Parrot beak feather is infected with parrot beak feather disease (PBFD) or parrot virus disease (PCD).
1. What are the characteristics?
This is a viral infection. The virus infects and kills normal cells in the beak, feathers and lymphatic system. The disease can occur in all kinds of parrots, especially Bataan parrots. Among them, young birds are susceptible to this disease.
2. Symptoms of the disease
Parrot beak and feather infection can be divided into acute and chronic types:
If it is acute PBFD, birds will show very obvious sick state, such as listlessness and diarrhea. However, the beak and feathers of infected birds will not show obvious symptoms, but the liver may be infected, resulting in a rapid decline in resistance, and then various bacteria, viruses or molds will be infected. Birds with acute PBFD usually die in a short time. The symptom of chronic PBFD is that the original feathers of birds are gradually replaced by some abnormal feathers, and these unhealthy feathers usually fall off before they are fully grown, and the roots of feathers usually carry blood. After this symptom lasts for a period of time, the thickness of bird feathers will become thinner and thinner, and finally they will even become bare, leaving only a few unhealthy feathers that have not yet fallen. In addition, in addition to this naked appearance, there will be abnormal beak proliferation, which will usually become very long and have gaps, which will make it difficult for birds to eat, and even lead to a large part of the beak falling off. Furthermore, just like acute infection, it may cause a second wave of bacterial, viral or fungal infection.
3. Prevention and control methods
Infection can be detected by examining tissue sections, blood and feathers. But at present, there is no effective vaccine or medicine to cure this disease, and the final result of birds suffering from this disease is almost a dead end. The infected birds will die in about a year.
The most effective preventive measure is not to buy birds with PBFD. On the one hand, we should choose a reputable merchant. On the other hand, we should take the birds to the bird doctor for PBFD examination immediately after purchase. Even if there is no problem in the inspection, it is recommended to isolate the newly bought poultry for a period of time to completely avoid the possibility of infection.
Parrot beak feather disease (PBFD)
(1) What is a parrot beak feather?
This is a fatal infectious disease caused by a single DNA virus. Affected birds may have feather shedding, feather atrophy and deformation, beak deformation and abnormal thymus and Fahrenheit sac structure. At first, it was thought that the disease only occurred in white or pink Bataan, but it was later found in more than 30 other parrots, such as Genda Cone-tailed Parrot, Green Winged Macaw, Parrot and Amazon Parrot. Birds infected with this disease may have no symptoms at all or only slight abnormal eclosion symptoms, and will die after several years or when their immunity decreases. But in the meantime, it will continue to detoxify. The original white feathers may turn black, while the gray feathers of gray parrots may turn red.
(2) What is the mode of infection?
The virus can be found in feathers, feces and crop secretions of infected birds. Among them, feather debris is the most important diffusion source.
(3) What are the clinical symptoms of the bird?
Subacute type: it is more common in grey parrots and young birds in Bataan, with symptoms such as crop stagnation, pneumonia, diarrhea, weight loss and sudden death. Damage to feathers is rare.
Acute type: 30-day-old chicks are ready to molt, and there are symptoms such as broken feathers, necrosis, bleeding, bending deformation and premature shedding. Gastrointestinal symptoms include diarrhea, crop stagnation, anorexia and so on. Grey parrot, Bataan and love birds are more susceptible to this disease. Symptomatic birds may die within the same day or weeks.
Chronic type: birds under three years old are more likely to occur, and infected birds may die from secondary infection. The pathological changes on feathers include feather sheath not falling off, bleeding at the root of feathers, feather deformation and so on. Downy feathers generally fall off first, and then body feathers such as crown feathers, flying feathers and tail feathers also begin to fall off. Some sick birds have lost all their hair, but they can still live for months to years before they die. Except Taobadan, Molugabadan and Sunflower Batan, other parrots are less likely to have beak lesions. Lesions include oral ulcer, long beak or broken beak and beak tip necrosis. Most of them are accompanied by secondary infection of bacteria or mold.
(4) What is the treatment?
There is no effective treatment except supportive therapy. Therefore, it is best to do whole blood screening before introducing new birds. Birds with normal feathers but positive DNA test should be isolated for 90 days before testing.
Polyomavirus virus
(1) What is polyoma virus? ^
This disease is also called BFD disease. Infected budgerigar has abnormal feather development (down feathers can't grow on its abdomen and back), which is sometimes called Frenchmolt. Different degrees of abnormal molting can be called this noun. PBFD virus can also cause this symptom. Parrot chicks such as tiger skin, Feng Xuan or love birds can't fly because their flying feathers and tail feathers fall off directly at the stage of developing into needle-like feathers. According to statistics, the infection rates of young tiger skin, king kong, cone tail, compromise, moon wheel, Keck and love birds are higher, while the infection rates of honey sucking, Amazon, grey parrot, eagle head and Bataan are lower. Generally speaking, tiger skins over one month old and other parrots over five months old may not get sick even if they are exposed to pathogens.
