A retrospective review of the histopathology of captive hornbill chicks

dc.contributor.authorMitchell, Emily P.
dc.contributor.authorKemp, L .
dc.contributor.authorKoeppel, Katja Natalie
dc.contributor.authorGuiot, A.P.
dc.contributor.emailemily.mitchell@up.ac.zaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-14T11:14:22Z
dc.date.available2024-08-14T11:14:22Z
dc.date.issued2023-02
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES : Captive rearing of chicks can be crucial to the success of management plans for endangered species of birds. This study was conducted to document lesions of hornbill chicks to provide information for pathologists and clinicians to improve rearing success in captive hornbills. METHODS : Clinical histories and post-mortem reports were evaluated for 40 hornbill chicks (< 3.5 months old), from three species submitted for pathological evaluation to the National Zoological Garden, South African National Biodiversity Institute between 2003 and 2017. The cause of death and histological features present were tabulated. RESULTS : In this group of chicks, 12 (30%) were a week or younger at the time of death. Bacterial infections, especially of the lung and gastro-intestinal tract, were the most common cause of death (38%). Visceral gout, renal tubular degeneration or necrosis, bacterial ventriculitis and pulmonary congestion were the most often recorded lesions. Splenic, thymic and bursal lymphoid depletion and/or necrosis were common. Chicks of all ages commonly showed hepatocyte vacuolar degeneration; and hepatic, renal and splenic haematopoiesis of no pathological significance. CONCLUSION : This long-term survey in captive hornbill chicks provides baseline information on lesions and conditions seen in these birds and facilitated the formulation of improved captive management manuals of hornbills. Additional detailed postmortem examinations following standardised protocols, including bacterial culture, of hornbill chicks would further improve our understanding of hornbill chick diseases.en_US
dc.description.departmentParaclinical Sciencesen_US
dc.description.departmentProduction Animal Studiesen_US
dc.description.librarianam2024en_US
dc.description.sdgSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-beingen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe pathology examinations were funded by the SANBI NZG annual operating budget.en_US
dc.description.urihttp://www.jsava.co.zaen_US
dc.identifier.citationMitchell, E.P., Kemp, L., Koeppel, K. 2023, 'A retrospective review of the histopathology of captive hornbill chicks', Journal of the South African Veterinary Association, vol. 94, no. 1, pp. 113-122. https://DOI.org/10.36303/JSAVA.506.en_US
dc.identifier.issn2224-9435 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1019-9128 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.36303/JSAVA.506
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/97631
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMedPharm Publicationsen_US
dc.rights© 2023 The Author(s). Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License [CC BY-NC 3.0].en_US
dc.subjectHornbillen_US
dc.subjectBucorvusen_US
dc.subjectMortalityen_US
dc.subjectBacterial infectionen_US
dc.subjectLymphoid depletionen_US
dc.subjectSDG-03: Good health and well-beingen_US
dc.titleA retrospective review of the histopathology of captive hornbill chicksen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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