Evaluation of Health & Behavior of Birds of the Order Psittaciformes in a Rehabilitation Facility in Costa Rica

Andrea Aplasca College of Veterinary Medicine Cornell University | Class of 2017

Outline

•  Introduction & Background

•  Objectives & Hypotheses

•  Methods

•  Results

•  Conclusions

Health PE Hematology Fecal Analysis

Behavior Foraging Flight Social

Introduction & Background

•  Order Psittaciformes – 3 Superfamilies:

•  Psittacoidea, Cacatuoidea, Strigopoidea

•  350+ species •  Threatened or Endangered: 95

Major Threats

•  Habitat Loss •  Poaching and pet trade •  1990-1994

~2 million parrots moved internationally

Confiscated animals

Rehabilitation Facilities

Stress, Transport, Dense Multi-species Groups ! Increased Risk of Disease

•  A lot of unknowns! •  History •  Location of origin •  Prior movements •  Disease exposure

Why study parrots?

•  Improve welfare and rehabilitation of individual birds

•  Ensure safety of wild populations upon release

•  Increase general knowledge about each species

•  Individual animal health = Marker for population health

Objectives

1.  Develop and implement disease surveillance program for birds in facility

2.  Evaluate behavior to identify animals suitable for release into the wild

Hypotheses

1.  Parrots in a rehabilitation facility exhibit higher prevalence of hemoparasites than free ranging birds in the neotropics

2.  Animals with higher parasite loads (type and quantity) exhibit more clinical signs associated with decreased body condition or other signs of disease

Methods: Location

•  Kids Saving the Rainforest – Costa Rica, Pacific coast – 501 (c)(3) non-profit

organization – ~ 7km from Manuel

Antonio National Park

Methods: Species

•  Enclosure 1 – 7 Red Lored Parrots – 5 Crimson Fronted

Parakeets – 1 Yellow Naped

Amazon (Vulnerable) – 1 Mealy Amazon

(Near Threatened)

Methods: Species

•  Enclosure 2 – 9 Orange Chinned Parakeets

•  2 reside within closed cage

– 1 White Crowned Parrot – 1 Brown Hooded Parrot – 1 Olive Throated Parakeet – 1 Orange Fronted Parakeet

(currently in clinic)

Methods: Species

•  Clinic Animals – 1 White Crowned Parrot – 1 Scarlet Macaw

Methods: Health Evaluation

•  Physical Exam

Methods: Health Evaluation

•  Venipuncture •  Jugular vein, basilic vein •  25 or 27 gauge needle •  1 cc heparinized syringes •  Heparinized blood tubes

•  Complete Blood Count •  WBC Count

–  Estimated & Leukopet

•  Packed Cell Volume •  Total Solids

Methods: Health Evaluation

•  Fecal Analysis – Direct

– Float (passive) •  Sodium nitrate solution (SG ~ 1.25-1.27)

– Float (centrifugation) *Gold Standard*

•  Sheather’s sugar solution (SG ~ 1.27)

– Gram’s Stain

Methods: Behavior

1.  Foraging Ability 2.  Flying Ability 3.  Social Behavior

Methods: Foraging Ability

•  Ethogram – No Int – CF: Int, Play, Eat – FF: Int, Play, Eat

Time Activity Fruit Presentation Comments

9.00 FF - Interest

papaya platform  

9.02 FF - Interest

papaya platform Moving food with beak

9.05 No Interest

     

9.10 Same-Sp     Preened Biggie’s head feathers

Methods: Foraging Ability

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

•  100% Chopped Food

•  Simple Foraging Tests

•  75% Chopped Food

•  Simple Foraging Tests

•  75% Chopped Food

•  Difficult Foraging Tests

•  AM – 45 minutes (after feed, tours, etc) •  PM – 45 minutes (before feed)

Foraging Devices – Bell – Basket – Table – Burrito – Leaves – Boxes

Methods: Flight Ability

•  Flight Cage (White hawk cage) •  Incidental Observations •  Tested within Enclosure

Methods: Social Behavior

•  Ethogram – Vocal: Natural, Human, Other – PPL – Same Sp: N, (-), (+) – Diff Sp: N, (-), (+)

Results!

