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Avian Specialty Veterinary Services of Alaska
13861 Hillcrest St NW
Poulsbo, WA 98370-8134
(360)271-7000
vet@alaskabirddoc.com
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Peacocks Get Neutered in Washington State
By: Scott Ford, DVM, Dipl. ABVP-Avian
It looks like I'll be expanding my services to Washington State! That realization came after recent requests from All Creatures Animal Hospital in Bremerton, Washington, to stop by and perform some specialized surgeries on birds. I was only too happy to do this as All Creatures and its staff are old friends of mine (my first job out of veterinary school, in fact, was at this clinic).
It all started when a friend and client of mine began airing concerns a few years ago about her peacocks. You see, she had adopted some pea fowl several years ago and things went well until mating behavior set into the peacocks. One peacock nearly beat himself silly a few years ago attacking his reflection in windows and shiny chrome hubcaps and bumpers. His behavior finally required the use of hormonal therapy and special window films to dull reflections. Things improved for a while but then when male offspring came of age, battles between siblings and father ensued. Dr. Donna Kelleher made a helpful suggestion to use wild yam, added to the food, to help quell the hormonal urges. This worked well except that the amount had to be steadily increased and doses could not be missed. Rehoming the birds was not the owner's desire so other long-term solution had to be considered.
One of the solutions that was considered was orchidectomy, otherwise known in dogs and cats as neutering. This involves the complete removal of both testes, which are the source of sperm and the primary source of testosterone in adult birds. Testosterone is primarily responsible for territorial aggression and other mating behaviors. Without their testicles, the peacocks would not only be infertile, they should, theoretically, stop acting like peacocks and become more docile and harmonious with eachother. The problem is that gonadectomies are not routinely performed in pet birds. This is because of the great danger for exanguination (bleeding to death) during surgery and because there is also a risk of testicular regrowth if not all of the testicle is removed. The exanguination occurs because the testes in birds are very deep inside their body. They sit on either side of the larges vein and artery in the body with very short vessels supplying them. Accessing the testes usually requires cutting ribs, use of magnification optics and specialized instruments, and a very steady, experienced hand. To ensure that all of the testicular tissue is removed, the surgeon will also generally need to follow up with electrocautery or cyrotherapy (freezing) of the attachment sites.
In preparation for this surgery, a very helpful benefactor helped me acquire a great new tool that should help all of my patients. It is a very nice set of surgical head loupes. These are basically glasses with carefully aligned telescopes in each lens. I don't have to tell you that such customized equipment (made specifically for the individual surgeon) is expensive and my undying gratitude goes out to the person that helped purchase these. They will be very useful for work with pet and wild birds for years to come.
With the owner's understanding of the risks and complications, we proceeded to perform the surgeries in early November, 2007. All 4 peacocks came through surgery with flying colors. There are several other peacocks in this flock that will potentially receive the same procedure in the coming year. I may also be incorporating minimally-invasive endosurgery into future orchidectomies (see October's news article Minimally Invasive Endosurgery).
After the peacock surgeries were completed, I also performed two other microsurgeries including the repair of an abdominal hernia in a green-winged macaw. I want to say that Laura, Jim Little, and the staff of All Creatures Animal Hospital were all extremely supportive and helpful. The clinic has grown a lot since I used to work there and they now offer 24-hour service. They will be expanding their clinic in the coming years so look for great things from this group! Please visit them at www.allcreaturesinc.com.
For surgeons interested in Designs for Vision medical optics, please contact them at www.designsforvision.com. You will find their reps to be very helpful and the service and quality is great!
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