Monitoring the life status of a developing embryo is very useful, especially during last days of incubation when hatching could potentially be assisted if deemed necessary. A commercially available digital egg monitor (Buddy, Vetronic Services, Devon, UK) uses noninvasive methodology to monitor the heart rate of an embryo by measuring the amount of infrared light absorbed by embryonic blood. Thirty specific pathogen-free (SPF) chicken eggs (29 fertile) were incubated at 37.8 ± 0.1°C and the heart rate of each embryo was measured. Heart rates were first detectable in 13 eggs at day 6 of incubation. At day 7, an average heart rate of 170 ± 20 beats/min was detected in all 29 fertile eggs, which is comparable to reported values. Ten additional SPF chicken eggs were evaluated at day 13 of incubation to test the effects of ambient temperature changes on embryonic heart rate. Embryonic heart rates dropped from 262 to 106 beats/min in eggs kept at room temperature (25°C) for 90 minutes and to <60 beats/min after 70 minutes at 5°C. Heart rates increased to 215 beats/min after 75 minutes at the original incubator temperature. Thirty (26 fertile) incubated turkey eggs were also evaluated with the digital egg monitor. Heart rates in 10 embryos were first detected at day 9 of incubation. At day 12, embryos had an average heart rate of 234 ± 10 beats/min. The digital egg monitor was also used to measure the heart rate of peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) embryos.

As part of a larger ecologic research project and to collect disease prevalence information on backyard chicken flocks in northwestern Ecuador, 100 randomly selected birds from 10 flocks were examined, and blood, fecal, and ectoparasite samples were collected. The owners of the flocks were surveyed regarding flock management and disease history. Mean flock size was 20 birds (range, 1–75), and birds were kept for eggs and meat for either domestic consumption or local sale. Vaccination rates were low, with most owners (8 of 10) not vaccinating at all and some (2 of 10) vaccinating with one product either sporadically (1 of 10) or annually (1 of 10). None of the owners treated their chickens for parasites. Mortality rates of offspring were reported as high as 50% (range, 35%–50%) per flock. Deaths were associated with diseases described by owners as causing neurologic signs, sudden death, or respiratory problems. In addition, owners described epizootics of wartlike seasonal skin lesions, presumably but not confirmed as avian pox. Results of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays on serum samples showed that birds had antibodies against infectious bursal disease virus (100%), Newcastle disease virus (97%), avian encephalomyelitis virus (92%), chicken anemia virus (90%), infectious bronchitis virus (85%), Mycoplasma gallisepticum (73%), and Mycoplasma synoviae (68%). Although 11% of birds showed the presence of antibodies for avian influenza, antibody levels were low in all but 4 birds. Most birds (90%) had feather mite infestations. Results of necropsy and fecal examinations found low levels of internal parasitism, with cestodes and ascarids identified as the most prevalent endoparasites. Ectoparasites identified were Dermanyssus gallinae and Ornithonyssus bursa. The poultry diseases to which sampled chickens had been exposed are likely the cause of the high mortality rate reported by flock owners. In these backyard poultry flocks in Ecuador, preventive medicine protocols that provide realistic cost-benefit advantages should be implemented. Because wild birds are susceptible to some poultry diseases, free-roaming chickens might be potential vectors of pathogens that could affect wild birds.

A 19-month-old sun conure (Aratinga solstitialis) of undetermined sex was examined for feather picking of the cranial ventral thoracic region and a lump on the right shoulder. An irregular dermal mass present on the dorsal aspect of the bird's right shoulder was surgically removed. On the basis of histopathologic, histochemical, and immunohistochemical examination, the mass was determined to be a cutaneous vascular hamartoma.

A 20-year-old female blue and gold macaw (Ara ararauna) was presented with an acute onset of labored breathing and vocalization changes. Tracheoscopy revealed a stenotic tracheal lesion, which reduced the luminal diameter by approximately 75%. Tracheal resection and anastomosis was performed, and the tracheal lesion was submitted for histopathologic analysis. Postoperative therapy included antibiotic, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory medications. The trachea healed with no major complications. The histologic diagnosis was mild, focal, chronic tracheitis. The cause of the lesion was presumed to be postintubation stenosis on the basis of the normal gross appearance of the external trachea, the location of the lesion, and a recent history of general anesthesia delivered by endotracheal tube.

A 1-year-old male bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was admitted to the Alaska Raptor Center with abdominal distention, anemia, respiratory distress, and chronic malnourishment. Despite medical care, the eagle died. At necropsy, a large mass was found, which occupied most of the coelom. The mass displaced and compressed the viscera and was attached to the wall of the ventriculus. On histopathologic examination, the mass was diagnosed as a malignant teratoma. This is the first reported case of a teratoma in a bald eagle.

Hydrocephalus is rarely diagnosed in pet birds, and when it occurs, a cause is rarely identified. Communicating hydrocephalus is described in an adult Goffin's cockatoo (Cacatua goffini). Marked cerebral atrophy without evidence of inflammation was observed grossly and histologically in the bird in this report. The segmentally hypertrophied arachnoid membrane provides a cause for the hydrocephalus and corresponding cerebral atrophy. Metaplastic change in the leptomeninges leading to communicating hydrocephalus is characteristic of vitamin A deficiency in other species. Such a deficiency was supported in this case by characteristic changes in the integument and a history of an all-seed diet. Improved recognition of hydrocephalus in pet birds combined with an accurate dietary history is essential to establishing the prevalence of such changes and to confirm our proposed mechanism of neurologic disease.