Blood Test Values

[MissK]

SO, Rocky's going to be getting the whole shebang when he goes to the vet on Friday. He went to a "not good enough in my opinion" vet last year, so I found a better one. I expect him to be tested in all manner of ways, which leads to my reason for posting.

It is my understanding that avian veterinary medicine is not quite as species-specific as I would like it to be. Therefore, I have a concern that my IRN's blood values will be seen through a one-size-fits-all kind of lens. I would not expect, for instance, the desired values for a hummingbird and a chicken to be identical. Nor those for a dog and a cat. So I'm concerned my IRN's ideal blood values are not the same as, for instance, the very popular Blue & Gold Macaw's. When we go to the vet and have our bird's blood values checked, against which species' ideal values are they, indeed, checked? Certainly I would want my bird's values interpreted in light of the fact that is is an IRN, not a B&G, a Grey, a 'Too, or a Chicken.

"Close enough" is for hand grenades and horseshoes. Has anyone else thought about this? What has come of the thinking?

-MissK

[Skyes_crew]

It is my understanding that they have acceptable ranges for most species and they check against that. I don't know how true that is. I found some reading material for you

http://www.heidihoefer.com/pages/birds/ ... d_test.htm

[MissK]

Thanks Skye - I'm off to read it.

Any other opinions?

-MissK

[ellieelectrons]

Out of my two, only Charlie has had his full blood work done so far, Janey gets hers done this year. Our avian vet checks against international data for IRNs specifically, although he did say that he doesn't have huge faith in the data because there hasn't been sufficient data collected yet. I think he said he adds his own data to the dataset, but I may not be remembering that right. For example, he said that a couple of the readings were a little high compared to the data but he felt it wasn't anything to worry about. He did ask me to alter their diet though, as Charlie had slightly elevated cholesterol. Claire may have more to add as Nele had the full blood work done too and he had elevated cholesterol also.

I don't know if they will respond to a question, but perhaps you could try emailing my vet:
http://www.brisbanebirdvet.com.au/

or facebooking them, their facebook site is reasonably active.
https://www.facebook.com/BrisbaneBirdVet?ref=ts&fref=ts

Ellie.

[MissK]

Thanks ellie,

I might email them after we see the vet, if I can make intelligent conversation, should I still have concerns. Very thoughtful of you to give their email.

The link Skye gave indicates one test value may be taken after fasting - bile acids, for liver function. Given Rocky's past, I'm concerned about his liver as well as his lungs. I plan to call the vet in the morning to ask if he should fast for this test.

Anyone else have experience with that?

-MissK

[InTheAir]

Sorry, I haven't even thought about where the reference range comes from...
I just trust the bbv knows his stuff enough that he can tell if there's something worth worrying about.

I have a copy of the blood work results for Nele and can send you a copy of the reference ranges used. Some of them differ a bit from that site i think.
Nele wasn't fasted before his test.
I think it's worth calling the vet about fasting.
I will be asking that before the next test also.


side note from that article... trimming a toenail to get blood even for a dna test is horrible! I didn't think any vet would do that. I heard of a pet shop doing it, and the bird was sore for days afterwards. Ugh

[MissK]

Yeah, I think we pretty much all strive to NOT overclip a nail. I think if I were looking to a DNA test, I would wait till blood was drawn for a more medically oriented reason and then have the test along with. I overclipped the dog's nail a few days ago (it's totally black, so I guessed wrong). We were both done for the rest of the evening. I went to sleep holding her little styptic-powdered foot in the air above her heart.

I did call the vet, and they agreed fasting is the way to go prior to a bile acids test. 12 hours.

-MissK

[Skyes_crew]

I've done that to my dog too, black nails also. Its heartbreaking to see all that blood. I would never try to make my bird bleed, that's for sure.

I found this blood value reference sheet. I would guess the ringneck falls under the parakeet column.


http://pathology.med.miami.edu/document ... ranges.pdf

I wonder if these values are used worldwide or just in the states. I would be interested to see Nele's value ranges to compare.

Here is one another good read for the chemistry minded. Translation possibly needed lol

http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/ampa/11.pdf