscle meat diets
- Metabolic bone disease = PTH is secreted, bone is resorbed, leads to osteopenia
27
Diagnosis of secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism
- PE and palpation
- Total Ca++, iCa++, P
- Radiographs to evaluate general bone density
28
Treatment of secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism
- Diet correction = pelleted diet
- Ca, +/- vit-D supplementation
- UV-B light supplementation (can't get vit-D from meat)
- Cage restriction to prevent pathologic fractures
+/- Fracture repair
29
Dx? Tremors, behavioral abnormalities, and seizures in an African grey parrot
Hypocalcemia in African grey parrots
30
Treatment of hypocalcemia in African greys
- Parenteral Ca++
- Long term Ca++ dietary supplementation
- UVB light treatment
* MONITOR plasma Ca++ levels
31
Dx? URI, recurring bacterial infections, blunted choanal papillae, hyperkeratosis of skin or beak, nodular plaques in oral cavity, fungal infections - CAUSE?
Hypovitaminosis A - affects epithelial cells, not eating meat and there isn't a large portion of beta-carotene precursors in all seed diets
*Most commonly affects the sinuses, oral cavity, and skin (glands and ducts lined with epithelium)
32
Treatment of hypovitaminosis A
- Acutely = parenteral vit-A
- Chronic = diet change = pelleted diet
- Foods high in beta-carotene = dark leafy green and yellow/orange veggies
- Consider oral supplementation
* Parenteral supplementation risks iatrogenic overdose
33
Dx? Budgie with clavicular region swelling, voice changes, dyspnea, REGURGE
Thyroid hyperplasia due to IODINE DEFICIENCY
34
Diagnosis of budgie iodine deficiency
- History = voice change, REGURGE (compress esophagus)
- PE
- Response to therapy
35
Treatment of iodine deficiency
Oral iodine supplementation
36
Dx? Feather abnormalities (depigmentation, delayed molting), arthritis - TX?
> Unspecific dietary deficiency
* Suspect amino acid deficiencies
- Dx = history, PE
- Tx = balanced diet
37
Pros and cons of hand rearing parrots
- Pros = tamer, avoids poor parenting, double clutching (lays two "litters")
- Cons = inexperienced owners can cause problems = beak malformation from syringe feeding, oral trauma, crop burns and fistulas from hot feeds
38
What are nectivorous birds prone to developing? About their diet...
Iron storage disease
Ex: lories and lorikeets
* Diet = messy and messy feces
- Need to keep the diet clean, prone to bacterial contamination and yeast infections
39
True or false - passerines do poorly on fortified seed diets
FALSE - works well, can't manipulate the seeds with their beak so they're ingesting the whole fortified seed
40
True or false - some animal protein to passerines is ok
TRUE
41
Dx? Liver disease, ascites, dyspnea, PU/PD
Iron storage disease
42
What are mynahs (passerines), lories, lorikeets, toucans, and starlings prone to due to their diet?
Iron overload and iron storage disease
43
Pathology of iron storage disease
Very efficient GI iron absorption + high iron diet = hemochromatosis
44
Diagnosis of iron storage disease
- High suspicion from signalment, history of improper diet, and PE
- Radiographs
- U/S
- Liver biopsy = definitive dx
45
Tx and prevention of iron storage disease
- Tx = serial phlebotomy
* Fe-chelating agents don't work well, small margin of safety
- Prevention = low Fe diet (<100 ppm), avoid citrus fruits (enhances Fe availability)
46
True or false - you should not gut the prey of raptors or piscivorous birds
True - can lead to secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism
FEED WHOLE PREY
47
What do you have to be careful with when feeding fish to birds?
High in polyunsaturated fat = risk spoiling, only feed fresh or properly stored
48
What may you have to supplement in all fish diets with birds? (3)
- Vitamin E
- Selenium
- Some fish have thiaminases = need thiamine
49
Dx? Piscivorous bird, opisthotonus, tremors, paralysis, ataxia
Thiamine (B1) deficiency
* Can occur if on an all meat diet
- Most common in piscivorous birds
50
Dx of thiamine (B1) deficiency
- History
- PE
- Response to tx
51
Treatment and prevention of thiamine B1 deficiency
- Parenteral thiamine supplementation, followed by oral supplementation
- Prevention = oral supplementation
52
Dx? Piscivorous bird, neurologic signs (ataxic, tremors, paralysis), myopathies (can't stand up), steatitis
Hypovitaminosis E or selenium deficiency
- Most common in piscivorous birds
- Can occur in seed eaters, esp. with rancid oils or fats in diets
53
Dx of hypovitaminosis E or selenium deficiency
- History
- PE
- Response to tx
- Serum vitamin E levels
54
Treatment and prevention of hypovitaminosis E or selenium deficiency
- Parenteral, then oral supplementation of vit-E or Se
| - Prevention = oral supplementation in susceptible birds
55
Common dietary problems for ratities and others (geese, ducks, pigeons, turkeys, quail, peafowl, etc) (3)
> Disproportional limb growth
- Rotational and angular limb deformities
- Angel (oar) win
- Slipped tendon of the legs
56
What four food/drink should NEVER be fed to birds because they are toxic?
