Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Louisiana State University-School of Veterinary Medicine, Baton Rouge, LA.
Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
Am J Vet Res. 2023 Mar 13;84(5). doi: 10.2460/ajvr.22.12.0223. Print 2023 May 1.
To measure baseline plasma corticosterone levels in Hispaniolan Amazon parrots (Amazona ventralis) and assess the effects of handling and restraint on corticosterone levels over 1 hour, reflective of what parrots might experience during veterinary care.
10 male and 12 female Hispaniolan Amazon parrots.
Each parrot was removed from its cage and wrapped in a towel for restraint similar to that performed in a clinical setting. An initial baseline blood sample was collected in < 3 minutes upon entrance into the parrot room, after which blood samples were taken every 15 minutes for 1 hour (a total of 5 blood samples). An enzyme-linked immunoassay was validated for Hispaniolan Amazon parrots and used to determine concentrations of plasma corticosterone.
On average, parrots showed a significant increase in corticosterone between baseline samples and all subsequent postrestraint time points (average baseline corticosterone ± SD: 0.51 ± 0.65 ng/mL). Females, on average, displayed significantly higher corticosterone levels than males after 30, 45, and 60 minutes of restraint (P = .016, P = .0099, and P = .015, respectively). Birds with feather-destructive behavior did not have significantly higher corticosterone levels than birds without the condition (P = .38).
Understanding the physiological stress response in companion psittacine birds during routine handling will allow clinicians to better evaluate how this may affect the patient's condition and diagnostic test results. Assessing how corticosterone correlates to behavioral conditions such as feather-destructive behavior will provide clinicians with the potential to develop treatment options.
测量海地亚马逊鹦鹉（Amazona ventralis）的基础血浆皮质酮水平，并评估 1 小时内处理和约束对皮质酮水平的影响，以反映兽医护理过程中鹦鹉可能经历的情况。
10 只雄性和 12 只雌性海地亚马逊鹦鹉。
将每只鹦鹉从笼子中取出并用毛巾包裹，以进行类似于临床环境中进行的约束。在进入鹦鹉房间后 < 3 分钟内采集初始基础血液样本，然后每 15 分钟采集一次血液样本，持续 1 小时（共采集 5 个血液样本）。建立了用于海地亚马逊鹦鹉的酶联免疫吸附测定法，并用于确定血浆皮质酮浓度。
平均而言，鹦鹉在基础样本和所有后续约束后时间点之间的皮质酮水平显著升高（平均基础皮质酮±SD：0.51±0.65ng/mL）。平均而言，与雄性相比，雌性在约束 30、45 和 60 分钟后显示出明显更高的皮质酮水平（P=0.016、P=0.0099 和 P=0.015）。具有啄羽行为的鸟类与没有这种情况的鸟类相比，皮质酮水平没有显著升高（P=0.38）。
了解伴侣型鹦鹉在常规处理过程中的生理应激反应，将使临床医生能够更好地评估这如何影响患者的病情和诊断测试结果。评估皮质酮与啄羽行为等行为状况的相关性，将为临床医生提供开发治疗选择的潜力。
