Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic

Cuddles the Eclectus became lethargic at home and presented to the clinic. His well meaning owners had sprayed coconut oil skincare under his wings for his dry skin.

We do not recommend using any type of oil on birds. The oil damages their feathers, and can make them sick when they preen and ingest it. It can be especially damaging when oils designed for humans is used as these often contains fragrances and chemicals.

Cuddles stayed in hospital for a few days for bathing and monitoring. And his feathers were looking much better when he went home!

Note: bathing should be done under the supervision of a professional as there is a risk of aspiration

Physical Exam, Faecal Check and Disease Screening for two lovely Buffon's Macaws 💚❤️ This species of macaw is endangered in the wild, so they're not a very common sight!

We always recommend a vet check either pre-sale or post-purchase/adoption of new birds

These birds are owned by on Instagram

Waiting very patiently for his appointment with Dr Corrie 🥰

Beautiful Blue and Gold Macaws that came in this week 💙💛

Two 10 year olds vs a 7 month old

Hi all,
Just back from the USA where I was speaking at and attending the Association of Avian Veterinarians conference in Kansas. My great grandfather was a Mississippi river boat captain, so I used the opportunity to do a lovely riverboat trip from Memphis to Nashville with my niece. Great to see the way Bald Eagles have made a comeback with pesticide controls implemented over the past decades. Then to California where I stayed with Dr Nikki Becich, who heads the AAV conservation committee on which I serve, visiting the International Oiled Bird Rescue Centre, a centre of excellence with oiled bird treatment and rehabilitation and one of their lovely release sites where we encountered elephant seals as well as pelicans and other shore birds. Also visited Dr Brian Speer’s beautiful avian practice. He was one of the first to introduce fluoroscopy and CT scanning in his practice, using the same unit we now have at Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic. Thanks to all our great staff who looked after you (or should I say y’all?) and your feathered companions, and the wildies, while I was away and congratulations to Dr Corrie Pinkster on achieving her membership in Behavioural Medicine.
Best, Dr Pat Macwhirter

Can you guess the parasite? And whether it's an external or internal one? 😊

Angry Birb is a special little cockatiel owned by our staff. She came into work recently due to abnormal droppings and a quieter demeanour, but her microscopic faecal examination had no abnormalities seen. Upon further investigation, Dr Matt found 2 very solid objects, about the size of two large peas in her crop. We were perplexed as to how such a small bird could have swallowed such large objects, were they almonds? Perhaps a piece of wood?

After monitoring Angry Birb for a few days, we re-examined her and found the objects had not decreased in size, so we opted for surgical intervention. Dr Matt carefully opened a small incision in her crop, and removed the two objects - which at first glance looked like 2 garden stones!

We cut the "rocks" open and discovered they were actually Ingluvioliths. Ingluvial refers to the crop and -liths loosely translates to "stone". This case is unusual because these "stones" are formed within the crop, over a long time from the food that she's eaten and only started causing problems now (you can actually see the rings/layers). Whereas, we more commonly see and remove foreign bodies made from fibrous materials such as rope, fabric or string from unsafe toys such as rope perches and happy huts.

Angry birb is healing nicely, with regular droppings, and back to her normal self now!

❄️Frost Warning🌨

There has been a frost warning issued for tomorrow 03/06 morning.

If you have birds outside in the aviary, ensure they have:
- Plenty of shelter and roof coverings
- Cover any cage/open wire
- Heat under nest boxes (e.g., heatpad)

If your birds are used to being outside, they should acclimatize to the weather fairly quickly. However, we do not recommend introducing any birds that are used to being indoors to an aviary in these temperatures.

Frost Warning Please be aware Temperatures at ground level can be many degrees lower than those recorded by standard weather stations, especially in calm conditions with very clear skies.

The cheeky Pippin and Rocky found themselves in trouble when they climbed into the kitchen rangehood!

The owner brought them into clinic as they had oil on their feathers that needed gentle removal. We gave them both a bath and activated charcoal.

Although wet and grumpy, this lovely couple continued to chatter and kiss each other while they waited for their feathers to dry in the heated brooder.

