Summary: Medical management of the non-domestic flock is not easy. Although there is a significant need for more comprehensive veterinary involvement in the area of flock medicine, the flock, at present time, remains perhaps the most incompletely addressed patient in private avian medical practice. This course will help practicing veterinarians understand the mechanisms with which to properly examine and evaluate a flock as their primary patient. Attendees to this course will be exposed first hand to the thought processes and mechanics involved in putting these techniques to work.

At present time, avicultural medicine as it is generally applied, lacks a systematic means with which to evaluate and “examine” the non-domestic bird flock. These evaluations are a key to developing a true flock health program. Without a proper physical examination of the flock, it is virtually impossible to make complete and balanced managerial recommendations for the individual patient as well as in the overall flock. The breeding collection of non-domestic birds in the private avicultural sector is in many ways the most important, and most neglected, patient in avian medicine today.

It is the intent of this master class to provide an understanding of the mechanisms of how a proper flock examination is carried out, and how to use this physical examination in order to establish or initiate a flock health program. Complete evaluation of the flock should serve as a means with which to identify subclinical disease or performance deficits within the flock, and should lead to increased development of flock management techniques as well as documentation of optimal flock health management programs in the future.

The Flock Profile is the term used for our physical evaluation of the flock at any one point in time. The conclusions and actions taken as a result of this profile result in the development of a Flock Health Program. A flock health program is maintained through regular profiles done at designated intervals based on perceived need as determined by the initial flock profile that was performed. These intervals may be annual evaluations in many circumstances, or, in some circumstances, may be performed up to four times in a year.

The Flock Profile represents the complete physical examination and a solid evaluation of performance as compared to the stated goals for the collection. Components of the Flock Profile include the (1) business mission statement, (2) facility maps, (3) traffic flow maps, (4) record review, and (5) business and financial analysis. Each of these components are evaluated individually, have listed recommendations made, and actions that are to be taken if a flock health program is to be instituted. These evaluations are made in writing, and are delivered as such, and ideally also verbally to the aviculturist. Furthermore, the typical flock health profile is most often initially performed without physically seeing the facility or handling the birds themselves. Some of the listed recommendations following the first profile may be to evaluate specific pairs or to handle and physically evaluate the birds, but this may not always necessarily be the most appropriate thing to do for all aviaries. It is for this reason, specifically, that the majority of our initial flock health profiles are performed prior to physical examination of the birds and the facility itself. An astute diagnostician will best be able to see the abnormalities in an aviary during actual inspection when a good initial history is collected and flock profile is done prior to physical inspection of the birds or the facility.

The flock health program represents the sequential management protocols that evolve through a series of flock profiles - charged with documenting the performance, progress and physical health of the aviary and with accomplishing the stated goals for the collection. Following the delivery of the initial flock health profile, should a management program be desired to be put into place, there are several actions that need to be carried out, in order for a flock program to begin to develop. These actions are itemized below:

At our practice, standardized record systems in specifically labeled three-ring binders are provided for our Flock Health Program clients. Within these binders, we pre-label and prepare the individual breeding pair records, attach a current facility map, and maintain a copy of our most current flock health profile. These record systems, when provided in this manner serve to elevate the professionality of your program, serve as a visual reminder and motivator for the your client, and help standardize your continued approaches toward serving the stated desired needs and goals of the aviary.

Reminder systems are attached to the practice flock file, to prompt us to contact the aviculturist as recommended and discussed during the last flock health profile that was performed. These may include calls to update the current goals as listed in the mission statement, a request for FAX copies of current production records, incubation records, etc. It is these reminders, when properly placed and utilized, that allows us to not forget to pay important attention to the management of this patient, the flock. The

And finally, a flock health binder to be maintained at your practice is initiated. In our practice, we use the same style of three-ring binders that we provided to our clients. Within them, we maintain pertinent and current information that is easy to scan, review, and update as needed. Copies of all flock health profiles are maintained within these binders, summaries of breeder production data, facility maps, and pertinent financial information that is necessary in order to help us make rational and beneficial managerial recommendations for our clients are all included.

With flock oriented medicine, the “patient” has been changed from the individual (single bird) to the collective group (flock or aviary). In other words, the aviary is the primary patient and the individual birds housed therein are viewed as parts of the the aviary's makeup. As such, the individual bird's performance or disease processes diagnosed can have an impact on flock managerial decisions, but rarely a controlling influence. Diagnostic “samples” from the aviary may include any or all of the following: flock production records, structural and traffic flow diagrams, financial information, individual diagnoses previously established in the aviary's birds themselves and video monitoring of the bird's behavior in the flights.