Ellen Morrow 2014

Results: Health Evaluation Physical Exam

•  Most birds – No significant findings, Good body condition

Species Body Weight

Mean (g) Body Condition Score

Mean (Scale 1-5)

Red Lored Parrots (n = 7) 381 3.21

Crimson Fronted Parakeets (n = 5) 142 3

Orange Chinned Parakeets (n = 9) 61 3.67

•  Feathers trimmed •  Dull feather condition •  Leg band problems •  Chronic healed wing fractures

Results: Health Evaluation Hematology

Red Lored Parrots (n = 7)

Test Mean Range Packed Cell Volume (%) 45.9 40-51

Total Solids (g/dL) 3.51 2.7-4.1

Total White Blood Cells / uL 6099 2449-10230

Results: Health Evaluation Hematology

Crimson Fronted Parakeets (n = 5)

Test Mean Range Packed Cell Volume (%) 49 42-52

Total Solids (g/dL) 3.44 3.1-3.8

Total White Blood Cells / uL 5659 3649-7040

Results: Health Evaluation Hematology

Orange Chinned Parakeets (n = 9)

Test Mean Range Packed Cell Volume (%) 50 46-53

Total Solids (g/dL) 3.64 2.9-4.1

Total White Blood Cells / uL 4866 2654-9865

Results: Health Evaluation Fecal Analysis

•  Direct •  0/29 = 0 %

•  Float (passive) •  1/29 = 3.4 %

•  Float (centrifugation) •  5/29 = 17.2 % •  Mites

•  Gram’s stain •  22/29 = 75.9 % •  Yeast

Results: Health Evaluation Specific Cases Red Lored Parrots

Example: Candida albicans?

Roger - Fecal analysis – 1 pinworm ova

Magnum, Biggie, Gilly Few yeast with budding

Results: Health Evaluation Specific Cases

Crimson Fronted Parakeets •  Cheeks & Freckles (aka Sirol & Loris) – Moderate yeast + Budding

•  Cuckoo

Results: Health Evaluation Specific Cases

Orange Chinned Parakeets •  All had yeast

•  Hi Pair Normal Wing – 1 mite •  Caged 1 – 1 ova, Hyphae, Few yeast •  Caged 2 – 1 large larva, Few yeast

•  Olive Throated Friend + Orange Fronted

Friend •  1 larva

Results: Health Evaluation Specific Cases

•  Cherry – No specific findings on lab tests

Results: Behavioral Data

•  Total Time Observed: – 6,624 mins = 110.4 hrs

•  Total Time per Animal: – 276 mins = 4.6 hrs

Results: Foraging Ability

‘FF Eat’ •  Range: 39-113 mins

[out of 276 mins] •  3 Weeks total Time

Ranked (High to Low) Total Time (mins)

Magnum 113#Roy 96#

Jagger 87#Houdini 78#

Gilly 77#Cuckoo 69#Roger 69#Uno 65#Red 64#Hulk 58#

Freckles 53#Bossy 53#Biggie 44#Cheeks 31#

CAGE 1

Results: Foraging Ability

‘FF Eat’ •  Range: 39-113 mins

[out of 276 mins] •  Green

–  Increased from Wk 2 – Wk 3

•  Red –  Deceased from Wk 2 – Wk 3

Ranked (High to Low) Total Time (mins)

Magnum 113#Roy 96#

Jagger 87#Houdini 78#

Gilly 77#Cuckoo 69#Roger 69#Uno 65#Red 64#Hulk 58#

Freckles 53#Bossy 53#Biggie 44#Cheeks 31#

CAGE 1

Results: Foraging Ability

‘FF Eat’ •  Range: 39-113 mins

[out of 276 mins] •  Green

–  Increased from Wk 2 – Wk 3

•  Red –  Deceased from Wk 2 – Wk 3

Ranked (High to Low) Total Time (mins)

Magnum 113#Roy 96#

Jagger 87#Houdini 78#

Gilly 77#Cuckoo 69#Roger 69#Uno 65#Red 64#Hulk 58#

Freckles 53#Bossy 53#Biggie 44#Cheeks 31#

Magnum! Cuckoo! RL Uno!Wk 1 11# 18# 24#Wk 2 34# 17# 18#Wk 3 68# 34# 23#Total 113! 69! 65!

