Transcript ALAT Chapter 28 - Arizona Branch of AALAS

Chapter Twenty-Eight
Birds
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Birds
 Aves
 4 of 27 orders of class are commonly used in
research: galliformes, columbiformes,
passeriformes & psittaciformes.
 Used in studies of neurobiology, endocrinology,
nutrition, ethology, embryology & microbiology.
 Most are domesticated fowl for which husbandry
standards & diets are available.
Handling & Restraint
 Easily compromised respiratory & heat
dissipation systems
 Manipulate cages slowly & deliberately.
 Move slowly in a pen, allowing birds time to get
out of the way.
 Capture on 1st attempt is least stressful.
 Place on pen floor & withdraw hands to release.
 In flight cages release with unobstructed
clearance, in case they take flight.
 Do not toss into the air when releasing from
restraint; it may be unprepared or unable to fly.
(Image) Finch
Handling & Restraint II
 Galliformes - chickens, turkeys, quail
 Galliformes easy to handle and, except for quail,
are not as fragile as other bird species.
 Docile, but peck, scratch, inflict puncture wounds.
 Restrain bird’s wings when captured.
With both hands, reach over back &, just prior to
making contact; drop hands to hold wings down on the
body.
Pick up wings in 1 hand, & hold them behind.
Restrain legs between fingers of other hand.
 Carry upside-down by legs, but calmer if placed
under 1 arm & w/ gentle pressure against wing.
Handling & Restraint III
 Another restraint:
Place on table on back or side & tape legs w/ nontraumatic adhesive.
Usually lies quietly if cloth is draped over head.
 Handle small turkeys same way as chickens, but
do not carry by legs.
 Turkeys can be held & transported short
distances by using 1 hand to encircle humerus of
both wings over back while holding legs &
supporting body with other hand.
 Restrain head by gently placing 2 fingers of hand
holding wings around bird’s neck.
Handling & Restraint IV
 Columbiformes - pigeons, doves; passeriformes crows, canaries, sparrows, and finches
 Columbiform & passerine birds are smaller &
swifter than galliformes, difficult to capture safely.
 Large pigeons carried same as chicken.
 Restrain smaller birds with 1 hand holding head
between thumb & forefinger, neck & back
supported on palm of same hand.
Hold wings against body, exercise caution to avoid
encircling the thorax completely.
Holding bird too tightly compromises respiration,
resulting in hypoxia and hyperthermia.
Handling and Restraint
Handling & Restraint V
 Psittaciformes - parrots and parakeets
 Tend to bite & not easy to handle
 Parrots are handled same way as other birds of a
similar size; but because of their biting habits,
attention must be paid to restraining the head.
Gloves offer little protection from the powerful beaks of
larger parrots, such as macaws.
A towel placed over bird’s head helps calm it, allowing
head to be grasped.
Restrain for examinations, anesthesia, or weighing by
placing them in a properly sized portion of tubularshaped gauze that allows head & tail to protrude.
Sexing & Breeding
 Male & female differ in size, feather conformation
& color pattern = sexual dimorphism.
 In breeding season, some develop sex indicators
as color changes, changes in cloaca &
development of featherless brood patch on
breast.
 In others, gender can be determined at necropsy
or through surgical inspection of gonads.
(Image) Female Reproductive
Organs
Sexing & Breeding II
 Female: only left ovary & oviduct functional.
 Avian primary oocyte largest cell in any animal.
 Infundibulum: Consists of the funnel, or fimbria,
which receives ovum.
 Magnum: Longest portion of oviduct is also
albumin secreting region.
 Isthmus: Egg acquires soft shell membranes.
 Shell gland: Often referred to as the uterus.
In shell gland, egg acquires hard calciferous shell. Egg
remains in shell gland about 20 hours.
 Vagina: Egg traverses vagina in seconds to
minutes & passes to outside through cloaca.
Sexing & Breeding III
 Eggs sometimes held for investigative assay or
for later artificial batch incubation.
 Eggs naturally incubated by female for a few
days may have higher incubator hatchability.
 Eggs collected for these purposes should be
freshly laid & not washed.
 If embryo development has already begun,
interrupting incubation may kill or damage the
embryo; continue to incubate these eggs.

: Testes do not descend into scrotum, remain
near kidneys where they originally developed.
 Do not possess accessory sex glands.
Sexing and Breeding
Male
 Testes do not descend located near the
kidneys.
 No accessory sex
glands.
Behavior
 Groups develop classic “pecking order,” or
hierarchy; > dominant restrict movement, feeding
& socialization of < dominant.
