The application and evaluation of highly efficient chromatographic techniques with tandem mass spectrometry for the detection and quantitation of 108 pesticides and metabolites, some considered persistent organic pollutants, was performed in muscle samples obtained from 25 birds of prey belonging to the families Accipitridae, Falconidae, and Strigidae presented dead in 2013 to Grupo de Rehabilitación de la Fauna Autóctona y su Hábitat, in Madrid, Spain. Pesticides with prohibited use were detected at high concentrations in the muscle samples analyzed. Based on its high sensitivity to detect pesticides in muscle, the described chromatographic techniques with tandem mass spectrometry should be considered an alternative testing methodology to those commonly used for routine application in ecotoxicological forensic research.

The southern ground-hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri; hereafter SGH) is endangered in South Africa, Namibia, and Swaziland. Through a conservation program established in South Africa by the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, wild populations are being re-established by the reintroduction of captive-reared birds. The SGH is susceptible to infection with avian avulavirus 1, which causes Newcastle disease (ND). Four different vaccines to protect against ND were administered through various vaccination schedules and evaluated by serologic monitoring to assess the efficiency and safety of various combinations of vaccines (live versus inactivated/killed), vaccine strains (Ulster strain, live; Avivac Cellimune, live; VG/GA strain, live; and Avivac Struvac, killed), and administration routes (intraocular versus subcutaneous versus intramuscular injection versus oral). We vaccinated 75 individuals and evaluated antibody titers in 53 individuals (24 juveniles, 13 subadults, and 16 adult SGH; 26 males and 27 females) over a period of 9 years. Antibody titers to avian avulavirus 1 in sera were monitored by a hemagglutination inhibition test. Protective titers were generated with 3/6 vaccine regimes tested in the SGH. The highest vaccine titers were established in birds vaccinated with the Ulster strain in the conjunctiva and followed with an intramuscular Struvac injection (mean log₂ titer 8.6 ± 2.6) booster. Our aim was 1) to assess whether optimal vaccination protocols could be developed and 2) to then be able, by oral administration, to remove the need to recapture free-roaming, reintroduced birds to administer the initial vaccine or booster, thus remove the threat or mortality associated with ND to this endangered avian species in both captive birds and birds released back into the wild.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of isoflurane (ISO) and sevoflurane (SEVO) inhalation anesthesia on the cardiovascular system of the common buzzard (Buteo buteo). Fourteen common buzzards of unknown sex and age, weighing 700–900 g each, were used for the study. The buzzards were randomly divided into an ISO group and a SEVO group, each comprising 7 buzzards. The buzzards were then anesthetized by masked induction with either ISO or SEVO. After induction, all buzzards were intubated with a 2.5-mm–diameter uncuffed endotracheal tube. Anesthesia was maintained with 3% ISO or 4% SEVO in a 3 L/min flow of 100% oxygen. Before induction, immediately after induction, and at intervals of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 min after the patients were induced, the heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature of the buzzards were recorded. In addition, before and during anesthesia, serum electrolytes (sodium, ionized calcium, and potassium), blood gas measurements (arterial pH, arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide, arterial partial pressure of oxygen, bicarbonate concentration, and oxyhemoglobin saturation), and hematocrit values were evaluated in the blood samples taken from both the ISO and SEVO groups. A statistically significant decrease in body temperature was observed in both groups. A significant decrease in heart rate was observed in the ISO group. The increases in partial pressure of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate concentration were statistically significant in both groups. The effects of ISO and SEVO anesthesia on the cardiovascular and respiratory system in the buzzards were similar based on the results of this study.

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether blood glucose, packed cell volume, and total protein are effective diagnostic tests to predict short-term (48 h following admittance to a veterinary hospital) prognosis for wild birds with traumatic injuries. The cohort study conducted for this investigation took place at the Jivdaya Charitable Trust in Ahmedabad, India, over a 7-d period, at the time of the International Kite Flying Festival of Uttarayan. A small blood sample was collected from every avian patient prior to surgical treatment and immediately analyzed. Patient outcome was reviewed and recorded at the end of a 48-h period following admittance to the veterinary hospital. Statistical analysis revealed no significant correlations between blood glucose levels (P = .24), packed cell volume (P = .80), or total protein levels (P = .47) outside the reference intervals and short-term outcome of the patients. There is a lack of evidence regarding the use of these diagnostic tests to ascertain short-term prognosis in avian species. While research has been conducted on avian wound healing, studies fail to identify any correlation between duration of injury and patient outcome. Despite a lack of statistically significant results from this study, the findings should not be dismissed and could be used as a basis for future studies on this subject.