CAGE 1

Results: Foraging Ability

‘FF Eat’ •  Range: 39-113 mins

[out of 276 mins] •  Green

–  Increased from Wk 2 – Wk 3

•  Red –  Deceased from Wk 2 – Wk 3

Ranked (High to Low) Total Time (mins)

Magnum 113#Roy 96#

Jagger 87#Houdini 78#

Gilly 77#Cuckoo 69#Roger 69#Uno 65#Red 64#Hulk 58#

Freckles 53#Bossy 53#Biggie 44#Cheeks 31#

Biggie! Cheeks!Wk 1 8# 15#Wk 2 13# 2#Wk 3 23# 14#Total 44! 31!

CAGE 1

Results: Foraging Ability

‘FF Eat’ •  Range: 39-113 mins

[out of 276 mins] •  Green

–  Increased from Wk 2 – Wk 3

•  Red –  Deceased from Wk 2 – Wk 3

Ranked (High to Low) Total Time (mins)

Magnum 113#Roy 96#

Jagger 87#Houdini 78#

Gilly 77#Cuckoo 69#Roger 69#Uno 65#Red 64#Hulk 58#

Freckles 53#Bossy 53#Biggie 44#Cheeks 31#

Jagger! Gilly! Roy!Wk 1

38# 27# 63#Wk 2

43# 47# 33#Wk 3

6# 3# 0#Total 87! 77! 96!CAGE 1

Results: Foraging Ability

‘FF Eat’ •  Range: 5-69 mins

[out of 276 mins] •  3 Weeks Total Time

Animal ID Total Time (mins)

Olive!Throated! 69#

Orange!Fronted!Friend! 61#

Hi!Pair!Wonky! 45#

Olive!Throat!Friend! 42#

Lo!Pair!Normal! 29#

Hi!Pair!Normal! 25#

Termite!Guy! 12#

Lo!Pair!Wonky! 12#

Brown!Hooded! 7#

White!Crowned! 5#

CAGE 2

‘FF Eat’ •  Range: 5-69 mins

[out of 276 mins] •  3 Weeks Total Time

Animal ID Total Time (mins)

Olive!Throated! 69#

Orange!Fronted!Friend! 61#

Hi!Pair!Wonky! 45#

Olive!Throat!Friend! 42#

Lo!Pair!Normal! 29#

Hi!Pair!Normal! 25#

Termite!Guy! 12#

Lo!Pair!Wonky! 12#

Brown!Hooded! 7#

White!Crowned! 5#

CAGE 2

Animal ID Week 3 Time (mins)

Orange Fronted Friend! 30#

Hi Pair Normal! 21#

Hi Pair Wonky! 21#

Lo Pair Normal! 17#

Olive Throat Friend! 15#

Olive Throated! 10#

Lo Pair Wonky! 9#

Brown Hooded! 4#

Termite Guy! 2#

White Crowned! 0#

Total Time Week 3

Results: Flight Ability CAGE 1

Species Animal ID Seen Flying Comments

Yellow Naped Amazon Houdini X

Mealy Amazon Hulk X Very good

Red Lored Parrot Roger

Red Lored Parrot Roy X

Red Lored Parrot Gilly X Fair (Tested)

