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Stella, a young Gyr falcon hybrid, presented to AVS last year with a case of bumblefoot in her left foot. Bumblefoot is essentially an inflammatory condition of the feet, with in most cases infection occurring secondary to a penetrating wound or more often pressure damage to the ball of the foot from either trauma or inappropriate perching, causing […]

In December, AVS welcomed friends and colleagues Dr Larry Nemetz and Donna Garrou from the world renowned ‘The BIRD Clinic’ in California. Larry is the world’s leading psittacine soft tissue surgeon and via numerous seminars and practical sessions we were trained in the very latest anaesthesia and micro surgical techniques. Although in regular contact for case discussions (which in this digital age […]

A few recent cases have alerted us to potential problems with inhaled toxins/irritants in birds of prey. Optimal ventilation with the provision of ‘fresh air’ is essential in all animals; though with the birds’ unique respiratory tract of air sacs ventilating a static lung it is even more critical. Their specialized respiratory system is able to extract the massive […]

Toby, a very handsome 2 year old budgie presented recently to AVS with a history of a lump on his chest that had been getting progressively larger over the past few weeks. He was also bobbing his head, as if trying to regurgitate, and his owners reported he had been uncharacteristically ‘smelly’ during this period. On […]

This stunning recently fledged wild hobby was rushed in to AVS after being rescued by falconer and raptor rehabilitator Phil Ashley. The bird had been tangled up in a wire fence and sustained a soft tissue injury to the underside of its wing. Thankfully although extremely bruised there were no fractures evident and due to […]

For decades leg bands or rings have been used as the ‘standard’ method of identifying individual birds. Although relatively cheap and easy to apply, leg bands/rings have many disadvantages. First is the fact they can become caught on toys, cage bars/covers or even furniture and owners clothing. The bird will often panic when caught up […]

Henrietta, a 4 year old pet chook is back to her normal feisty self after undergoing surgery to remove a particularly unpleasant tumour from her tail. When she presented to AVS with a large, rapidly growing and now bleeding mass, we feared the worst, especially as it seemed to have significant attachment to the tissues […]

Here is another case that illustrates the incredible healing powers of our avian patients.  A female peregrine falcon presented to the clinic last month with, as you can see, an incredibly swollen toe after sustaining an injury whilst fee lofted in her moulting aviary. We still have no idea how this injury occurred in this […]

In April Richard travelled to Paris for the International Conference for Avian, Reptile and Exotic Mammal medicine (ICARE).  He attended as both a delegate to keep up to date with the very latest developments in the field of avian medicine and a lecturer, presenting a paper titled ‘The surgical management of an ovarian sex cord […]

Once again a pet chicken has proved that they are one of the toughest creatures on the planet!! When ‘Roosty’ was rushed into AVS late one night after being attacked by a dog I have to say we didn’t think she would survive. She was extremely shocked and collapsed with multiple severe bite wounds all over […]