The etiologic disease organism responsible for causing mycobacteriosis in avian species is an acid-fast gram-positive bacterium. This bacterium causes granulomatous disease in various internal organs, but in cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) it has been commonly identified within the conjunctival tissues. Twenty-six cases of mycobacterial conjunctivitis in cockatiels were diagnosed through histopathologic assessment of diseased tissue samples, Fite acid-fast staining, and polymerase chain reaction in this retrospective study. Clinicians who saw these cases were contacted, and information was obtained regarding recommended treatment protocols prescribed for the patients, the Mycobacterium species identified, and case outcomes. All patients in this retrospective study had a biopsy performed on the affected conjunctival tissue, and because of the small size of the patients, this excisional biopsy removed the affected tissue in its entirety or significantly debulked the lesion. Of the 26 cases, 10 were lost to follow-up, 4 were euthanatized, 7 died, and 5 were alive at the time this information was submitted for publication.

Radiograph imaging is an important diagnostic tool for assessing cardiac size in avian patients. The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalis), once on the United States Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants, is now a thriving species in the United States. However, there is surprisingly little information regarding bald eagle cardiac reference values obtained through radiographic imaging for use in assessment of cardiac disease in this species. This study was performed to establish reference values of cardiac size in the bald eagle. Ventrodorsal radiographic images were taken from 9 healthy birds obtained from a raptor rehabilitation facility. Cardiac silhouette width to thorax width, cardiac silhouette width to sternum width, cardiac silhouette width to hepatic silhouette width, and cardiac silhouette width to coracoid width were obtained. Ratios were calculated between the respective areas measured. The results showed that the cardiac silhouette averages 44%–52% of the thoracic width, 71%–86% of the sternal width, 94%–117% of the width of the hepatic silhouette, and 500%–920% of the coracoid width. In the individuals studied there was a strong correlation between cardiac silhouette width to thoracic and sternal width whereas cardiac width with hepatic and coracoid widths had a moderate to weak correlation respectively. The values obtained in this study can be used to radiographically assess the cardiac size of bald eagles, thus aiding in the diagnosis of cardiomegaly in this species.

Pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes are commonly used for the positioning of birds for radiography and securing bandages. The effect of 5 common tapes on feather structure was investigated with before-and-after comparisons. Each tape demonstrated a characteristic pattern of damage to the feather vane that involved separation of barbules and/or tearing of barbs. Tapes with rigid backing materials and strong adhesives were more likely to cause tearing and barbule separation, respectively, whereas flexible tapes with limited adhesion to feathers were more successful in securing feathers without causing irreparable damage. Consideration should be given to the appropriate selection of tape applied to the feathers of birds to prevent iatrogenic damage to their plumage.

An adult red-legged seriema (Cariama cristata) presented with a comminuted fracture of the tibiotarsus and fibula. Surgery was performed, and a type II external fixator, with 2 distal and 2 proximal pins, was used to stabilize the fracture. After a 10-day stabilization period, the bird developed a second fracture on the same bone, proximal to the first fracture site. Another surgery was performed on the seriema similar to the first one. However, in this second surgical procedure a single pin, instead of 2 perpendicular pins, was placed proximally to the fracture site. After the second surgical procedure, bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) from the seriema's left ulna were collected. Twenty-seven days after the second surgery, the BMSCs were transplanted, into the fracture sites. Twenty-four days after the stem cells were injected into the fractures (51 days after the second surgical procedure), radiographic images revealed healing bone calluses at the fracture sites. The fracture healing was relatively long for this case (a total of 75 days). The addition of bone marrow stem cell therapy to the use of external fixation may have contributed to the healing observed radiographically 24 days after administration; therefore, bone marrow stem cell therapy, in addition to traditional surgical fracture reduction and stabilization, may be a promising therapeutic approach for avian cases with similar injuries and bone anatomy. However, as this is a single case, this therapeutic modality deserves further application and study. Moreover, we suggest modifications in the bone marrow stem cell collection and therapy, which may be useful for future studies and application involving birds.