Red Lored Parrot Uno X

Red Lored Parrot Magnum X Very good

Red Lored Parrot Biggie X

Red Lored Parrot Jagger X

Crimson Fronted Parakeet Cuckoo X Very good

Crimson Fronted Parakeet Bossy X Very good

Crimson Fronted Parakeet Red X Very good

Crimson Fronted Parakeet Freckles X Very good

Crimson Fronted Parakeet Cheeks X Fair, Reluctant (Tested)

Results: Flight Ability CAGE 2

Species Animal ID Seen Flying Comments

Orange Fronted Parakeet Pip Squeak X Good, but very reluctant

White Crowned Parrot Peachy X Fair, very reluctant

Brown Hooded Parrot Buffy X Very good (Tested)

Olive Throated Parrot Angel X Very good

Orange Chinned Parakeet Olive Throat Friend X Very good

Orange Chinned Parakeet Orange Front Friend X Fair

Orange Chinned Parakeet Termite Guy X Very good

Orange Chinned Parakeet Hi Pair Normal X Very good

Orange Chinned Parakeet Hi Pair Wonky X Very good

Orange Chinned Parakeet Lo Pair Normal (Tested)

Orange Chinned Parakeet Lo Pair Wonky (Tested)

Orange Chinned Parakeet Caged 1 NA Not Tested

Orange Chinned Parakeet Caged 2 NA Not Tested

Results: Social Behavior

CAGE 1

Animal Total Time (mins)

Cheeks 133#Freckles 113#

Uno 66#Gilly 41#

Magnum 21#Jagger 21#Bossy 18#Biggie 17#Red 13#

Roger 10#Roy 2#

Cuckoo 0#Houdini 0#

Hulk 0#

‘SS +’ •  Range: 0-133 mins

[out of 276 mins]

Results: Social Behavior

CAGE 1

Animal Total Time (mins)

Gilly 95#Red 77#

Biggie 72#Houdini 47#Bossy 18#

Cuckoo 17#Hulk 4#

Roger 4#Roy 0#Uno 0#

Magnum 0#Jagger 0#Cheeks 0#Freckles 0#

‘DS +’ •  Range: 0-95 mins

[out of 276 mins]

Results: Social Behavior

CAGE 1

Animal Total Time (mins)

Jagger 11#Mealy 7#Uno 6#

Cuckoo 4#Roy 3#

Cheeks 3#Roger 1#

Houdini 0#Gilly 0#

Magnum 0#Biggie 0#Bossy 0#Red 0#

Freckles 0#

‘PPL Int’ •  Range: 0-11

[out of 276 mins] •  Did not interact with

birds intentionally

•  May be possible future test?

Results: Social Behavior

CAGE 1

Vocalizations

Animal Frequency

Yellow Naped Amazon “Houdini” 11#

Mealy Amazon “Hulk” 7#

Red Lored Parrot “Roy” 4#

Red Lored Parrot “Roger” 3#

Red Lored Parrot “Jagger”

1#

CAGE 2

Results: Social Behavior

‘SS +’ •  Range: 0-188 mins

[out of 276 mins]

Animal ID Total Time (mins)

Lo!Pair!Normal! 188#

Hi!Pair!Normal! 186#

Lo!Pair!Wonky! 175#

Hi!Pair!Wonky! 132#

Orange!Fronted!Friend! 10#White!Crown! 0#Brown!Hood! 0#Olive!Throat! 0#OT!Friend! 0#

Termite!Guy! 0#

CAGE 2

Results: Social Behavior

‘DS +’ •  Range: 0-111 mins

[out of 276 mins]

Animal ID Total Time (mins)

Olive!Throat! 111#

Olive!Throated!Friend! 110#Termite!Guy! 28#

Orange!Fronted!Friend! 16#

White!Crowned! 15#

Brown!Hooded! 12#

Hi!Pair!Non>Wonky! 0#

Hi!Pair!Wonky! 0#

Lo!Pair!Non>Wonky! 0#

Lo!Pair!Wonky! 0#

CAGE 2

Results: Social Behavior

‘PPL Int’ •  Range: 0-14 mins

[out of 276 mins]

