Bacterial Diseases: An introduction

First of all, I commend those on the internet that have spoken of their trials and tribulations breeding cockatiels, especially those who have been bold enough to speak of their disease transmissions. A long time breeder, Phil Feret, once told me: "If you stay in cockatiels long enough, its not a question of getting a disease, its WHEN will you get it". I have found this completely true as I learn from my problems and others around me. I like to use the following to compare our cockatiels to humans. As a mother, I stayed home with my second child. Unlike my first, he rarely got sick and I was so happy he wasn't in daycare where he could catch all those colds. Colds are usually bacterial or viral and are often passed from one child to a toy to another child. My first child had ear infections, colds, and the like. Then, my first child went off to school. I didn't realize it then, but the instances of colds were really not an issue. He rarely had one and was quite health. Now, my second child reached kindergarten age. Well, lo and behold, he was the one catching all the colds. He rarely spread it to his brother and I asked his pediatrician why. Immunity, that is why. Every child has to get their immunity to colds. They either do it when they go to preschool or when they go to kindergarten. A child who has built up their immunity early on will experience their excessive colds at an earlier age. This can be equated to birds. We can't lock our children up in the house for the first couple of years and expect that nothing will touch them. It doesn't work that way. Birds MUST be able to handle a certain amount of bacteria. Bacteria is an important part of their lives. They gain tolerance to small bacterial growths and will rid them asymptomatically from their systems. Bacteria is everywhere. Its on our hands when we grab them, its in their environment (in water dishes especially) and its considered "their flora".

I often see folks having bacterial problems when they introduce new birds to their flock. You have five cockatiels and soon, because we know they are addictive, we have purchased 20 more. To us, we preach quaranteen. And its a good thing to preach. We must protect our flock from new stock and the dangers they possess. But, regardless of any amount of quaranteen, we must expect new additions to upset the balance of our flock. Additions of birds into our flock bring the stress of a new flock member vying for position and learning where he or she fits in. They also bring with them a "new" flora that your present birds must get used to. The same is true in the opposite. The new birds may be exposed to new bacteria that our present birds are used to living around. With the stress of the additions, comes a small decrease in immunity brought about by stress. Therefore its very important to reduce stressful situations such as fighting and incompatibility in the flock before and after the introduction. The less stress, the more successful the introductions will be. Buying birds from reputable breeders help but does not total guarantee birds free of disease and bacteria. Proper veterinary care and preventatives should be discussed with your veterinarian before and after introductions. Many folks will test birds for devastating diseases (such as psittacosis, polyoma, and beak and feather) while the bird is still separated from the flock. Its not enough to have the birds away from the flock, they must be in a totally different airspace and you must have good biosecurity between the two areas.

That being said, in the next article I will discuss a few bacterial diseases. My discussions will site references of research and what I have experienced as a breeder. None are to be used as guides for treatment. Only a qualified veterinarian can help you with that. Testing will result in better antibiotic choices and courses of action (disinfection techniques and isolation techniques). I always refer to my veterinarian or local department of agriculture before I can be sure of a complete diagnosis. Overuse of medications can result in, at the least, poor results and , at the worse, making the problem worse. Antibiotics can hurt tender organs and dosages must be exact. Your veterinarian should be able to give you what type of bacteria (if at all) is present and the sensitivity test can be run on the antibiotics to find which antibiotics it is sensitive to. I strongly urge against using any antibiotic not prescribed by a veterinarian or following "internet" advice.