1. Disease & Parasite ID: Birds

2. Parasites

3. Roundworm Description: How is it contracted? Symptoms/Complications:
Zoonotic, internal parasites that affects dogs and cats intestinal system
How is it contracted?
Contact w/parasite in unclean environment
Symptoms/Complications:
Fever, headache, cough, poor appetite
Prevention:
Deworm pets
Good sanitation

4. Tapeworm Description: How is it contracted? Symptoms/Complications:
Internal worm that lives in the small intestine and can range from several inches to several feet
How is it contracted?
Ingesting fleas or infected feces, animals or meat
Symptoms/Complications:
May cause AHD (Alveolar Hydatid Disease) – can be fatal or produce parasitic tumors/cysts in the liver
White segments of worm moving on anus/rectal area of animal or on their feces
Anal itching
Prevention:
Flea prevention
Avoid feeding uncooked meat, raw game or dead animals

5. Red Mites Description: How is it contracted? Symptoms: Prevention:
Mite that crawls around feathers at night
Mostly affect the head and vent areas
After feeding, the mites will crawl from bird to cracks in cage, perches and nest areas
How is it contracted?
Climb up cages
From humans/other pets
Symptoms:
Bird will be restless and itchy
Anemia
Excessive preening
Prevention:
Cleanliness
Dust ends of perches/nest boxes when cleaning
Sprinkle a preventative “Red Mite Powder” around cage and directly on bird

6. Feather Mites Description: How is it contracted? Symptoms: Prevention:
Small, gray mites that collect in small groupings on the feathers of birds during the day and night
How is it contracted?
Picked up from environment (usually outdoors)
Symptoms:
Restlessness
Excessive preening
Ruffling of feathers
Skin irritation
Feather damage
Anemia
Prevention:
Regular sanitizing of equipment with nicotine sulfate, Malathion or coumaphos
Allow birds to bathe daily & spray with mite spray

7. Scaly Leg Mites Description:
Mites that tunnel under the scales on the legs (& face) of budgerigars, lovebirds, and canaries.
Live their entire life cycle on the bird.
How is it contracted?
Infested equipment, housing or other birds
Symptoms:
White, scaly, thickened deposits on the legs the become enlarges and encrusted
Prevention:
Cleanliness
Apply Vaseline to bird’s legs and equipment to prevent mite’s from climbing, to suffocate any living mites and loosen deposits

8. Diseases

9. Parrot Fever Description: What causes it? Symptoms: Prevention:
Also known as “chlamydiosis” or “psittacosis”
Zoonotic bacterial disease the affects the liver and spleen
What causes it?
Contact with contaminated feces, food or water
Symptoms:
Nasal discharge
Listlessness
Appetite loss
Weight loss
Green-colored diarrhea
Labored breathing
Prevention:
Cleanliness
Treat bird with chlortetracycline- impregnated seed for at least 21 days if infection is suspected

10. Bumble Foot Description: What causes it? Symptoms: Prevention:
A painful ailment associated with staphylococcal infections
What causes it?
Staphylococcal bacteria
Symptoms:
feet and joints become hot and swollen with a thick, grayish white fluid
Not walking or clasping onto perch
Prevention:
Suitable perches and sanitation

11. Psittacine Beak & Feather Disease
Description:
Also known as “French Molt”
Viral disease that attacks the immune system
No cure
How is it contracted?
Direct contact with virus
Symptoms:
Become evident at the first molt
New feathers do not emerge or are deformed and break off
Beak and nails may be soft, overgrown, and lose their pigment
Prevention:
Vitamins, minerals, and control of secondary diseases through sanitation

12. Newcastle Disease Description: How is it contracted? Symptoms:
Viral disease that has high mortality rates and spreads rapidly
How is it contracted?
Contact with imported birds
Symptoms:
Respiratory difficulty (wheezing) is one of the first symptoms, followed by tremors, wing droop, and a twisted neck.
Prevention:
Vaccine

13. Goiter Description: How is it contracted? Symptoms/Complications:
Swelling of the thyroid glands in the neck, leading to interference with breathing
Especially prevalent in budgerigars
How is it contracted?
Iodine-deficient seed diet
Symptoms/Complications:
Wheezing
Seizures and sudden death
Difficulty swallowing
Regurgitation
Weight loss
Lack of appetite
A change in song or voice
Prevention:
Adding iodine to water

14. Rickets Description: Also known as “osteomalacia”
An imbalance or deficient amount of calcium, phosphorus, or Vitamin D3 that causes deterioration or softening of the bones
How is it contracted?
Nutrient deficiency
Symptoms/Complications:
Lameness, stiff-legged gait, or a constant resting in the squatting position, and decreased growth
Prevention:
Adequate oyster shell or course limestone in the diet along with vitamin D3 supplementation

15. Obesity Description: How is it contracted? Symptoms/Complications:
Most common nutritional problem in birds
Bird is overweight/heavier than recommended weight
How is it contracted?
Too much food, not enough activity or seeds high in fat.
Symptoms/Complications:
Reluctance to move
Trouble breathing
Fat covering or “roundness” to body
Prevention:
Owners should feed proper ration and avoid feeding sunflower seeds or seeds high in fat