~ Cody's Prognathism ~

Cody the conure has been through a lot in his life despite only being just under 5 months old. He came in to see Dr Matt as his upper beak was tucked into his lower beak, a condition called Prognathism. At the same time he was also battling splayed legs and was growing much slower than his siblings.

Dr Matt created a beak extension for Cody which prevented his upper beak from going into the lower beak as he grew. A few weeks later, Cody's beak aligned perfectly into position and you can't even tell he ever had a beak problem.

Cody is still very small compared to other conures his age, but apart from that he is able to use his legs and beak normally, and we are so glad to see how happy and healthy he is now.

Thank you to Cody's owners for sharing these progress photos with us :)

We have nurse nail trims available Monday - Saturdays! Just give us a call to book your little one in for their pedicure 🥰

Pictured is Sunny & Peanut the Conures and Wilbur & Basil the Budgies 👌

May 31st is World Parrot Day, a day to appreciate these intelligent birds!

From tiny budgerigars to large cockatoos, we love seeing all types of parrots in clinic and seeing their different personalities.

Parrots can be trained, mimic speech and sounds, form close relationships and require tons of enrichment to keep their clever minds busy.

Many of our staff members have parrots in their lives, and are often wowed by how cheeky and smart they can be.

Do you have a parrot in your life? Show us a photo in the comments! 🥰

https://www.parrots.org/lp/wpd/

Just back from the ICare Conference in Belgium where 700 avian and exotic veterinarians gathered to hear about the latest advances in research, practice procedures and conservation from around the world. There were excellent practical labs, master classes, posters and oral presentations with the newest information on a wide variety of topics including heart and kidney disease, pain management, avian Influenza, Bornavirus and geriatrics. Dr Pat presented a paper on ‘Form, function and malfunction of Australian bird eggs’ comparing clinical cases we see at Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic with over 500 eggs from 95 different bird species in a 100-year-old egg shell collection. Such collecting has long since been illegal but examining the heritage collection along side recent research into how eggs are formed provides insight into why clinical problems such as egg binding or egg shell abnormalities might occur. Also purchased a new flexible micro endoscope to add to our clinic’s range of specialised bird instruments. This one should be particularly good for identifying foreign bodies in tracheas or stomachs of small birds. This should all add to our ability to provide the best possible care for your pets, our avian patients.

You may have recently heard of the Avian Influenza outbreak in Meredith & Terang.

Please don't be alarmed.

We last had an outbreak in 2020, these outbreaks do occur from time to time in Victoria. The current outbreak is presently being contained.

With all birds being kept outside please be vigilant. The virus is most likely carried by waterbirds & migrating birds. If you are worried about sudden sickness, please call the clinic on 9764 9000.

In chickens, Avian Influenza can cause:
- Severe respiratory signs such as gasping for air
- Blue colour change of the comb & wattles
- Sudden death
- Diarrhea

The present strain in Victoria is different to the overseas one and is unlikely to cause disease or problems in people or other animals.

The government has some great information on their website regarding the current outbreak and our vets can help you if you have any concerns.

Avian influenza (bird flu) Avian influenza (AI) is a notifiable, highly contagious viral disease, affecting mainly birds. It can also affect humans in rare cases.

The answer to last night's quiz! 🥰

🌟GUESS THE BIRD🌟

What type of bird do you think these beautiful patterns reside on?

Did you know if a bird rescue holds an account with us, you're able to call us and donate directly to their bill? 😊

This little girl came to us about a year ago. She had been hit by a car, which resulted in a broken wing, crushed beak and damage to the eye. She was well cared for by the vets and us. She is now a great flier and is living a healthy, happy life. She was afraid of humans when she first came in, but recently has been hopping on my shoulder and has become a confident little girl. The only indication that she had been in an accident is her one eye which has earned her the nickname “crazy eye.” 😂❤️ We have many cases that come in from a wide range of situations, including abuse and neglect, unclaimed lost and founds, and where owners have passed away. We have excellent avian vets that we work with to care for each and every bird that comes in to the rescue. Every bird gets a name, a medical file, disease screening, and treatment for existing or current issues.

