April Romagnano, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ABVP (Avian)

• Animal Health Clinic

  Jupiter, FL
• Avian Residency at North Carolina State University in 1995
• Lecture:
  • Well Bird Examination: This paper describes how the well bird examination is most effectively performed in a systematic fashion. It also discusses the importance of preventative medicine and how it is an ongoing interactive process which incorporates thorough routine veterinary visits as a method of data collection. The avian veterinarian must know the pet bird and/or the collection (large or small) intricately, and be aware of the importance of psittacine husbandry and management. He or she must then evaluate, diagnose, and treat the individual pet bird, as well as the entire collection. Hence, a systematic approach is not only important during an individual’s physical examination, but also in the veterinary care of the entire collection. The necessity of diagnostic testing and therapeutic protocol are established based on the patients history, the veterinarian’s overall observations of the collection, and the physical examination of the individual patient. Thus, pre-mortem tests are chosen on a case by case basis, but post-mortem examination is imperative and should be performed in all cases. Hence, necropsy and histopathology are also necessary for infectious disease prevention, as is quarantine, vaccination, and disinfection.
  • Avian Radiology: Practical, technical, and anatomical aspects of avian imaging pertinent to the avian veterinarian will be reviewed and illustrated. Imaging should be an integral part of a complete avian patient diagnostic evaluation as it can provide the same information as more invasive surgical techniques. Further, the diagnosis of many diseases in avian patients is often challenging without the use of conventional radiography.
  • Avian Pediatrics: Successful incubation and hatching requires intensive husbandry. Similarly, altricial psittacine chicks require intensive care from day 1. These neonates hatch with eyes closed, little to no down, are unable to thermoregulate, and need to be hand-fed on a scheduled basis. Thus, in addition to preventative and triage medicine, the avian veterinarian can help the aviculturist by evaluating the following processes: incubation, hatching, hand-feeding, neonatal development, and weaning