Feathers in Crisis—Guidelines for Avian Emergencies

Avian emergencies present unique challenges, necessitating specialised skills for effective intervention. This comprehensive guide equips veterinary professionals with essential tools and strategies, drawing insights from experts in the field, to confidently manage critical situations in bird care.

Recognising Sick Bird Symptoms (SBS)

Understanding subtle signs of illness in birds is crucial for timely intervention, highlighting the importance of recognising Sick Bird Symptoms (SBS), such as increased sleeping and changes in behaviour [4]. Practical examples illustrate emergency responses, ensuring rapid identification and intervention [4].

Table 1: Summarised key SBS.

Effective Trauma Management

Meticulous history collection and customised care plans are central to trauma management. Tailoring care plans based on individual cases; this guide highlights the significance of owner interviews.

Table 2: Essential information to gather.

 Intermediate Care for Common Emergencies

Swift intervention is pivotal in preventing complications, especially in decompensated patients [2]. Rapid and decisive actions can significantly impact the outcome of avian emergencies, and the guide underscores the critical importance of prompt response to specific common situations [2]. In instances of gram-negative bacterial infections, chlamydiosis, aspergillosis, and heavy metal toxicosis, urgent interventions are outlined to address the unique challenges posed by each condition [3].

Table 3: Essential measures for common emergencies.

Stabilising Non-Specific Emergencies

Stabilising birds without a specific diagnosis requires a balance between diagnostic procedures and life-saving interventions [3]. Special attention is given to respiratory emergencies caused by inhaled toxins [1]. This guide provides insights into managing respiratory distress, including the use of oxygen cages.

Essential items for emergency medical care include an oxygen concentrator, oxygen cage, and oxygen delivery system to ensure patients receive vital oxygen support. Monitoring equipment, including a thermometer and diagnostic tools, helps track patients' vital signs and assess their condition. Emergency medications and a nebuliser are crucial for immediate treatment, while an isolation unit helps contain contagious diseases. Additionally, having an emergency response plan in place ensures swift and effective action during crises. Recovery and supportive care supplies round out the essentials, ensuring comprehensive care for patients in need.

Table 4: Considerations for managing non-specific emergencies, particularly respiratory distress.

Diagnosis and Treatment planning

Addressing specific issues like egg binding and heavy metal poisoning requires a tailored approach [2]. This guide discusses stabilisation techniques and surgical challenges for poultry patients.

Table 5: Specific treatment approaches for issues like heavy metal poisoning.

 Effective communication with Clients

During an avian influenza emergency, maintaining effective communication with customers is paramount. Key strategies to enhance communication in such situations encompass utilising clear and simple language, incorporating visual aids and demonstrations, providing written instructions, offering emotional support, ensuring transparency about costs, and furnishing species-specific guidance [3]. These measures collectively facilitate better understanding, preparedness, and reassurance among stakeholders during times of crisis [3].

Initial Treatment Action and Plan of Action

In avian emergencies, the initial moments are crucial, necessitating a set of key considerations for success. These include conducting rapid assessments, prioritising stabilisation by swiftly evaluating the bird's overall condition to ensure clear airways and control active bleeding and administering fluids to address dehydration and maintain blood pressure while regulating body temperature [1]. Timely administration of medications, collaborative efforts within the team, addressing respiratory emergencies, adherence to fluid therapy, nutritional support, and antimicrobial therapy protocols, continuous monitoring, adaptability, and flexibility, client communication, and preparation for further diagnostics are all vital components of effective response and management in avian emergencies [1].

Always Be Prepared: CPR in Avian Patients Considerations

In the realm of avian patient care, being prepared for emergencies is paramount, particularly when it comes to CPR considerations [2]. This readiness encompasses a range of crucial factors, including understanding anatomical differences specific to avian physiology, ensuring efficient airway access, implementing ventilation techniques tailored to avian needs, establishing protocols for IV or IO catheter access, administering fluid boluses promptly, having emergency medications readily available, implementing heat support measures as needed, conducting thorough monitoring and assessment throughout the process, securing IV catheters effectively, and having all essential components of a crash cart in place [2]. Each of these considerations plays a vital role in the successful implementation of CPR protocols and ultimately in the preservation of avian patients' lives during critical situations.

Summary

Avian emergencies necessitate specialised skills and in-depth knowledge from veterinary professionals. This all-encompassing guide, crafted for veterinarians and veterinary nurses, seamlessly blends insights from diverse sources, offering a unified strategy for managing birds in critical situations. The guide emphasises the urgency of timely and precise interventions, highlighting their pivotal role in ensuring the success of avian emergency care.

Further reading 

Girling, S. J. (2013). Avian Emergency and Critical Care Medicine. In Veterinary Nursing of Exotic Pets (pp. 234–243). Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118782941.ch16 [1]

Jenkins, J. R. (1998). Emergency Avian Surgery. Exotic animal practice, 1(1), 43-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1094-9194(17)30154-8 [2]

Vetrano, L. (2019). The Avian Triage: Managing the First Steps. University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. https://www.vet.upenn.edu/docs/default-source/penn-annual-conference/pac-2019-proceedings/companion-animal-track-2019/nursing-track-tue-2020/liz-vetrano---the-avian-triage.pdf?sfvrsn=9af6f2ba_2 [3]

MSD MANUAL Veterinary Manual. (2022, October). Signs of Illness in Pet Birds. https://www.msdvetmanual.com/bird-owners/routine-care-and-breeding-of-birds/signs-of-illness-in-pet-birds [4]