Chlamydophila psittaci was identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of choano–cloacal combination swabs collected from 9 of 15 fruit doves of different species. These birds were housed in close proximity to other individuals, and all birds were considered exposed to C psittaci infection. Group treatment was initiated by offering doxycycline hyclate in drinking water at 0.5 g/L for 45 days. During the treatment period, 18 fruit doves representing 4 species (including 5 birds that tested positive for C psittaci) were observed daily and weighed and examined weekly. Plasma doxycycline concentrations in these birds were measured at treatment days 3, 8, 14, 21, 35, and 42. Lacrimo–choanal–cloacal combination swabs were collected for C psittaci PCR testing at 5, 10, and 15 days after treatment ended. No adverse effects of treatment were observed. Mean plasma doxycycline concentration for all samples was 1.56 ± 1.3 μg/ml. After treatment, all 18 selected birds tested negative for C psittaci. Also, C psittaci was not detected in 49 additional lacrimo–choanal– cloacal combination swabs collected from the larger group of exposed birds during a 6-month period after treatment. The results of this study suggest that doxycycline-medicated drinking water may offer a safe, inexpensive, and practical method to treat fruit doves infected with C psittaci.

To determine the clinical effect of systemic carboplatin administration in birds, 6 sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) were anesthetized and infused intravenously or intraosseously with carboplatin at 5 mg/kg over 3 minutes. Four birds were euthanatized 96 hours after infusion and 2 birds given an intravenous dose were euthanatized 21 days after dosing. All birds tolerated the anesthesia and carboplatin infusion and recovered uneventfully. At 24 hours after dosing, all birds were bright and active. Within 12 hours of dosing, feed intake was reduced and 3 birds vomited, but these signs abated by 48 hours after dosing. Mean body weight decreased by 4% at 24 hours after dosing and continued to decrease, but not significantly, until 96 hours after dosing. Changes in packed cell volume (PCV) and plasma total solids reflected blood loss caused by sampling. The mean PCV decreased significantly by 6 hours after dosing, and the concentration of plasma total solids decreased significantly at 1 hour after dosing and continued to decrease until 12 hours after dosing before progressively and significantly increasing toward baseline values by 96 hours after dosing. At necropsy, myelosuppression was not observed in any bird and no evidence of carboplatin toxicity was found. These results provide veterinarians with useful data for formulating efficacious and safe protocols for platinum-containing compounds when treating neoplasia in parrots and other companion birds.

During the winters of 2000–01 and 2001–02, 400 trumpeter (Cygnus buccinator; n = 365) and tundra (Cygnus columbianus columbianus; n = 35) swans died in northwest Washington State. The carcasses were collected and frozen for necropsy, completed in May 2001 (n = 172) and May 2002 (n = 228). Although most swans died of lead poisoning, 64 (16%) swans had gross pathologic lesions consistent with aspergillosis (trumpeter swan, n = 62; tundra swan, n = 2). Mild fungal infections consisted of small, nonobstructive lesions in the air sacs, trachea, or lungs, with lesions isolated to 1 area. Severe fungal infections consisted of large, extensive infiltrating lesions in the respiratory tract, with 68% of lesions in more than 1 area (lungs, air sacs, or trachea) and many with complete fibrinous casts within air sacs or trachea. Male swans were twice as likely as females to have fungal lesions, although there was no difference in the ratio of males and females with mild or severe infections. Juvenile swans (<1 year of age) were twice as likely as adults and subadults to have fungal lesions and were also more likely to develop severe versus mild aspergillosis infections (n = 19, n = 1, respectively). Although the number of swans with concurrent lead poisoning and aspergillosis was nearly 30% higher than that of swans with aspergillosis only, when compared with the total number of swans submitted for necropsy, swans with lead poisoning were 75% less likely to have fungal lesions than non-lead–poisoned swans, possibly because of rapid death from lead poisoning.

Endoscopy has proven to be an important diagnostic tool for avian veterinarians to observe and biopsy internal structures. To date, most of the described endoscopic procedures are single-entry techniques. The use of miniature endoscopic equipment has been pioneered in human pediatric laparoscopy, and many of these techniques can be used in avian medicine. The addition of a second and third port using 2.5- or 3.5-mm cannulae has facilitated the use of 2- or 3-mm instruments within the avian coelom. Triangulation of various instruments coupled with radiosurgical hemostasis has made several endoscopic procedures possible, including salpingohysterectomy and orchidectomy. In addition, endoscope-assisted, minimally invasive procedures, including enterotomy, enterectomy, cloacopexy, and pneumotomy, may be initiated internally and completed by standard surgical techniques. The advent of minimally invasive endoscopic surgery offers important benefits, including rapid and accurate diagnosis, reduced need for an extensive coeliotomy, reduced surgical stress, improved pulmonary function, more stable anesthesia, and reduced surgical and hospitalization periods.

Fracture malunion in a raptor can compromise muscle and tendon function and adversely affect normal activities that are essential for survival in the wild. Malunion can be acutely corrected by osteotomy techniques followed by bony fixation that provides sufficient stability to allow unimpeded healing with minimal soft-tissue injury. We describe an adult bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that was presented after being found in poor body condition and unable to fly. Radiographs revealed a healing middiaphyseal fracture and a recent distal fracture of the right ulna and a right distal tibiotarsal varus malunion. The ulnar fractures healed without medical intervention; however, surgical correction of the malunion was required. An open-wedge corrective osteotomy was performed and a Type lA hybrid external skeletal fixator was used to stabilize the osteotomy. The osteotomy healed and the eagle was returned successfully to the wild.

A 13-year-old female double yellow-headed Amazon parrot (Amazona ochrocephala oratrix) was examined for respiratory distress and partial anorexia. Radiographs, ultrasonography, and computed tomography revealed a soft-tissue opacity in the right cranial coelom with a necrotic or fluid-filled center. Endoscopy was used to visualize the mass, collect diagnostic samples, and treat the patient by cyst ablation and fistula formation. The symptoms returned within weeks after each treatment, and the bird died 36 days after initial presentation. Gross and histopathologic examination revealed the mass was a hemangiosarcoma that was attached to the right internal carotid artery.

Seven blue-fronted Amazon parrots (Amazona aestiva aestiva), housed in 1 aviary, were presented within 8 hours of exposure to fire and smoke. The parrots exhibited variable degrees of dyspnea that developed between 1 and 4 hours after the exposure. Clinical signs of dyspnea resolved within hours after treatment with corticosteroids and furosemide. Because of a misunderstanding by the owner, oral prednisolone therapy was continued daily for 20 days. Within 14–20 days, 5 birds developed signs of severe dyspnea and 3 birds died or were euthanatized. Results of necropsy revealed severe mycotic airsacculitis and pneumonia due to Aspergillus fumigatus. Prolonged corticosteroid treatment in these birds may have caused immunosuppression, predisposing them to development of aspergillosis.