 In galliformes, removing tip of upper beak helps
control cannibalism or fighting in flocks.
 Control flight by pinioning; surgical removal of
distal tip of wing - 3rd & 4th metacarpal bones.
 Pinion 1 wing; some birds can learn to fly if both
wings are symmetrically pinioned.
 Temporary, nonsurgical flight control involves
clipping first ten primary flight feathers of 1 wing.
 Claws and spurs require regular trimming.
Husbandry
 Many bird diseases are potential zoonoses.
 Quarantine & acclimatize for 2 - 4 wks.
 Take serologic tests, exam for internal & external
parasites & bacterial culturing.
 Cages large enough to permit normal physical
activity & social interaction.
Locate perches to avoid contamination of feed & water.
 Control temp, humidity, ventilation & air filtration.
 Increase ventilation as environmental temp rises.
 Relative humidity range from 45 to 70%.
Husbandry II
 Cover floors of indoor cages w/ sand, gravel or
shavings, depending on requirements.
 Low Plexiglas frame placed around cage
perimeter helps contain litter.
 Many types of easily sanitized automatic feed &
water devices available.
 Suspended automatic watering system placed at
a level allowing birds to drink comfortably.
Designed to prevent contaminating water by perching
on or stepping in it.
 Wide-spectrum fluorescent or white incandescent
lamps used in bird housing facilities more closely
resemble natural light.
Husbandry III
 Housing mixed species & multiple age groups
together can result in fighting, cannibalism or
disease hazards.
 Visual barriers, such as solid cage sides, may
reduce conflict between groups.
 Overcrowding birds in cages or pens also
stresses the animals and can result in disease.
 Very young birds require an external heat source
to prevent chilling and hypothermia.
 Heated cages called “brooders” are used to
house young birds until they grow feathers.
Wing trimming
Diet
 Nutritional requirements of chickens well known.
 Nutritional requirements of non-domestic avian
species largely unknown.
 Requirements of seed-eating pigeons & doves
not well understood.
 Diversified order passeriformes contains more
than 4,800 species.
tremendous variety of nutritional requirements
Only seed-eating passeriformes are discussed here.
 Seed-eaters = sparrows, finches & canaries
 A mixture of small seeds are fed, most important
being canary grass seed & millet.
Diet II
 Other components include vegetables, fruits,
grasses, cooked egg yolk, vitamin supplements,
breads & live insects.
 Psittacine seed-eaters = parrots, macaws &
parakeets.
 Sunflower seeds, peanuts, monkey biscuits,
safflower seeds, millet, canary seeds & dry dog
kibble
 Supplemental foods include fresh fruits &
vegetables, boiled egg yolks & mixed nuts.
 Remove unconsumed perishable materials within
a few hours.
(Images) Bird Digestive System
Diet III
 Grit available in various sizes & compositions.
a necessary component of diet, available ad libitum
 Ingested grit remains in gizzard, a muscular
organ of the gastrointestinal tract.
 Agitation of grit & seed mixture in gizzard helps
grind up seeds in preparation for digestion,
 Cuttlebone for beak maintenance should be
available for passeriformes & psittacines.
 Some species need water for bathing.
 Supply and maintenance of potable water for
aquatic birds a challenging husbandry & disease
control problem.
Nondomestic Species
 Knowledge of natural habitat, behavior & diet is
essential to use wild birds in research.
 Procurement, transport, possession & treatment
of wild birds & their eggs are governed by state &
federal regulations.
 Contact local state conservation agency & U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service for information on a
species in question.
 May have difficulty adapting to lab housing.
 During acclimation period, shield birds from visual
disturbances.
 Cage shielded by partially covering it with cloth.
Nondomestic Species II
 A folded sheet of paper on top of cage prevents
injury until birds learn their cage dimensions.
 Place food & water at several locations & different
heights; helps birds locate source.
 Observe for several days to determine birds’
preferred locations for food & water.
 Multiple food & water sources reduce possibility
of dominant or aggressive birds preventing others
from eating or drinking.
 Food scattered on cage floor encourages eating
until birds lose fear of food container & learn to
accept food from a dish.
Additional Reading
Anderson, R.S. and A.T.B. Edney. Practical Animal
Handling. Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK. 1991.
Rollin, Bernard E., and M. Lynne Kesel (ed.). The
Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research.
Volume II: Care, Husbandry and Well-Being —
An Overview By Species. CRC Press, Boca
Raton, FL. 1992.
Rosskopf, W.J. and R.W. Woerpel. Diseases of
Cage and Aviary Birds. Williams and Wilkins,
Baltimore, MD. 1996.