Emerald Dove Husbandry Manual - Nswfmpa.org

Jennifer Brown ● Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica ● Husbandry manual
8.2 Detailed Physical Examination:
Before a complete physical examination is carried out the decision must be made as to
whether the bird will be anesthetised or not. A complete examination can be carried out
under an esthetics wh ere t ests c an b e p erformed t hat m ay o therwise st ress a c onscious
animal.
The dangers of anesthetising birds should also be taken into account. Anesthetising can
be extremely dangerous for birds (Brinker, 1998) as their respiratory system works differently
to m ammals. Air an d t hus t he an esthesia c irculates t hroughout t heir en tire b ody unlike
with mammals where it stays localised in the lungs. This means that there is more danger
associated with anesthetising birds with the results being potentially deadly.
The o ccurrence wi th which t hese ex aminations take p lace al so n eeds t o be t aken i nto
account. A detailed p hysical ex amination m ay b e u ndertaken o nce a year w hile
anesthetising the bird for an examination may only be undertaken once when the bird
first c omes i nto the collection. T he pros an d cons o f e ach sc enario n eeds to be
considered and the best routine to fit the institutions health monitoring and maintenance
scheme also needs to be decided.
The Emerald Dove can tolerate small levels of stress and is not likely to lose all its feathers
in a stress molt at the first sign of handling. Though the individual animals personality and
history (such as wh ether t he b ird was h and r aised o r wild c aught) sh ould b e t aken into
account when assessing whether to anesthetise the bird or not. Due to the nature of the
Emerald Dove many tests can be performed while the bird is still conscious.
8.2. 1 Physical:
Before a p hysical ex amination is c arried out t he individual b ird m ust b e c aptured. The
best method to carry this out depends on the birds individual personality- such as h ow it
reacts to humans and where the bird is house- such as if it’s in a free flight large aviary or
in a small cage by itself.
The g reater c hallenge is if the bird is in a f ree f light a viary wi th o ther b irds. The b est
method to separate the bird then is left to the head keeper of the section to chose the
safest method for bird and keeper whether it includes nets and catching the bird from the
air or placing a sm aller cage in the aviary and slowly crate training the bird till it can be
separated from the rest.
Once the bird is separated the best method for holding the bird is one that places as little
stress o n the b ird as p ossible b ut al lows maximum exposure o f i ts b ody f or t he ac tual
examination. F or t hese reaso ns the p igeon g rip is r ecommended (see se ction 7 .4 for
detailed description of the pigeon grip) This grip can also been seen in Fig 8.2.11. This grip
allows the keeper to hold the bird with one hand and as the Emerald Dove does not have
a hard or powerful bite its head doesn’t need to be supported as seen in Fig 8.2.1. To give
the bird more support the keeper can place his hand under the birds keel to support its
chest and weight, as seen in Fig 8.2.2.
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