Cockatoo

Unfortunately every few days we have a cockatoo handed in who is suffering from Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) - It is caused by a small tough virus called a circovirus. It is uncurable and all affected birds die from it. They die from the imunosupression the virus causes but it also makes them loose feathers and eventually get beak deformities. It is very common and its likely that up to half of all wild cockatoos die from it. We cannot treat it, or help them so the best thing we can do for the affected birds is to euthanase them. Its only upside is that unlike almost every other disease & injury we treat in wildlife this is not caused by people - it is a natural & native virus.