CPR for parrots

[MKparrot]

Parrots can suffer hard attack!!!! It is a true and not a myth, but I was surprised to find out that there is such a thing as CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) for birds

 

CPR can save a bird's life in the correct circumstances. CPR is much more likely to be effective if the bird has suffered from acute trauma, and conversely, it is unlikely to have a positive outcome if the bird is very debilitated and has been ill for a long period of time and the body finally gives out.

 

The basics of CPR are the same, whether dealing with a human, dog or bird. The three things that are evaluated before initiating CPR are: breathing, airway and pulse. When you come across an unconscious person, you get close to the person to listen and feel for breathing. You can use the old mirror trick by holding a small compact mirror up to the nose of a person to look for condensation on the surface.

 

You watch the chest for respirations and movement. Next, you open the mouth and look for any obstructions, and with a human (or dog) you can even sweep the mouth with your fingers to ensure that the airway is clear and nothing is blocking it.

 

To open the airway, the head is tilted back. Next, you feel for a pulse and listen for a heartbeat. You can even place your ear against the chest to listen for the heartbeat if no stethoscope is available.

 

If the patient is not breathing, and the airway is clear, rescue breathing is begun. If there is no respiration, the airway is clear and there is no pulse or heartbeat, then CPR is begun.

 

If a bird is found unconscious, the same parameters are evaluated: respiration (looking for the breast rising and falling, see if the abdomen is rising and falling, as well), airway (open the beak and examine the oral cavity, clear if necessary with a finger or cotton-tipped applicator, taking care to not have a finger bitten) and heartbeat (since it would be difficult to find and evaluate a pulse on a bird, listen to the chest on either side of the keel bone for heartbeat, or use a stethoscope, if available).

 

For those of you who need a brief anatomy lesson at this point, at the base of the tongue is the glottis, which is the opening of the airway. You may need to gently pull the tongue forward to visualize the opening of the windpipe. The heart is basically centrally located far beneath the breast muscles, and under the keel bone, almost midpoint along the length of the keelbone. There are nares (nostrils) at the base of the beak, either in the fleshy band called the cere or at the edge of the beak where feathers meet beak tissue.

 

Once you have evaluated the unconscious bird, check for respirations and clear the airway. Check for a heartbeat. If there is no breathing but the bird still has a heartbeat, begin rescue breathing. While holding the bird's head in one hand and supporting the body in the other, tilt the patient slightly away from you. With your head turned a quarter turn to the right or left, begin respirations. For small birds, you can seal your lips around the beak and nares, and for large birds, seal your lips around the beak only, while placing the index finger over the nares. Take a breath and blow five quick breaths into the bird's beak. The strength of each puff of breath should be determined by the size of the bird; for a little bird, just small puffs are needed, but for larger birds, you will need to use more force to breathe air into the lungs and airsacs. This takes practice and some skill, to learn how much force is necessary to adequately inflate the lungs.

 

Remember that birds breathe like a bellows, out and in, so look for a rising of the sternum with each breath. You can visualize this most easily where the sternum meets the abdomen. If the breast is not rising, then you are not getting enough air into the respiratory tract and you must recheck to ensure that the airway is open. If the breast is rising with each puff, then pause after five breaths and observe the bird to see if the bird has begun breathing on its own again. If it has not, then give two more puffs of breath and evaluate for breathing again. Don't forget to check periodically to ensure that the bird's heart is still beating. You will continue the two puffs, then checking to see if the bird is breathing and that the heart is still beating, either until the bird begins respiring on its own or until you can present the bird to your avian veterinarian or emergency clinic.

 

If there is no respiration, the airway is clear and there is no heartbeat, or if the bird's heart stops beating while performing rescue breathing, then you will begin CPR. You will continue providing puffs of breath into the beak and add chest compressions. Birds have a very rapid heart rate when compared to humans and dogs, so you will attempt to provide the bird with 40-60 compressions per minute, based on the size of the bird. Placing one to three fingers on the keelbone (depending on the size of the bird, one finger for budgies, three for macaws), begin applying finger pressure to the keel bone, depressing the keel, which will in turn, compress the heart, moving blood through the tissues. As with performing rescue breathing, the amount of pressure necessary to depress the sternum adequately can be adjusted, based on the depth of sternal compression.