(2) What is the route of infection?
Infected by inhaling or eating viruses from feathers, feces and mouth and nose secretions of infected birds. It can also be transmitted directly through eggs.
(3) What are the clinical symptoms of infected birds?
/kloc-budgerigar under 0/5 days old: abdominal distension, delayed crop emptying time, subcutaneous hemorrhage, slow development and abnormal feather development. Sudden death, the mortality rate is as high as 30- 100%. /kloc-budgerigar over 0/5 days old: The symptoms are the same as before, but the mortality rate is reduced. Other parrot chicks: 14- 120 chicks may have symptoms. Such as diarrhea, crop stagnation, mental depression, anorexia, feather root bleeding, polyuria, lower body paralysis and other symptoms. These chicks may die within 12-48 hours after onset. But even an adult bird can still die suddenly. Sometimes, the finches that are lucky enough to survive may have deformed lower beaks.
(4) Is there any treatment?
There is no cure.
(5) What are the prevention methods?
Before introducing new parrots, it is best to screen PBFD and polyoma virus. Don't put love birds, Tiger Skin and Feng Xuan with other unvaccinated chickens. For young birds and breeders, it is best to be vaccinated. Breeding birds should be vaccinated in the non-breeding season and replenished two weeks later. Young birds can be vaccinated when they are four weeks old (as early as 20 days old), and then take another dose every two to three weeks.
Abnormal feather pigment
Some careful bird friends may find that the feathers on birds are very strange in color. For example, the original dark feathers turn light, and the green feathers turn yellow. There are many reasons that affect the color change of feathers, but generally speaking, the following three reasons are more common.
(1) Diseases: All diseases, such as PBFD and French molting, may lead to abnormal feather development or change of feather color.
(2) Lack of certain nutrients: Feathers need more specific amino acids and vitamins during their growth and development. Such as vitamin B2, lysine and tyrosine. Without these nutrients, the color of feathers may change. In the absence of carotenoids, skin and feathers may become lighter.
(3) Liver disease: Because liver disease can only be detected early by serum test, it is difficult for the general owner to find out whether poultry has liver disease. If the grey parrot has red feathers, it is diagnosed as liver disease by many veterinarians. In addition to the change of feather color, the infected beak will also become abnormal, or there will be symptoms such as white urate discoloration.
Others: Thyroid dysfunction is also considered as one of the possibilities of feather change.
Falling feathers? Feather pecking?
(1) How to tell whether a parrot's feathers have fallen or been pulled out?
Generally speaking, the range of plucking is mostly below the neck. In other words, except for the feathers on the head, when the feathers on the chest, abdomen and even wings are gone, it may be pulled down by the bird itself.
The feather on the top of the head is missing, which may be worn by friction with the cage, or it may be pecked off by other birds in the same cage. A small number of feathers may fall off due to nutritional deficiency or infection such as PBFD, resulting in abnormal feather development.
(2) Why do parrots pluck feathers?
There are many reasons for pecking at feathers, which can be roughly divided into three major reasons: urgent, anxious and boring behavior problems, infection with viruses, molds, parasites and other diseases, and lack of certain nutrition.
Infection: Intestinal protozoan parasites such as poxvirus, herpesvirus, PBFD, and Giardia pyriformis, as well as secondary bacterial infections, can cause parrot skin itching and induce self-mutilation behaviors such as plucking.
B. Wild parrots rarely have self-mutilation behaviors such as plucking, so urgent environment, boring life and separation anxiety may also induce self-mutilation behaviors such as plucking. Amazon parrots often bite their own feet, gray parrots and Batangas often pull feathers from their chests, while parrots often pull feathers from their wings and buttocks.
Lack of vitamins A and E, or the addition of pigments, pesticides, preservatives and other substances in food may induce plucking behavior.
Other reasons: scientists believe that nicotine may cause allergic reactions in birds, and second-hand smoke may also be the cause of parrot self-harm behavior. Even the nicotine in the owner's hand may make the bird's feet allergic. Too dry environment (especially in winter), stuffy and unventilated, lack of sunlight, heavy metal (zinc) poisoning and other factors may also lead to depilation.
(3) How to treat it?
First of all, it is necessary to find out the reasons for self-harm by plucking feathers, such as deworming when infected with pyriform flagellates; Give antibiotics, bathe birds frequently, keep the environment ventilated, increase toys and improve the quality of life. In order to prevent birds from pecking at feathers or hurting themselves, most of them need to wear Elizabeth collars (bbs.e5sj.com/read.php? Tid-4604.html). The therapeutic effect of steroid drugs on allergic symptoms in mammals remains to be studied, but if depilation is a mental illness, we can try to give some drugs to relieve anxiety, such as clomipramine.