Pet Birds

As a bird owner, you should line up a qualified avian veterinarian before you need one. Birds are unlike other animals in that they hide their signs of illness until they can no longer do so. It is a form of self preservation. In the wild, they are preyed upon by many animals. So a bird that appears ill will be quickly noticed by a predator.

By the time a bird's illness has become apparent to us, it has probably been declining for a period of time. Quick diagnosis and treatment can be critical. If your bird appears to "be under the weather," take him to a veterinarian and give him the best chance for survival.

Avian medicine has come a long way in the past 10 years. There are now a small number of "board-certified" avian specialists in the U.S., with numbers growing yearly. Equally important, organizations like the Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV) and other regional associations have very been active in educating veterinarians in all aspects of avian medicine and surgery. Diagnostic laboratories that are adept at working with the small amounts of blood and other samples drawn from birds are available. Avian medicine is still a young science, but it has come a long way.

Do not think that the over-the-counter drugs or "remedies" will save your bird's life in a crisis. This is false hope. They may be detrimental to your bird's health and waste valuable time.

There are many products on the market that are labeled as drugs for treatment of diseased pet birds. With only one or two rare exceptions, not readily available in pet stores, NONE of the products that are on the pet store shelves labeled for treating diseases of pet birds are approved by the FDA. The safety and effectiveness of these products for treatment of diseases in pet birds is unproven under the scientific standards used by the FDA. Unfortunately, such products have not traditionally received much regulatory attention, as opposed to drugs for food animals and traditional companion animals such as dogs and cats. Most of the FDA's resources are channeled into regulating the drugs for food animals to insure the safety of our food supply. This may change in the future, due to the proliferation of unapproved drugs for treating diseases of pet birds, fish, reptiles, hamsters and other small mammals, and the public health considerations these animals bring with them.