Animal ID Total Time (mins)

Brown!Hood! 14#

Org!F!Friend! 6#

Hi!Pair!Non>Wonky! 2#

Hi!Pair!Wonky! 2#

Lo!Pair!Non>Wonky! 1#

White!Crown! 0#

Olive!Throat! 0#

OT!Friend! 0#

Termite!Guy! 0#

Lo!Pair!Wonky! 0#

General Conclusions

•  Baseline study to identify potential individuals for release

•  Majority of animals appear clinically healthy

General Conclusions

•  Good candidates for soft release – Good foragers during Week 3 – Strong flying ability – Positive social behaviors with same species – Low interest in people – Clinically healthy

Candidates for soft release: Report Card!

Animal ID Wk 3 Forager

Good Flyer SS + Low PPL Int

Health Check

Uno X X X X

Magnum X X X X Yeast + Budding

Biggie X X Poor X Yeast + Budding

Red X X Fair X

Bossy X X Fair X

Freckles X X X X

Cheeks X Fair X X Wing Clipped

Cuckoo x x Poor X Wing Clipped

CAGE 1

Candidates for soft release: Report Card!

Animal ID Wk 3 Forager

Good Flyer SS + Low PPL Int

Health Check

Hi Pair Normal

X X X X 1 Mite, Yeast + Budding

Hi Pair Wonky

X X X X Hi Yeast + Budding

Olive T Friend

X X Poor X Occ Yeast + Budding

Orange F Friend

X Fair Poor X Mod Yeast + Budding

Termite Guy

? X Poor X Hi Yeast + Budding

CAGE 2

Hypotheses

1.  Parrots in a rehabilitation facility exhibit higher prevalence of hemoparasites than free ranging birds in the neotropics

2.  Animals with higher parasite loads (type and quantity) exhibit more clinical signs associated with decreased body condition or other signs of disease

Hypotheses

1.  Parrots in a rehabilitation facility exhibit higher prevalence of hemoparasites than free ranging birds in the neotropics

2.  Animals with higher parasite loads (type and quantity) exhibit more clinical signs associated with decreased body condition or other signs of disease

Not Supported

Hypotheses

1.  Parrots in a rehabilitation facility exhibit higher prevalence of hemoparasites than free ranging birds in the neotropics

2.  Animals with higher parasite loads (type and quantity) exhibit more clinical signs associated with decreased body condition or other signs of disease

Not Supported

Not Conclusive

Challenges: Health Evaluation

•  High stress physical exams •  Sick bird may have “normal” blood

values – What are the “normal” values??

•  Fecal parasites – shed intermittently – Pooled samples?

•  Gram’s stain – very delicate process •  No viral testing

Challenges: Behavior

•  A LOT of animals! •  ~4.5 hrs per animal – Enough? •  Many observers – Inherent subjectivity •  Social structure affects behavior •  Less active during bad weather

Additional Work

•  Examine effect of weather on behavior •  Is behavior different in AM vs. PM? •  Is behavior related to clinical findings? •  Definitive parasite IDs •  Soft release of identified birds

Thank You!

•  Project Development –  Dr. Maria Pia Martin –  Dr. Noha Abou-Madi –  Dr. Robert P. Moore –  Mandy Kain

•  Project Support –  Cornell University

College of Veterinary Medicine

Thank You!

•  Army of Volunteers for hours & hours of:

– Observations, Observations, Observations

– Keeping an eye on Hulk while wrangling parrots

–  Luring tiny parakeets into sunflower-filled cages

Appendix Species Information

•  Red Lored Parrots (Amazona autumnaiis) –  Pairs, groups, large flocks –  Life span 80 yrs –  Least concern

•  Crimson Fronted Parakeet (Psittacara finschi) –  Single of mixed species groups –  Least concern, forest edges, maybe increasing

•  Orange Chinned Parakeets –  Large groups up to 50 birds –  Small groups/pairs during breeding