Handling and restraint induce a significant increase in plasma corticosterone in Hispaniolan Amazon parrots (Amazona ventralis)

Abstract

OBJECTIVE 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. ANIMALS 10 male and 12 female Hispaniolan Amazon parrots. PROCEDURES 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. RESULTS 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). CLINICAL RELEVANCE 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.

Using point‐of‐care devices to examine covariation among blood nutritional‐physiological parameters and their relationships with poxvirus infection, habitat urbanization, and male plumage coloration in house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus)

“…It is important to acknowledge a potential limitation in our findings. Despite the fact that we kept a generally consistent timeframe between trapping and blood data collection, there is a possibility that the handling process may have influenced some of the physiological‐nutritional blood parameters (Müller et al, 2006; Parks et al, 2023; Vleck et al, 2000). To address this concern, we recommend that future studies utilizing POC devices specifically take into account the trapping and processing time as a factor to assess any potential impact on blood metrics.…”