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440 Hand-Rearing Birds

much as possible. At this stage, do only as much as necessary to stabilize an injury – a broken wing
can often get a simple metacarpal wrap initially, and then a time‐consuming splint and wing wrap
later, after the patient is more stable. See Duerr et al. (2017) for information regarding treatment of
orthopedic injuries in small birds.
Fecal matter may cake around the vent area, causing blockage. This can be caused by dehydra-
tion, improper diet, or illness. Gently wash the fecal matter away with warm water on a soft cloth.
The bird should defecate once the blockage is gone. Check for dehydration and signs of inflamma-
tion around the vent.

Common Medical Problems and Solutions

Caught by Cat
One of the most common predators of both young and adult doves is the domestic cat. The cat’s
oral flora contains Pasturella multocida, a gram‐negative rod that is highly infective and can kill a
bird quickly if not treated. If a bird is admitted with any reported interaction with a cat, it should
be put on antibiotics immediately even in the absence of confirmed puncture or laceration
wounds. Regardless of origin, all open wounds should be treated with antibiotic such as Clavamox
(amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid) at 125 mg/kg twice daily for 7–14 days (Hawkins et al. 2018).
Continue antibiotic therapy until wounds have completely healed. Provide control for pain and
inflammation using meloxicam orally at 0.5 mg/kg twice daily for 3–10 days, with an initial load-
ing dose of 1 mg/kg.

Miscellaneous Lacerations

All open wounds should be closed or covered. Whenever possible, closure of lacerations should
be done with sutures and/or surgical glue. This is especially true of wounds at highly mobile areas
like the knee, which usually need to be sutured. Peri‐operative pain control can be provided by
dripping a small amount of dilute lidocaine (a 2% solution further diluted into saline at 2 : 8,
0.2 ml 2% lidocaine with 0.8 ml 0.9% NaCl); this is less physiologically stressful and less time con-
suming than full anesthesia. These species, when stressed, can be poor anesthetic candidates and
may have a better prognosis when wounds are treated intermittently over the course of a few
hours. However, if a procedure is going to be prolonged or especially painful, isoflurane gas anes-
thesia is an option, when available. If sutures or glue are not possible, cover with an adhesive
dressing after cleaning the wound. Self‐adhesive hydrocolloid dressings work well to keep the
wound moist and protected while allowing tissue to heal. Another option is a semi‐permeable
film dressing such as Tegaderm™ (3M™), which can be more easily shaped to the small, curved
surfaces of these patients, but when used alone may tend to allow the wound to dry out and con-
sequently prolong healing. Each type of dressing has its benefits and use is determined by the
circumstances of the individual case.
Creams and ointments should never be used in conjunction with sutures. These greasy sub -
stances are notorious for causing the sutures to dehisce. In general, ointments should not be
used on birds with open wounds because they rapidly make the surrounding feathers, and
often the entire bird, increasingly greasy, thus damaging feathers and destroying
waterproofing.