 

The pattern will be five puffs of breath initially, followed by ten compressions, check the bird for heartbeat and breathing, then give two breaths, ten compressions, two breaths, ten more compressions, continuing in this manner for a minute. Have someone time this for you, if possible. At one minute, re-evaluate the bird for heartbeat and respiration. Continue providing CPR in this manner until the bird either recovers or is safely transferred to a veterinary clinic or emergency facility. If the bird begins breathing on its own it should be placed in a warm, quiet environment and you should then contact your avian veterinarian for instructions on what to do next.

 

If this column has piqued your interest, please investigate CPR classes in your area, or perhaps ask your avian veterinarian if he or she will teach a small class for interested bird owners. It is best if you can practice CPR on a human dummy, a dog dummy or even a stuffed bird before you ever need to perform this on a live patient. NEVER attempt to practice avian CPR on a live, healthy pet bird!!!

 

Once the bird has been delivered to the avian veterinarian, the bird will be re-evaluated and possibly intubated (meaning that a tube will be placed into the trachea or windpipe, or if necessary, an air sac breathing tube can be placed into an air sac, bypassing the windpipe, in certain situations). Once a breathing tube is in place, oxygen can be supplied to the bird via the tube. Certain medications can be administered to the bird either directly into the breathing tube or into a vein, if one is accessible, that can attempt to stimulate the heart, correct metabolic problems and stimulate breathing, as well. Your avian veterinarian will provide your best chance for stabilization and recovery.

 

Hopefully, you will never need to use CPR but I thought it is worth knowing.

[Dave007]

Here at Grey Forums, serious medical procedures , prescribed meds, are given by vets not by unlisenced individuals. We aren't licenced vets here. Members are told in the stickys not to submit or perform any type of serious medical procedure application unless it has to do with basic minor first aid. People have been told what kind of small medical kit they should have around. That's also posted in stickys.

It would be appreciated not to give directions on how to do these medical procedures. There are people out there that might actually try to do these things and may wind up killing their bird/birds.

They also may not read your full post.

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?128950-VETERINARIANS

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

I have had to do CPR when my Amazon was stuck under a gate and was on her last breath when I walked in the door. Dogs were freaking out, let me know something was wrong. I was doing CPR, all the birds and dogs gathered, and were quiet. They knew I was trying to save Kiki. She lived. Once they go into ROSC( recovery), then you call your vet, or emergency vet. I am pediatric certified, and apply that knowledge to my birds.I hope I never have to do that again! It sucked! Nancy

Edited December 4, 2013 by Dave007

[birdhouse]

OP is a direct quote from an article posted here & here:

 

http://exoticpetvet.net/avian/cpr.html

 

http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-diet-and-health/bird-emergency-care/bird-cpr.aspx

 

All posters should remember it is VERY important to quote sources; legally, morally & credibly.

 

 

 

As Dave said, this is a dicey topic. The odds of someone actually causing harm to their fid using techniques from an unprofessional source are much, much too great.

 

However, there are many of our members who just don't have access to nearby basic avian medical care, let alone emergency medical assistance for their fids. The more any parront can learn before their fid is in distress, the better.

 

So as the well rounded site that we've attempted to create, it would seem it might be reasonable to share some of this type of information.

 

 

 

**Any poster needs to be extremely careful to discuss topics in a responsible manner, though. Always remembering that what they post can very well result in death to someone's fid.

 

** PLEASE only reference & quote the most credible, professional sources when posting.

 

** No one should ever attempt to use any information found on GF or any website before thorough research & w/the full knowledge they're risking harm or worse to their fid.

 

 

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**** Wherever possible, always seek medical help from an avian certified vet as soon as you think there's a problem. ****

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Edited December 4, 2013 by birdhouse

[Dave007]

Posting links that give out professional information is fine with me. If a person goes there and decides to attempt to do these procedures, that's fine too. BUT, no matter what bad outcomes develop, at least they won't be connected or linked to this board or to a person or people on this board who may have suggested these procedures.

The one thing I've found through the years is that people simply won't take responsibilty for another person's bird when that bird suffers because of something bad that was suggested especially when it's made to sound like the best thing to do.

I'm the mod of this health room and my first major concern is the safety and general health of the various parrots who are in all stages of fantastic, great, good, average, bad and poor health. I'm not concerned about people. People can fend for themselves. Birds cant.

