Chicken anaesthesia

RE: Chicken anaesthesia

Celine — Wed, 13 May 2015 22:12:37 GMT

Actually, just re-reading your post, what do you mean by "open up"?! Are you going to be opening air sacs? With the greatest respect, is your vet quite an experienced bird vet? I would definitely not recommend this........

RE: Chicken anaesthesia

Celine — Wed, 13 May 2015 22:06:33 GMT

Yes, birds have complete cartilaginous rings in their trachea so if you use a cuff you'll often get tracheal necrosis... bird gets through GA and dies 3 weeks later :/

Really, ideally intubate (They have very obvious glottis and take bigger tubes than you'd think, I'd guess a 4 for a chicken but probably one bird I've never done!) and don't be afraid to give gentle IPPV, many birds don't breathe well themselves under GA.

Can use pulse ox as Sal said or also can use the doppler that comes in the blood pressure kit many practices have - if you put a bit of gel on and place (tape with micropore but gently and try not to gum up the feathers) over the ulnar vein under the wing. Its lovely because it gives everyone involved that reassuring woosh woosh even when you're passing bits of kit or whatever!

Chickens have an excellent medio-metatarsal vein, running up the inside of the leg from what most people would call the "ankle" to the "knee". You can get a yellow or purple IV catheter in there so if you are worried it might pay to do this so you have IV access. Be aware birds bleed like stink when you then remove it so tape a good wodge of cotton wool over the puncture site firmly until its time to discharge! And don't let the owner remove at home and pull it off very slowly and gently when you do remove it.

Sounds like Xrays are in order here! A VD view would be the most diagnostic, key points are:

Make sure bird is nicely asleep

Lie on her back and micropore tape the wings down onto the plate out of the way of her body(as though she is about to flap them) So long as her wings are positioned symmetrically and her legs are also taped in the same position it should hold the rest of her body fairly straight on the plate (Xray should have her keel overlaying her spine, to give best view of air sacs etc)

Good luck!

RE: Chicken anaesthesia

Sal the 1st — Wed, 13 May 2015 20:06:56 GMT

agree with previous poster - intubate probably your best bet, keep it warm, position lateral if you can. We didn't tube ours on Monday but adapted a syringe to have a pretty close fitting mask ( 10ml syringe cut in half, remove plunger, bit of a glove over the open plunger end of a syringe to form a 'diaphragm' kept in place with a laggy band make a small hole in diaphragm and stick beak through it - creates a good seal to prevent waste gas and means you are able to check the eye) this will just slot onto your circuit easily. You can also use a pulse ox on the leg or the foot if it has pale skin or just inside the wing close up to the body as long as your clip isnt too strong on your pulse ox. Whatever you use drugs wise make sure the owner knows about withdrawal periods and not using eggs and anything off license is signed for.

ATB

RE: Chicken anaesthesia

sananbaz — Wed, 13 May 2015 19:08:25 GMT

Hi, been a while but here's what I remember! Can induce with iso or sevo by mask. Tubing is straight forward, and would be good to prevent aspiration of flush. Don't inflate cuff if possible, so get a good fitting tube. For iso, start at 4-5 percent, decreasing to 1-2 percent for maintenance. Be really careful with positioning - if it's fat, try not to put it on its back, as abdominal contents will suffocate. Ensure no restriction of ribcage, for same reason. Keep warm, monitor response rate and tell vet to hurry up!

Good luck x