Thursday, July 14, 2011

Never a Dull Moment

Because I come into the Center on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, there is a period of 4 days that I am away from the birds. Although I try to stay updated on what is going on by accessing the WILD-ONe database from home, a lot can happen in a couple of days. I often come into the Center on Thursday to see many new birds or see many old birds with new care being given. Today when I came in, there were several new birds I hadn't seen.

One of them was a young blue Jay fledgling. He came in with a ruptured air sac, likely due to an attack from a cat. Unlike humans and other mammals, birds need to take two breaths to get air to the lungs. Mammals inhale to bring air into the lungs and exhale to release it. This respiration is bidirectional, meaning that there is a mix of "old" and "new" air in the lungs. Birds on the other hand, inhale once to get air into structures called air sacs. Inhaling again brings that air into the lungs, before the bird exhales to release the air. This is a type of unidirectional respiration. The lungs in a bird only contain "new" air with higher volumes of oxygen available for diffusion into the blood. This is important in thermoregulation as well as maintaining the metabolism necessary for long periods of flight.

Air sacs are relatively close to the skin, especially in young birds, and are easily punctured if the bird is clawed by a cat or dog. When an air sac is punctured, air can leak out of the air sac into the body cavities under the skin. This is called subcutaneous emphysema. As you can see in the Blue Jay, pockets of air develop resulting in a bloating or bubbling of the skin. It is this ruptured air sac that is causing him to look much more like a bullfrog and that a Blue Jay.




Birds typically have 9 air sacs. Therefore if one is ruptured, there are still several more to direct air into the lungs. However, it is an injury that takes time to heal and it is a painful ordeal for the bird due to the extreme stretching of the skin and tissues. The air sac linings are very thin and are typically just one cell thick. For that reason, with antibiotics and time, the air sac will repair itself and the problem will subside. This blue jay will therefore receive Amoxicillin, an antibiotic to help heal the air sac lining. Additionally, he will be prescribed Meloxicam, an anti-inflammatory drug that helps reduce swelling and pain.

We also received a pair of orioles. I can not recall the reason they were taken into the Center. However, they are beautiful birds and their songs are easily recognized among the loud chaos inside the building.



We also have a couple of older Blue Jays that are just about ready to be released, as soon as a flight cage becomes available. These two fellows are doing very well and loving the space of the playpen to fly around and stretch their wings. I even caught them playing with and fighting over a piece of tissue at one point.



On a final note, the American Crow mentioned in an previous entry unfortunately had to be euthanized. He was an older bird and after fecal tests and exams, we found that he had too many parasites. We tried to treat the bird but over time, he did not show improvement. We spoke with Dr. G, a veterinarian who specializes in avian species. He advised that with medications, the crow should show an improvement over the period of 3 weeks. Unfortunately, this did not happen and he was therefore euthanized. It was not an easy decision, and I was particularly fond of the crow. However, with all of the issues he had, he must have been feeling terrible and the kindest and most selfless help we could have offered was a release from that discomfort.

1 comment:

  1. I didn’t fully read this but can a ruptured air sac kill the bird?

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