 

If people here don't like the various rules in the Health Room or have a complaint concerning me, feel free to contact the Admin (Talon) , Dan ( Super Mod ) , Judy ( Site Mod ). The best and fastest way to contact these people is by PM.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Dave007

[SRSeedBurners]

Funny story -

 

We have a pet prairie dog that lives outside. I have her in a containment fence which uses an electric wire 3 inches off the ground to train her to stay in. I screwed up and used the wrong charger when I first set it up. I thought she was still in her cat crate when we were going to test it but she slipped out and ran straight for the fence. I didn't know it but she got herself caught under the wire and stunned then began to cook. I only noticed because I smelled her burnt fur. It took me a while to get to where I could cut the power and was sure I lost her. Anyway, I go get her and she's limp, no heartbeat, no breathing. I commence chest compressions on my prairie dog. It took about 1.5 minutes before I could get a pulse going but no breathing so I started pumping air into her with my mouth. I finally got her breathing. After that it took about 45 minutes before she could move again on her own but overnight she sort of just recovered. No lasting effects that we know of.

 

My teenager couldn't believe I saved the prairie dog. Her comments were, you can never tell Marietta (my wife). She's right, she'd kill me. The prairie dog has to stay in this fence because she bit the neighbors and sent them to the hospital for stitches.

[Talon]

What a story, thank you for sharing! I'm in awe of the sight of you giving a praire dog cpr & having the courage to breath into his mouth..I would be in such fear of him coming to and ripping my face off!!

[SRSeedBurners]

What a story, thank you for sharing! I'm in awe of the sight of you giving a praire dog cpr & having the courage to breath into his mouth..I would be in such fear of him coming to and ripping my face off!!

 

She's a very sweet prairie dog. But like parrots, they are wild animals and have the instinct to bite. The neighbors were feeding her (which is why I had to build a containment fence, she was going over for treats) and she instinctively took the end of one of their fingers. There's a video on youtube or maybe it was America's Funniest videos of someone giving a kitten cpr. That was going through my head when I was trying to save 'Peaches'. I had her laid in my hand the same way massaging her chest and abdomen all the while doing compressions. Can't believe it worked. I need to post some video of her on here, she's a real cutie.

[danmcq]

Good comments by all and very truthful. A person not familiar with cpr can at times cause harm rather than help even on a human, especially a baby for example. Of course, in a 911 where seconds, much less minutes dictate survival, it is better to try than to just let them pass away in my opinion.

 

Just a week ago, I was siting outside with my wife wife all the white crowned sparrows frolicking and eating the seeds I put out for them in my yard. They are very playful and robust birds. They all had chicks probably only 3 months old. As we were watching, I heard a loud DINK come from our cyclone fence. Then I noticed a little tail sticking out of a bush just below pulsating and quivering. So I jumped up to see if that sparrow was ok. I gently lifted it out of the bush and it was completely limp. I had to support it's head while placing it gently in my cupped hand. I got back over to the porch and sat down watching the chest for movement and also the eyes. After 30 seconds or so. I decided it was not breathing at all and could hear no heart beat. I did try cpr very gently not wanting to hurt the sparrow any further. However, after 10 minutes or so there was still no heart beat or breathing. It also started turning cold in terms of body temperature and rigamortis set in. I then knew it was dead. Probably from a broken neck. I must say this was a very sad experience. I dug a deep hole under a tree, said a little prayer and buried him/her. We have watched these babies fledge and frolic. They are so playful chasing each other around and bothering the adults. They along with their parents play with things like picking up leaves and throwing them in the air and then hopping over and grabbing them to do so again. They snatch up a twig and carry it around as the others try and get it from them. It's like watching wee human children playing. We have become very attached to this flock and it seems, they to us. I know it's nature, but loss of even one is sorrowful...

 

Anyway, my thought is if it is a 911 and seconds count, do cpr. But, before then learn all you can. There are places that you can go to to learn this and also receive a certificate stating you are certified to do cpr, on humans anyway. I was licensed several years ago during an in-house class brought in by our employer and have kept it renewed yearly. I would strongly encourage all to do so. You never know when an event may happen that your the only one around to help another person or critter that needs resuscitating until medically qualified persons arrive.

Edited December 4, 2013 by danmcq

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

EVERYONE should learn how to do CPR. You never know. Of course in any animal situation... you certainly have to try. They won't make it to the vet. Many of us that were unfortunately put in a situation that required CPR, were pleasantly surprised, that it worked. I would take an animal CPR course in a heartbeat! I just applied my pediatric knowledge, thought that was the best course... and happy it worked.

Dave... Certainly, noone has a complaint against you! You have alot of responsibility on this site, and I can see how it could come back to bite you! It is parents responsibility to educate themselves.

Talon... LOL! I'd have a hard time with a prairie dog too! Nancy