!!! Sad News from the Burlington Nest site.
July 11, 2009 - Burlington - Lift Bridge
Mark Nash Reports:
We have some very sad news to report regarding Maple’ situation. We have received news from the vet that Maple’s illness was too far advanced and that she has passed away during the night.
We would like to thank everyone that was involved in the rescue of Maple, and to all those that submitted your photos and observations, as it was most appreciated. They told a huge story. With the combined observations of her activity over the past days, it has been quite evident that Maple was very sick indeed.
As we suspected, based on the combined photo evidence and the visual observations of her overall body condition and behavior, we expected that her prognosis was not going to be good. Maple suffered from a number of challenges,,, in particular an avian ailment / illness called Trichomoniasis, commonly referred to as “Frounce or Tric” in raptors. It is this along with several other complications that lead to her death.
Avian trichomoniasis is principally a disease of young birds. The severity of the disease depends on the susceptibility of the bird and on the pathogenic potential of the strain of the parasite. Adult birds that and recover from the infection may still carry the parasite, but they are resistant to re-infection. These carriers do not show obvious signs of infection. Trichomoniasis is caused by contaminated food, in particular and likely in this case, from pigeons.
In young birds, the early lesions appear as small white to yellowish areas in the mouth cavity, especially the soft palate. The lesions consist of inflammation and ulceration of the mucosal surface, and increase in size and number and extend to the esophagus, crop and proventriculus. The lesions may develop into large, firm necrotic masses that may block the lumen. Occasionally, the disease may spread by penetrating the underlying tissues to involve the liver and other organs. Without a close examination of the subject, the lesions are often very difficult to detect in their early stages.
How to Know When Birds are Infected
In most cases, there may be little indication that the bird is infected, and death may occur quite suddenly. In other cases, infected raptors may stop feeding, lose weight, look ruffled and dull, and be unable to stand or maintain their balance for periods of time. Death may occur within a week of infection as the disease can spread very quickly. Milky white fluid or yellowish cheesy coloured material may accumulate in the mouth and crop, and this material may exude from the beak. A pendulous crop may develop.
How to Know if Birds are Infected with Trichomoniasis
Characteristic yellowish-white nodules in the oral cavity – (mouth), esophagus and crop strongly suggest trichomoniasis. The infection is confirmed by finding the organism during microscopic examination of the yellowish fluids, cheesy material or the lesions. By the time most birds start to exhibit signs of the illness, the infection has already taken a strong hold over the bird, and young birds with an already weakened immune system, they typically succumb to the affects of the illness.
Despite the end result, it was well worth everyone’s efforts and time spent for her both her rescue and to get her to the vet, as Frounce can be successfully treated with antibiotics and the bird can survive if caught / treated early enough. Sadly, there was no way of helping Maple until she came to the ground, as attempting to trap her in this environment, (with the addition of two attending parents) was not an option. Sadly, by the time that her condition was recognized, (given the advanced stage of her illness), it was too late for antibiotics to effectively deal with the illness.