Even birds can suffer from kidney and urinary tract disorders like humans and other animals.
Symptoms and Types
A bird can show different symptoms depending on the actual kidney and urinary tract disorder. Generally, one or more of the following symptoms are seen.
- Increased urination
- Change in color of urine
- Blood in urine
- Chemical imbalance in the blood
- Increased or decreased thirst
- Difficulty in walking or movement
Depending on the reason, there are many kidney and urinary tract disorders. The most common are:
- Gout – Uric acid deposits in the joints and surrounding tissues due to kidney damage cause gout. There is difficulty in movement with red and swollen joints.
- Stones – There can be stones in the kidney or urinary tract of the bird. The bird will urinate less due to pain and there may be blood present in the urine.
- Infections – Poxvirus and psittacosis are two deadly infections that cause multiple organ damage, including kidney and urinary tract disorders. Other infections can also cause kidney and urinary tract disorders.
- Renal failure – The kidneys could stop functioning due to a severe or untreated kidney, or urinary tract disorders.
Kidney and urinary tract disorders in birds can be due many reasons, including:
- Tumor or cancer
- Damage to other organs
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Excess of Calcium, vitamin D and Phosphorus