VN July 2023

Vetnuus | July 2023 34 Technical I Article  Treatment • Sexual rest – isolate the bird from the hens, reduce daylight hours, change diet, consider GnRH agonists such as leuprolide acetate, human chorionic gonadotropin, deslorelin • Anti-inflammatory treatment e.g. meloxicam • Broad spectrum antibiotics • If the phallus is damaged, may have to consider: o Reducing the prolapse and placing lateral vent sutures to keep the phallus in the cloaca until healed o Phallic amputation can be considered, usually as a last resort. The Female Reproductive Tract The ovary • Congenital abnormalities o Congenital atresia o Retained right ovary; Both ovaries are frequently present in raptors and Kiwis o All early embryos have bilateral ovaries and oviducts, but growth of the right ovary and oviduct is inhibited after the first trimester of incubation. Retained right ovaries are occasionally seen in species that would normally have only a left ovary. In poultry, 90% of enlarged right ovaries are the result of damage to the left ovary.  Congenital ovarian cysts are common in budgerigars and canaries • Oophoritis o Aetiology  Infectious • Haematogenous spread of a bacterial infection (e.g. Salmonella spp, Mycobacteria), fungal infection, or a viral infection (e.g. herpesvirus) • Spread from adjacent air saculitis or coelomitis  Non-infectious • Rupture of follicles and extrusion of yolk into the ovarian stroma • Toxins e.g. aflatoxicosis o Clinical signs  Infectious oophoritis is often part of a systemic illness and many birds will present for generalised weakness, etc.  In milder cases there may be an infertility problem or increased embryonic deaths o Diagnosis  Haematology may reveal a leucocytosis  Endoscopy may reveal abnormally coloured or shaped ovaries, often haemorrhagic, and with abnormal follicles  The ovaries of birds with non-infectious oophoritis may appear enlarged, with multifocal yellow spots of varying sizes. o Treatment  Antimicrobial therapy  If possible, completely drain the abscessed follicle(s) being careful not to contaminate the abdomen. Partial or complete ovariectomy may be required for chronically infected and caseated follicles. • Ovarian cysts o Aetiology  Congenital – see above  Acquired, secondary to neoplasia or oophoritis o Clinical signs  If small, there may be no clinical signs