Friday, January 16, 2009

	Fundamentals of Aviculture
	What's New
	11/30/2008 - AFA Requests Help to Diagnose PDD Illness in Parrots 10/30/2008 - 2009 Calendars available in AFA Store. 10/5/2008 - New CITES pin available in AFA Store
	AFA Watchbird
	Calendar
	January 23-25, 2009 2009 Parrot Festival NPRPF Houston, TX February 6-7, 2009 AFA Board of Directors Quarterly Meeting Houston, TX March 28-29, 2009 South Texas Avian Symposium "Promoting Aviculture through Education" Houston, TX March 28, 2009 Annual Spring Exotic Bird Expo Avicultural Society of Tucson Tucson, AZ May 1-3, 2009 AFA Board of Directors Quarterly Meeting Houston, TX August 5-8, 2009 AFA Convention Houston, TX

AFA Requests Help to Diagnose
PDD Illness in Parrots

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY NEEDS YOUR HELP! Investigators at the Schubot Center at Texas A&M University have developed a Western Blot assay test. The test appears to detect antibodies directed against the causal agent of Proventricular Dilatation Disease (PDD), most likely appearing as “avian bornavirus.”

Researchers need to evaluate this test in large numbers of birds to determine the test’s sensitivity, specificity, and usefulness in assisting
in the diagnosis of PDD.

Serum from birds with known PDD status is now needed. Your veterinarian can prepare very small quantities (100 ul) of serum blood taken from individual birds. These samples can be submitted to the Schubot Center with a short background on your bird.

Ideally, samples are needed from birds that have tested positive for PDD on crop biopsies. Additional samples are also needed from birds that are negative for PDD, have no history of being exposed to PDD, and that come from an aviary without a history of PDD. Veterinarians should forward serum tests to:

Attn: Schubot Center
Dr. Tizard
Texas A&M University-Veterinary Medicine
215 VMS Bldg
College Station, TX 77843

Samples submitted will help contribute toward identifying and bringing an end to this devastating disease.

Disaster Relief Update

The AFA Disaster Relief Team wants to thank all of you who donated your time and money as we worked to help those impacted by Hurricane Ike. A special thanks goes to Jean Jordan and Jamie Whittaker for allowing us to store feed and other items for the relief efforts at their facilities even though they were both without electricity for several days...more

Call For Papers

We invite you to submit a proposal to present a paper during the 2009 AFA Convention. Proposals should be submitted in the form of an abstract, accompanied by a brief biographical sketch identifying the author’s experience with the topic to be presented and other relevant information...more

AFA 2009 Convention

The dates and location for the 2009 Convention have been finalized.  The 2009 Convention will be held in Houston, Texas at the newly renovated Houston Hilton North hotel just minutes from the Houston Intercontinental Airport.  Make plans to join us now August 5-8, 2009!  More details will be announced soon!

Fundamentals of Aviculture

This online course provides a foundation for the emerging science of aviculture.  It is presented in nine chapters ranging from anatomy and physiology to avian behavior; from laws and regulations affecting aviculture to how to provide proper housing and prevent illness of birds in our care; and much, much more...

2008 Avian Research
Grants Program

The Conservation and Research Committee has selected the following four projects for the 2008 Avian Research Grants Program...more

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