- Avocados
- Chocolate
- Onion
- Alcohol
57
How does the avian GI tract differ from mammals?
- Shorter and reduced volume due to need to fly
- Diverse feeding strategies = fruit to carnivores, fish
- No hard palate
- Choanal slit in oral cavity
Beak - esophagus - crop - proventriculus - ventriculus - intestines - ceca (in chickens, not really in psittacines) - cloaca
58
Functions of the beak, tongue, and oropharynx
- Grasping
- Evaluating
- Mechanical processing
- Lubrication
- Propulsion
59
Choanae - what does it connect to? What does if they're blunted mean?
Slit in oropharynx, directly communicate with sinuses
Blunted = chronic URD or vit-A deficiency
60
Do owls, ducks, geese, swans, or ratites have crops?
No - straight esophagus w/o storage/dilation
61
What is the crop? Function?
Distal expansion of the esophagus - functions to store and soften good
62
What is crop milk in pigeons?
- High in fat and protein/immunoglobulins
| - Prolactin mediated in both males and females
63
Which is the muscular and glandular stomachs?
- Glandular = proventriculus, glands secrete pepsin, mucus, and HCl
- Muscular = ventriculus (gizzard), for grinding w/ a protective mucosal Koilin layer
64
Intestines in birds
> Similar to mammals
- Small intestine = duodenum, jejunum, ileum
- Large intestine
- Rectum
- Ceca = vestigial in Passerines and Psittacines
- Ceca = large and paired in others = waterfowl, chickens, ratities (ostriches, emus)
65
What is in the cloaca, what structures are located there?
> Terminal chamber of GI and genitourinary tracts, comprised of 3 parts
1) Coprodeum = large intestine
2) Urodeum = urinary and repro parts
- Bursa of fabricius = lymphoid tissue
3) Proctodeum = water resorption
66
Avian pancreas
> 3 lobes (ventral, dorsal, splenic) between duodenal loops
- Functions like a mammal's
- Endocrine w/ insulin
- Exocrine = 99% of mass = enzymes and bicarb
67
True or false - in general, parrots don't have gallbladders
True
68
Avian liver
- Bilobed - right and left
+/- Gallbladder (generally not with parrots)
+ Function = bile production, protein and clotting factor synthesis, clotting factor storage, detoxificiation, uric acid formation, biliverdin excretion
69
Avian GI disease diagnostics
1) History = diet, timing/progression of signs, feed unusual food (fruit, bread?), housing (free range, access to lead or zinc)
2) PE = BCS, oropharyngeal exam, coelomic cavity palpation (organomegaly, ascites, irregularities), cloaca
3) Examine droppings = normal = liquid urine, white urate, and formed fecal component, color = green urates, blood, whole seeds (abnormal in any bird)
4) Fecal gram stain = normal with gram + cocci, few gram negatives, abnormal = large numbers of negatives, spore-forming (usuall Clostridium) yeast (unless they eat a lot of bread), parasites
5) Fecal or cloacal culture, wet mount, flotation, acid fast (Mycobacterium), fecal blood occult test
6) Crop aspirate, wash, gram stain
7) Bloodwork = CBC (infectious, inflammation), chem (protein, albumin, AST, CK (muscle wasting versus liver), bile acids)
8) Imaging = radiology, contrast, fluoroscopy, U/S, endoscopy, laparoscopy
9) Chlamydophila serology or culture
10) Zinc/lead toxicities
70
Why are malnutrition and obesity bad in avian GI disease?
- Malnutrition (human food, all seed diets) = shortens lifespan = poor growth, feather issues, etc
- Obesity = arthritis, fatty liver, etc.
