If you were to look in my medicine cabinet, chances are, it's contents would be different than what is in yours.  The same is true of our avian first aid kits.  What each of us includes in our first aid kit depends on a number of factors including the species we keep, the size of our flock and our own experience level.  There is no "correct" content for an avian first aid kit.  And yet, having the needed supplies on hand can mean the difference between life and death for our birds when illness or injury strike.

I recently asked a number of experienced aviculturists what they thought needed to
be stocked in an avian first aid kit.  As would be expected, answers varied drastically  from one aviculturist to another. While I was unable to discover a definitive list of the "perfect avian first aid kit", I did find the compiled list very helpful in reviewing the contents of my own avian first aid kit. Perhaps this list will help you evaluate what should be included  in your emergency kit.

There are a couple of items that all of us probably need to have on hand.  These are the staples of any avian first aid plan.

First and foremost, it is important to have a hospital cage.  The important thing is to provide a quiet environment that is maintained at about 90 degrees to allow the bird's energy to be used in healing rather than maintaining body temperature. This will require a heat source and a thermometer or thermostat.  While there are a number of commercial hospital cages on the market, most aviculturists I polled used a small box cage or wire cage wrapped in a towel.  There were a number of suggestions on how to provide the needed heat including:

• heating pads
• hot water bottles
• ceramic reptile rocks
• ceramic heat bulbs
• black lights  (white heat lights can cause eye problems)

You will also want to have some hand feeding formula and/or Survive on hand.  Survive is a high energy, high protein supplement that is easily digested. It can be added to the hand feeding formula or fed by it's self.

In addition to meeting these two basic needs, we will want to consider a number of other items for our first aid kits.  Below is a list of things to consider.

• HEMOSTATS serve a number of needs within the aviary, including untangling nesting material and pulling blood feathers.
• SURGICAL SCISSORS  can be used to trim feathers and cut bandages, as well as numerous other applications.
• Cotton swabs and gauze wrap and vet wrap for dressing wounds and cleaning  after hand feeding
• eye dropper for giving liquids and medications.
• NAIL CLIPPERS for trimming nails.
• Rubber gloves for handing sick birds.
• pet carrier for transporting to the vet if needed
• Name and address of your local avian vet.  (It is a good idea to have the name of two or three vets if possible so you can always reach one when needed.
• Notepad and pen for keeping notes on symptoms and treatment
• LEG BAND CUTTERS
• Plastic bags for fecal samples
• Shallow dishes for feeding food and water in cage bottom. (sick birds may not have the energy to fly up to your normal food and water dishes)
• a small magnifying glass for checking legs and toes or any number of other small things.   (My eyes are getting so bad, I need them for reading band numbers!)
• BLOOD STOP POWDER to stop bleeding.

• BETADINE for cleansing wounds
• ENVIROCLENS or other disinfectant for cleaning hand feeding and other utensils as well as disinfecting cages that have held sick birds.
•  ENERGIZE or other electrolyte formula for stabilizing electrolytes after illness or stress.
• CALCIVET or other calcium concentrate for emergency treatment of egg binding.
• mineral oil for placing on vent of egg bound hen.
• AMTYL or other broad spectrum antibiotic.
• Hydrogen Peroxide for irrigating wounds.
• Eye Irrigation Solution
• Neosporin for treating cuts and scratches
• RONIVET for treating protozoa infections
• ivermectine for treating air sak mites and scaly face.
• WORM OUT GEL or other wormer medication for regular treatment of outside birds
• AVIAN INSECT LIQUIDATOR for treating external mites and controlling ants in the aviary.
• ENVIROCLENS HAND SANITIZER or other hand sanitizer to prevent the spread of infection
• PROBOTIC or BIOPLUS for treatment after stress, illness or antibiotics.