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Bumblefoot is a term used to describe an infectious or inflammatory condition involving the bottom of the foot pad on one or both feet in birds. Causes include improper perching surfaces or traumatic injuries to one or both foot pads. The condition is painful and causes the bird to become lame on the affected foot/feet. Proper veterinary care is essential to resolving this severe condition.
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Blue-green algae, also called cyanobacteria, are found in fresh and brackish water of ponds and lakes. These microscopic bacteria can also grow in backyard fountains, garden pots, bird baths, and anywhere water is stagnant. Regardless of where they are found, cyanobacteria can be dangerous.
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Egg yolk peritonitis is commonly diagnosed in laying hens when yolk from a developing egg or an incompletely shelled or ruptured egg is deposited within the body cavity rather than passing normally from the ovary, into the oviduct, and then out of the body as a fully shelled egg. The yolk material that is released into the coelomic cavity causes inflammation of the peritoneum and typically the development of fluid within the coelom. Affected birds will often stop laying, become less active, have distended abdomens, and have difficulty breathing. Veterinarians diagnose egg yolk peritonitis through a combination of physical examination findings, blood testing, and imaging with radiographs or ultrasound. Treatment is supportive, with supplemental feeding, anti-inflammatory medication, antibiotics, hormones to prevent further egg laying. With more advanced cases, oxygen therapy and fluid drainage from the abdomen may be necessary.