71
Five big differentials for oropharyngeal disease = white, yellow, tan plaques in oral cavity
1) Hypovitaminosis A
2) Poxvirus
3) Trichomoniasis
4) Candiasis
5) Capillariasis
72
Dx? Tx? Poor nutrition like an all seed diet, blunted choanal papillae, oropharyngeal hyperkeratotic lesions, concurrent pododermatitis
Hypovitaminosis A
```
Dx = biopsy lesion
Tx = supplement, change diet
```
73
Dx? Tx? Prevention? Diptheric like oropharyngeal and crop lesions, Bollinger bodies on cytology
Avian poxvirus
```
Transmitted via wounds
Dx = cytology, biopsy
Tx = support, antimicrobials
Control = vax
*Not common in psittacines
```
74
Transmission, clinical signs, dx, and tx of trichomoniasis
```
> Trichomonas gallinae
+ Caseous oral plaques
- Transmission via direct contact
- Dx = swab of plaques, crop lavage
- Tx = metronidazole, dimetridazole
- Control = sanitation
```
75
Dx and Tx? Regurgitation, anorexia, crop stasis, gram + budding yeast from swab cytology
Candidiasis
Tx = antifungals
76
Where does these clinical signs localize you to? Regurgitation, anorexia, dysphagia, dyspnea
Crop and crop stasis
DDx = crop burn, ingluvitis (inflammation of crop), foreign body ingestion, polyomavirus, herpes virus, sytemic disease, budgie goiters, neoplasia, heavy metal tox, proventricular dilation disease
77
Diagnosis of crop stasis
- Palpation
- Cytology of crop lavage
- Culture and sensitivity
- Radiology
- Endoscopy
- Biopsy
78
Dx? Etiologic agent, Tx? Wasting (esp in psittacines), regurgitation, whole seeds in feces, neurologic signs
> Proventricular dilation disease due to avian bornavirus
* HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS
- Dx = imaging (fluoroscopy = dilation, regurg), biopsy of crop (ganglioneuritis)
- Tx = none, supportive = NSAID's, pelleted diet you can digest
79
Dx? Etiologic agent? Tx? Chronic wasting, regurgitation, melena, seeds in feces
> Megabacterial proventriculitis or ventriculitis due to gastric yeast (large gram + like fungus)
* Like proventricular dilation disease but w/o neuro signs
- Organisms infiltrates the mucosa
- Dx = gram stain, rads, biopsy
- Tx = antifungals intra/fluconazole, acidification
80
Dx? Causes? Tx? Anorexia, scant and dry feces, regurgitation
> Gastric impaction
- Cause = foreign body, grit, heavy metals, adenocarcinomas
- Dx = radiographs +/- contrast, biopsy
- Tx = endoscopy with gastric lavage, surgery
81
Etiologic agents of bacterial and fungal enteritis
- Psittacines = gram neg bacteria
- Galliforms, pigeons, lories = Yersinia, Salmonella
- Spore formers = Clostridia
- Yeast = candidiasis
82
Dx? Tx? Diarrhea, ileus, endotoxemia, intussception, megacolon on rads
> Bacterial enteritis
- Dx = gram stain, CBC, rads, cloacal culture
- Tx = antimicrobials
83
Dx? Tx? Chronic weight loss, +/- diarrhea
> Mycobacterium
- Not common in pet birds
* ZOONOTIC
- Can invade bone and look like fungal or neoplastic disease
- Dx = CBC, rads, intestinal biopsy, culture, PCR
- Tx = NOT RECOMMENDED, euthanize
84
Dx? Tx? Mucoid diarrhea, feather picking
> Giarida - immune mediated disease causes pruritus
- Dx = fecal smear, ELIUSA, small intestinal biopsy
- Tx = metronidazole
85
What protozoal organism is transmitted by the Heterakis gallinarum nematode?
Histomonas melagridis = damages the liver, more common in chickens and wild birds
86
Etiologic agents that cause infectious hepatitis
- Bacteria = gram neg, Mycobacterium avium, Chlamydophila
- Viral
- Protozoal = atoxoplasmosis
87
Dx? Tx? Diarrhea, anorexia, respiratory infection, neurologic signs
> Chlamydophila psittaci
* ZOONOTIC
- Dx = elevated liver on chem, fecal culture, PCR, rads
- Tx = doxycycline > 45 days
88
Different metabolic hepatic diseases in birds (5)
1) Hemochromatosis = too much blood, iron overload
2) Hepatic lipidosis (may see beak overgrowth or fragile beaks)
3) Hepatotoxins
4) Amyloidosis
5) Neoplasia, Ex: cholanigocarcinoma
89
Where does frank blood localize you to?
Cloaca
Diseases = prolapse, impaction, papillomatosis, cloacitis
90
What can cause a flaccid cloaca?
Chronic egg laying in hens
91
Dx, Tx? "raspberry" mass at cloaca, tenesmus, frank blood
> Cloacal papillomatosis
- Common in Amazons and macaws
- Etiology = unknown, thought to be herpesvirus
- DDx = cholangiocarcinoma
- Tx = cryosurgery, cautery with silver nitrate
92
Avian pancreatic diseases (4)
> NOT COMMON
1) Diabetes mellitus
2) Pancreatitis
3) Pancreatic atrophy or fibrosis with Zn/Se deficiency
4) Adenocarcinoma
