Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease - Signs of Disease

Signs of Disease

The acute form of the disease is manifested by lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea. Due to the severe immune system suppression, multiple secondary infections develop, causing death within two to four weeks. Typical confirmation of the acute form of the disease is by necropsy, because it progresses too quickly for the normal signs such as feather loss and beak deformity to appear.

The chronic form occurs if the bird's immune system manages to mount a reaction to the virus and any secondary infections. The characteristic feather symptoms need time to develop, as they only appear during the first moult after infection. In those species having powder down, signs may be visible immediately, as powder down feathers are continually replenished.

Dr. Ross Perry notes that the pattern of disease and the probability of remission varies markedly between species; with Budgerigars, African Lovebirds, lories and lorikeets and Eclectus Parrots presenting with acute to subacute disease being among those more likely to make a clinical recovery just on a "balanced diet", and given extra care for 1–2 moults.

In large Australian and New Guinea cockatoos, the very first sign of chronic PBFD is the loss of powder down. On smaller, coloured cockatoos, the Eclectus, King Parrot, and many species of lories and lorikeets, first sign is feather discolouration. Coloured parrots seem to be less affected by the disease, often able to spontaneously recover. For the white cockatoo species, the prognosis is much worse.