An adult female chicken, from a small backyard flock, was presented to the Ontario Veterinary College Avian and Exotics Service for evaluation of dyspnea and recurrent ascites. An antemortem diagnostic evaluation included a coelomocentesis, coelomic ultrasound, and a coelioscopy procedure. A sample of the fluid collected during the coelomocentesis was submitted for analysis and was determined to be a nonspecific modified proteinaceous transudate. The coelomic ultrasound examination identified numerous coalescing fluid-filled and solid nodules throughout the coelom. However, no site of origin of the nodules could be identified. A coelioscopy of the intestinal-peritoneal cavity was performed by a ventral midline approach, and biopsies collected during the procedure were submitted for histologic examination. The pathologic diagnosis of the biopsy samples was a disseminated neoplasia, presumptively coelomic adenocarcinoma. The chicken received palliative treatment which included periodic coelomocentesis, meloxicam, antibiotics, and deslorelin following the diagnosis of a disseminated neoplasia. Three months following initial presentation the patient was euthanatized. A postmortem examination with histopathology confirmed the tissue biopsy results of coelomic neoplasia. Further immunohistochemistry supported mesothelioma as the definitive diagnosis. This case documents the usefulness of intestinal-peritoneal coelioscopy in identifying neoplasia as the cause of ascites in a pet chicken as well as describing the clinical features and progression of a mesothelioma in this species.

A 20-year-old female mute swan (Cygnus olor) originally in a flock of free-living swans on a Long Island, New York, lake, was presented for facial swelling and decreased appetite. An adult male ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) was also presented to the same wildlife rescue center for bilateral lameness of 1-week duration. Once referred for veterinary evaluation and care, both species were diagnosed with septic arthritis and osteomyelitis caused by Chryseobacterium indologenes and treated with orbifloxacin until complete recovery. Chryseobacterium indologenes is infrequently diagnosed as an opportunistic pathogen in human medicine, and less so in veterinary medicine. In human patients, this bacterium is the cause of various infections, including meningitis, pneumonia, and implant failure. However, in veterinary medicine its pathogenicity has only been reported in fish, and sporadically mentioned as a culture result in tree frogs and turtles, where it was generally considered insignificant. In this report a clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of osteomyelitis and septic arthritis caused by C indologenes is described in 1 anseriforme and in 1 charadriiforme species.

A 21-year-old male southern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome) was presented with a chronic history of intermittently decreased appetite, lethargy, and regurgitation. On the external physical examination, the bird was determined to be in fair-to-thin body condition with the complete blood count and plasma chemistry panel being largely unremarkable. Full-body radiographic images were considered normal, and gastroscopy showed only mild gastritis and duodenitis. The penguin was euthanatized shortly thereafter due to acute onset of respiratory distress. During the gross necropsy examination, the bird had severe airsacculitis with thick, yellow-to-tan, moist granular plaques adhering to the surface of many air sacs, as well as regional contiguous pneumonia. Intralesional acid-fast bacilli were observed in histologic sections of air sac tissue, and polymerase chain reaction of the affected air sacs was positive for Mycobacterium fortuitum. This clinical case study describes mycobacteriosis in a sub-Antarctic penguin and to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first reported isolation of M fortuitum from a penguin.

This report details 2 different presentations of lymphoma in captive Steller's eiders (Polysticta stelleri). A female Steller's eider, at least 10 years old, developed lameness and lethargy. A complete blood cell count (CBC) revealed a severely elevated total white blood cell (WBC) count with a lymphocytosis. A subsequent liver biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of lymphoma and lymphocytic leukemia. The female Steller's eider was euthanatized 11 days after presentation. On necropsy, neoplastic lymphoid infiltrates were present in multiple tissues, primarily in the skin and subcutis. The results of a CBC from an apparently healthy male Steller's eider, at least 14 years old, also indicated this bird had an increased WBC count with a lymphocytosis. Serum submitted for protein electrophoresis indicated that this bird had a monoclonal gammopathy. Lymphocytes isolated from the male Steller's eider had low levels of proliferation in response to mitogens. The bird survived nearly 2 years without treatment, and the WBC count continued to increase during this time. The male Steller's eider maintained good body condition and exhibited normal behavior throughout the course of the disease until a sudden decline just prior to death. Lymphoma was diagnosed based on histopathology results. Infiltrates of atypical lymphocytes were observed in the bone marrow, proventriculus, ventriculus, heart, and eyes.