Exotic Animal Formulary5

Table 5-5
Chemical Restraint/Anesthetic/Analgesic Agents Used in Birds. a,b
Agent Dosage Species/Comments
Acepromazine — Phenothiazine tranquilizer; see
etorphine and ketamine for
combinations
0.1-0.2 mg/kg IV 333 Ratites/most commonly used in
0.25-0.5 mg/kg IM 333 combination with other anesthetics;
rarely used in other bird species
Alfaxalone (Alfaxan, Jurox) — Not to be confused with dosing
information for alfaxalone/alfadalone
(Saffan, Schering-Plough); this is a
completely new formulation, so
doses cannot be extrapolated from
older literature using
alfaxalone/alfadalone; see
dexmedetomidine for combination
2 mg/kg IV 831 Flamingos/induction; induction
significantly shorter and quality
smoother than with isoflurane
alone; decreased isoflurane
maintenance requirements but
produced moderate cardiorespiratory
effects not seen in isoflurane-only
group; recovery times similar with
both groups, without significant
differences in quality or length
10 mg/kg IM 847 Quaker parrots/lower dose significantly
25 mg/kg IM 847 longer induction time (13.5 ±
4.5 min) compared to higher dose
(6.0 ± 1.3 min), while recovery time
significantly longer in the high-dose
group (86.2 ± 13.4 min) than the
low-dose group (44.4 ±10.8 min);
muscle tremors and hyperexcitation
evident in both groups
20 mg/kg IM 579 Yellow legged gulls/loss of righting
reflex only achieved in 1/6 birds after
20 min; could not intubate; some
birds manifested adverse effects like
muscle twitches, wing and tail
flapping, and opisthotonus
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