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Your First Visit to Our Hospital with a Pet Bird

Dr. Marshall and his nurses know how you feel about your pet bird because they also have many different pets who they love. Everyone enjoys their work at Carlingford Animal Hospital and are passionate about providing you and your unwell bird with the very best care, knowledge and service.

On your first visit (and any health check visits thereafter) with your bird to our veterinary hospital Dr Marshall will need to examine a dropping sample from your bird. This microscopic examination is the first step for diagnosing your bird’s health problem. The preparation of a wet smear and gram stain of the droppings takes only 5 minutes. The dropping sample should always be fresh and collected from the faecal component (i.e. the dark part) of the dropping rather than the white urine part of it.

Why Is A Dropping So Important?
The microscopic analysis of the droppings gives Dr. Marshall an immediate overview of the health of your bird. He looks for worms and other parasites on the wet smear and for bacteria and yeasts on the gram stained sample. When he examines the dropping, you too can see everything Dr. Marshall is looking at by viewing the TV video monitor above the microscope. At this time, Dr. Marshall will explain what the results mean.

The dropping results are the first step to identifying your bird's problem.

Dr. Marshall even takes a dropping sample from a bird with a sore foot, injury or long beak, because often these conditions are the result of another disease. The microscopic examination of the droppings reveals a wealth of information about the exact health status of your bird.

Dr. Marshall's ultimate aim is to identify both the cause of the illness and also the reasons why the health problem has occurred. This knowledge allows you and Dr. Marshall to work together in preventing re-infection after the medicines have done their job.

The cost of the wet smear is $25.00 and the gram stain is $28.00.

High humidity is a common cause of mould (fungal) problems in pet birds. High humidity comes after rain, but also occurs in the bathroom and laundry areas. Fungal diseases also occur when stale foods high in moisture (this includes seed, seed bells and seed sprays) are eaten by birds. Fungus is rarely seen with the naked eye and a culture of a dropping or mouth sample is used to determine whether a fungus is the problem. Fungus may be a problem in birds where the dropping smears and stains appear normal under the microscope.

"Culture of the droppings or mouth..." What does this mean?
The microscopic examination of the droppings lets Dr. Marshall know if there is a bacterial, yeast or parasite problem and what medicine should be used, but it does not tell Dr. Marshall how to prevent or manage the illness in the long-term.

The culture test, which takes from 24 to 72 hours to process, allows Dr. Marshall to identify the exact germ or germs causing the illness, and with this information he is then able to tell you why the illness has occurred. For example, Staph. infections are often related to dust, sand or soil and occurs in birds who frequent curtain railings or pot plants during warm humid weather. The condition will recur once the antibiotic course finishes, unless the bird is prevented from eating the dust or soil.

Poor quality seed is the most common cause of fungal infections in birds. For this reason, Dr Marshall have developed a culture-tested sterile seed mix, which is enjoyed by both our convalescing and healthy patients.

The cost of the culture is $85.00.

Other Helpful Information
 X-rays are extremely useful in birds because they have air-filled body cavities, which clearly outline any abnormal organs. Dr. Marshall will recommend an X-ray when he suspects ovarian problems, bowel obstructions, heavy metal poisoning, tumors, hernias and kidney, spleen or bone problems.

There is a disease called Psittacosis (or Chlamydophia infection) which can infect and harm human beings. Dr. Marshall recommends this disease be tested for when a bird shows sudden severe illness, eye symptoms or respiratory symptoms and green droppings in households with young children, ill family members or the elderly.

There are two tests available for diagnosing Psittacosis. A dropping test using the ELISA test method is a reliable test in birds that are showing symptoms of Psittacosis and takes 25 minutes to process. The Elisa test is not as reliable as a special DNA probe blood test when the bird is showing no obvious signs of illness but may be carrying the disease. The blood test must be sent to South Africa for processing and takes 7-14 days before the test results are available.

Please ask for a pamphlet on this disease if you would like more information.

Sending Your Bird's Droppings by Express Post
 If you do not live near Carlingford Animal Hospital, it is still possible for Dr. Marshall to test your bird's droppings and for him to send you the proper medications to help you bird to recover. You will need to collect a fresh dropping from your bird with a cotton swab, making sure to get the darkest part of the dropping there is. Try to avoid any white in the droppings. Stick the dropping sample into a Ziploc bag or piece of saran wrap, without the swab, and post the dropping via Express post to our hospital. Include also a note with information on the the bird's symptoms and any treatment the bird has had. The dropping, if sent via Express post, will arrive at our hospital the very next day and the droppings will be analysed soon after arrival. Phone Dr. Marshall after 3 p.m. the day after sending the droppings for the results.

Copyright © 2010 Rob Marshall, All Rights Reserved.