The Closed Aviary Concept serves as perhaps the single most unifying theme in progressive psittacine aviculture. In the conceptually closed aviary, both clinical and subclinical disease are controlled and monitored through adherence to the basic principles of designated areas and controlled flow of human, animal and traffic of materials. This concept of traffic control is used to reduce avicultural variables during or resulting from movements within designated areas of the aviary as well as within the aviary as a whole. Minimized variables lead to reduced problems and maximizes the potential for attaining production goals.

Following the basic guidelines of the closed aviary concept is an absolute requirement for the successful implementation of a Flock Health Program. Without Closed Aviary management, the Flock Health Program is violated, making disease incidence a random and unpredictable event. Open facilities without coherence to closed aviary principles are realistically managed on a crisis intervention basis only; and this approach fundamentally prohibits planned reproductive flock management.

The mission statement guides the Flock Health Program and should be realistic, concise and truly representative of the aviculturists aspirations and ethical opinions pertinent to their aviary. This statement comprises the “vital concepts” from which your client has become an aviculturist. It is said that we all should have dreams. Once we write them down, those dreams become goals - goals that can be shared and worked towards by others that clearly understand them.

All managerial and medical decisions, recommendations and considerations are charged to serve your client's mission statement. As the aviary grows and changes, so may the mission statement and so must the Flock Health Program. Therefore, it is necessary to remain current with your understanding of the mission statement of your client, and all changes should be reflected in the most current flock profile in your client's flock health binder.

The aviary map should include an accurate account of the structural layout of the aviary such as breeding buildings, quarantine facilities, nurseries, physical barriers, feed locations, location of birds and species and any of the other aviary components. Aviary maps demonstrate the anatomic features of the facility. These maps may vary from a basic layout of someone's home or backyard facilities up to a large multi-species aviary.

Using the aviary map, traffic flow is carefully evaluated. The flock oriented veterinarian should ask their client to draw their daily movement including feeding, cleaning, handling and other routine activity directly on a copy of the map. We call this the `spaghetti test' for obvious reasons. Those who are inattentive to traffic flow will show areas of high traffic flow, demonstrated by increased concentrations of parallel lines suggesting potential areas of disease transmission, ineffective human traffic flow, wasted time and effort and poor structural design. The traffic flow and aviary map must be kept updated with the client's file, and serves as a diagnostic, crisis intervention and business management tool.

Evaluating finances is probably the least comfortable for both the veterinarian and the client, but is vital to the Flock Heath Program, especially if there are any monetary limitations or concerns. Consulting veterinarians must have a solid foundation in basic business management. Perhaps more importantly, the financially dependent aviculturist must accept their flock as a business endeavor. As with other farming industries, the aviculturists' birds work for the owner and provide the income, pleasure or other goals established in the mission statement. Key credits and debits that influence the facility need to be itemized, evaluated and understood.

Records can be divided into four main areas including general information, adults, pediatrics and incubation. Factors including the aviculturist's mission statement, record taking abilities and attention to detail determine the specific information collected or desired in the record system. Excessive record keeping can potentially be as detrimental as incomplete record keeping.

General records include all the information pertinent to the aviary, including the bird's diets. The date of construction, materials used, ventilation systems, additional modifications, cleaning and maintenance protocols and nutritional information are recorded in this category. Details can be highly variable but should include basic construction materials (walls, floor, counter tops, cages, nest boxes, etc), cleaning chemicals used, air flow and food types for all birds in the aviary. This material is kept current with the aviary map to provide an internal and external view of the facility.

Adult records include the bird's past and present histories. The aviculturist may include where and when the bird was acquired, known parents, sex and how and who determined the sex, previous owners, and breeding history including reproductive performance, current and/or past mate(s). Breeding pair information may include nesting period, eggs during each breeding season, disposition of the eggs (fertile, infertile and dead-in-shell), live chicks and number of male and female young. A review of these records, single and compounded, will give production information for both the individual birds and the flock respectively.

Chick records are perhaps the most dynamic and time consuming records to keep, maintain and analyze. The aviculturist may record parentage, date of hatch, daily or periodic weights, date eyes opened, age banded, identification, size of band, peak weight and age at peak, weaning food started, perching, fledging, and weaning dates, sex determination method and results and any medical disorders encountered or therapies administered. Obviously, most facilities do not have the man power or the time to record all of the above listed information, but the chick records give vital clues as to pediatric management. Remember, for most aviculturists and their attending veterinarians, increasing numbers of viable chicks is the main production goal.

Finally, incubation journals are recorded for all incubated eggs. These may include incubator used, incubation temperature and humidity parameters, turning rate and degree, date egg was laid, date egg was set, expected and actual hatch dates, hatch intervals within the clutch, hatching observations, chick weight at hatch, egg candling observations such as fertility, vascularity, dead-in-shell (early, mid and late embryonic mortality) and all diagnostics performed. The data obtained from these incubation records relates to both parental reproductive and systemic health and incubation management.

