Colleagues

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#CCFF99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04078671esnimw.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#CCFF99" FACE="Arial" ><B>AVIANITARIAN Reference Guide </B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index_avianitarian.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AVIANITARIAN Reference Guide "><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id191.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contributors">Contributors</A>   |   <A HREF="id190.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="From the Author">From the Author</A>   |   <A HREF="home.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aviculture Microbiology">Aviculture Microbiology</A>   |   <A HREF="id166.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DISCLAIMER">DISCLAIMER</A>   |   <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Index to workbook">Index to workbook</A>   |   <B>Colleagues</B>   |   <A HREF="id154.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Avianitarian Assessment">Avianitarian  Assessment</A>   |   <A HREF="id123.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sanitation and Sterilization">Sanitation and Sterilization</A>   |   <A HREF="id124.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sterilization">Sterilization</A>   |   <A HREF="id159.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Specific Types of Disinfectants">Specific Types of Disinfectants</A>   |   <A HREF="id88.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Germicides">Germicides</A>   |   <A HREF="id126.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Environmental Issues">Environmental Issues</A>   |   <A HREF="id171.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Puzzle">Puzzle</A>   |   <A HREF="id187.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="new puzzle">new puzzle</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#336699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="041c83b3.png"> <div> Laurell Desborough</div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#CCFF99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Colleagues</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>YOUR VETERINARIAN AS A COLLEAGUE:</I></div> <div> <I>OR HOW TO HAVE A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR VET.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>First, recognize that you are responsible for your birds. You are the owner. You know your birds better than anyone else does. So, take the responsibility that is yours and act accordingly. The life of each bird is in your hands. Your focus is your bird and its health.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Your veterinarian is there to assist you. His or her focus is on avian medicine. The veterinarian has the veterinary medical knowledge and training. Talk to your veterinarian as a colleague, not as if he or she were a guru dispensing advice. Do not allow guessing or experimentation on your bird unless you are willing to take the consequences: perhaps the death of the bird. You need to work on your relationship with your veterinarian until you become comfortable discussing any aspect of your bird's health or medical treatment.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>How do you reach this relationship with your veterinarian, where you can discuss your bird and its problem and where you contribute to the eventual diagnosis and treatment? You need to learn certain basic skills regarding avian medical care.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Have your veterinarian instruct you in the process of doing a physical examination on your bird and in administering injections, subcutaneous and intra-muscular, and in administering oral medications. Take a course in microbiology and learn to do gram stains and grow cultures. Educating yourself in these skills and techniques provides you with the ability to care for your sick birds at your facility site under the direction of your veterinarian.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>You can be of great help to your veterinarian by providing him or her with solid information about the bird prior to or at the time of consultation. This information should be provided in written form and should include the following: Species, ID, age, weight, pet or breeder or retiree, diet, caging, breeding history, medical history, history of the condition of immediate concern, gram stains and/or cultures on the bird, and your thoughts about the bird's condition. For baby birds, the formula used, the number in the clutch, age and weight are extremely important, along with the daily weights for the days prior to the illness and whether or not the bird has been exposed to any new birds recently.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Regarding tests and laboratories, whether tests for bacteria, viruses, or for sexing, you will want to be assured that your veterinarian is working with a reliable laboratory. Learn which laboratories are reliable and trusted by the avicultural community and ask that your veterinarian works with those laboratories when sending out tests for your birds. Some laboratories have a poor reputation due to unreliable test results or due to their specimen collecting and handling techniques.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>When you have a seriously ill bird or any emergency situation with a bird, consider all the options presented by your veterinarian. (For example, if a bird exhibits a symptom which can be indicative of several diseases or conditions, it may be difficult to make a diagnosis and the veterinarian may wish to conduct biopsies or x-rays. You know that the particular bird is very susceptible to stress and fear that it cannot take that type of restraint. It is up to you to recommend that other means need to be found to deal with the situation and explain why.)</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Ask if there are any other possible options. You might ask your veterinarian if there is a specialist or expert on the bird's condition who can be consulted. Keep in mind that this consultation will be charged to you. The bottom line is that you are the one responsible for the bird. You may disagree with a proposed treatment. That is your right. However, you are also responsible for the consequences of that decision. For instance, taking radical invasive measures with an extremely ill bird which is on the verge of dying, may not be the correct action. It may cause death. The bird may be better served by holding off radical measures and giving the bird supportive care and less invasive treatment until the bird has been stabilized and then is ready to undergo more invasive measures.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>When your veterinarian sees a sick bird:</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>*Provide basic written information on the ill bird.</I></div> <div> <I>*Mention any previous experience with similar conditions.</I></div> <div> <I>*Note your veterinarian's response. Has he/she heard you?</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>When visiting the veterinarian at the bird hospital:</I></div> <div> <I>   *Stay with your bird during the exam and any treatment process.</I></div> <div> <I>   *With an extremely sick bird that needs daily treatment, take it home to treat it.</I></div> <div> <I>   *Have your veterinarian demonstrate how to give injections, oral medications, and other treatments.</I></div> <div> <I>   *Birds left in the hospital are stressed by a strange environment and potentially exposed to diseases.</I></div> <div> <I>   *Your bird will be more comfortable in familiar surroundings, will have a lower stress level and will be more likely to recover.</I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I>      copyrights by Cherane Pefley</I></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>