Kiwi’s New Life Bird Rescue is a registered not-for-profit with dgr status which means your donations are tax deductible. We have no government funding and rely totally on fundraising. If you like what we do and would like to help, below are a few ways you can help.
1) Donate! You can donate directly to Bird Vet Melbourne or Melbourne Bird Vet to help with our medical costs 🙏❤️
2) Donate new toys or come in to the rescue and make toys
3) Donate your time helping to feed and clean at the rescue
4) Let us know of any talents you have that we could put to good use
5) ADOPT!!! For every bird adopted, that opens up space for another bird to be rescued! We do have limited space, so intake of new rescues is based on available space.

Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic
Bird Vet Melbourne

Ochre is an Isa Brown Chicken that came to our clinic from Wodonga for surgery!

Dr Corrie Pinkster performed a salpingectomy, and Ochre had almost a kilogram of pus removed as well as a diseased oviduct.

She will need to stay on lifelong hormonal implants to stop her ovaries from forming yolks, due to Ochre not having an oviduct anymore, the yolks have nowhere to exit the body and may end up free-floating in the abdomen and causing peritonitis.

She recovered very well after surgery and has been happily returned to her flock back home.

Today, we honor our vet team and veterinarians worldwide on World Vet Day for their dedication to animal care and tireless efforts.

Thank you for your hard work, patience, and commitment to your job.

Thank you to our team for the love and passion, and the laughter we share.

The 2024 theme, 'veterinarians are essential health workers,' highlights their crucial role in supporting the health of all our furry, scaly, and especially for us, the feathered family members.

Come down to say hi at the Great Southern Bird Expo :D

Patsy is a very feisty and brave Isa Brown who was referred to our clinic from Kinglake after breaking her humerus from a dog attack.

Dr Matt was able to place an internal pin with an external fixture to stabilise the break. Her dedicated owners visited us throughout the next month to ensure she was healing well.

Patsy was recently given the all clear to be her feisty, bossy self! ❤️

🌟 We will be closed for Easter Long Weekend

Please find out your closest emergency vet clinic incase your bird needs to urgently be seen on the long weekend. They will be able to provide stabilisation and monitoring until we are open again.

If your pet requires ongoing medication, please ensure you call us on (03) 97649000 to organise this to ensure your pet does not run out of medicine.

For non-urgent bookings, enquiries and requests please email us on [email protected] or message us on Facebook or Instagram. A team member will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible.

Thank you

Pictured: Susie & Ivy ❤️🖤

Scout the duck was placed under general anaesthetic for an Electocardiogram (ECG) and Ultrasound.

We strive to provide the best specialist services to your pet bird. All our vets have further formal training on avian medicine and health, and work alongside nurses who have been trained in avian specific nursing.

Cinnamon is a Zebra Finch who came in with a sore foot.

He was very cheeky and managed to peck his bandage off overnight, so a collar was placed.

The collar kept his bandage safe for the rest of the week until his foot healed.

We will be closed for the Labour Day Public Holiday 11/03/2024.

For any non-urgent requests, please email [email protected]

For emergencies please contact your closest emergency centre for stabilisation and initial assessment.

Thank you, and stay safe in the hot weather!

Lost MALE ALEXANDRINE
Mitcham area on 04.03.2024
Please call 9764 9000 with any information or [email protected]

(Please note beak currently looks more scratched up then in this photo)

Thank you

Suprelorin Implant in a Budgerigar

Ixion is a budgie that lives at G’Day Birdie Sanctuary, and he recently was given a suprelorin implant as part of a treatment regime for a tumour.

Suprelorin implants are routinely given to chickens to stop their hormones that cause them to lay eggs. This is done most commonly in Isa Browns or other commercial egg laying breeds if they develop reproductive disease (such as cancer).

However, we place these implants in smaller parrots such as budgies as well to help with egg laying, hormonal behaviours, and tumours.

The main difference is that we place implants in our parrots under general anaesthetic rather then them being awake!

What are the top 5 FRESH ingredients that you give your bird? 🥕🫑🥒🥦🌶🌽

We have: sprouts, chilli, beetroot, zucchini, red capsicum, carrot and cucumber (small amounts as a treat) in this mixture.