When analyzing production records, the above listed information can be compounded in a variety of ways to help analyze the patient (the flock) and it's individual components (including the birds). Patterns of disease or production deficits, and their association with identified variables within the aviary are sought. By compounding information from birds of the same species, birds from certain locations within the aviary and all birds together allow the consulting veterinarian and aviculturist to quickly compare production between species, potential problem locations within the aviary and identify fertility and chick mortality issues. When comparing yearly values, the veterinarian can evaluate changes in the total aviary production, identify poor producing pairs or groups, and begin to work with the aviculturist to effectively manage the flock with the long term goals in mind as defined in the mission statement.

Once the initial flock profile has been completed, short term goals can then be established for the upcoming season. Veterinary evaluation and appropriate action (with the intent to increase productivity) may include infectious disease problems, nutritional issues, culling reproductive inefficiencies, establishment of a bird replacement program, a marketing plan for progeny, and a vaccination program. The short term goals will address the immediate needs and disorders identified within the patient. Oftentimes, it is one or a combination of the above issues that initially triggers the client to seek veterinary assistance.

The long term goals are set with the aviculturist's stated ambitions in mind and can change as the Flock Health Program develops and matures. Ideally, veterinarians and their avicultural clients will prospectively work to define or achieve a bird selection protocol, food management program, an ideal breeding season's production goals, efficient labor system and improvement in the genetic quality of chicks produced.

Infectious disease problems are often perceived to be the single most important issue by aviculturists, and may also be overemphasized by many veterinarians. Veterinarians are easily tempted to address the pathogen without understanding the pathogenesis, especially when a panic stricken client or aviculturist presents a sick or dead bird from their aviary and requests what needs to be done for the flock. Consequently, time and money may be spent treating undiagnosed flock disease, possibly further concealing sub-clinical disease and still never properly assessing the flock managerial picture for the flock. As a result, production management is simply being driven by therapeutic protocols to treat perceived infectious disease threat. This is why it is imperative for veterinarians to properly define their patient, evaluate closed aviary principles and collect the above listed initial information before instituting treatment. Infectious disease outbreaks can be the “window of opportunity” for consulting veterinarians and aviculturists to broach the subject and potentially initiate a Flock Health Program and assess, and ultimately manage, production.

In non-domestic avian medicine, and realistically in most aspects of production - oriented medicine, nutritional disorders are extremely common and represent another area veterinarians are often approached for assistance. Most commonly, however, assistance is requested when there are clearly identifiable losses occurring to clinical nutritional disease, rather than subclinical performance deficits occurring in the flock. As a result, nutritional changes and recommendations are being primarily driven by mortality or clinical disease issues (reactive changes), rather than by management efforts of sub optimal performance issues (proactive changes). Careful evaluation of the diet in conjunction with the bird's past medical histories, however is extremely important. Obviously, clinically apparent nutritional disease must be identified and eliminated from a flock in order to allow subclinical disease to be sought out, identified, and addressed.

Definitions - General Records

Egg # = Number assigned to the individual egg

Fertile = Egg candled fertile

Infertile = Egg candled infertile

Broken = Egg broken

EEM = Early embryonic mortality: First 1/3 of incubation period

MEM = Mid embryonic morality: Second 1/3 of incubation period

LEM = Late embryonic mortality: Third 1/3 of incubation period

DAH = Died at hatch: Death in the hatcher PRIOR to completing hatch

MP 1 = Type I malposition: Embryo has head between both thighs

MP 2 = Type II malposition: Embryo is rotated in “breech” position with head away from the air cell

MP other = Other malposition: These do not match Type I or II Malpositions

Hatch Date = Date of hatch

Weight loss = Weight loss (%) of egg from egg set weight to hatch weight 1.00 - ((set weight - hatch weight) / set weight)

EPM = Early pediatric mortality: chick death occuring between 0 and 14 days post hatch.

LPM = Late pediatric mortality: chick death occuring after 14 days of age

Med Dx/

Problems = Medical Diagnoses and/or Problems: a brief description of any medical problems encountered

Date Sold = Date chick was sold

Sale Price = Sale price of chick

Other

comments = Other comments pertinent to the chick

Date Set = Date egg was placed or “set” in incubator

Storage time = Storage time between when the egg was laid to the date egg was set

Set weight = Set weight of egg

1. Echols, MS, Speer, BL; A Comprehensive Approach for the Management of Flock Reproductive Performance. In: Fudge, AM, Speer, BL; Obstetrical and Reproductive Medicine, Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, WB Saunders, Philadelphia, October, 1996. 2. Abramson, J: Captive Breeding and Conservation. In: Abramson, J, Speer, BL, Thomsen, JB: The Large Macaws. Raintree Publications, Fort Bragg, 1995, pp 251-265.