Waterfowl: Health and Management

ISBN: 0-9547185-0-X

Editors:
Suzanne I Boardman BVMS MRCVS
Debra C Bourne MA VetMB PhD MRCVS

Wildlife Information network developed this Wildpro volume to assist all those involved in the management of captive or free-ranging waterfowl, as well as aviculturists (from hobbyists to large-scale breeders), wildlife managers, veterinarians, students, veterinary nurses/technicians and wildlife disease investigators.

The Species section contains pages on all ducks, geese and swans in the world, including their appearance, distribution, diet, behaviour, reproduction, conservation and captive management. Bird Husbandry and Management offers information on all aspects of aviculture, including identification of birds within a collection, housing, handling and transport, feeding, incubation, rearing (parent-, foster- and hand-rearing), disease prevention, breeding management and population control. Specific techniques such as egg candling, vent sexing, stimulating downies to eat and construction of external fences are described.

Whether a disease affects a single bird or a population, the Disease Investigation and Management section is designed to help. A flowchart guides the investigator through history and documentation, physical examination, necropsy and environmental assessment. To tackle the disease, this section describes environmental and population management as well as treatment and care of individual birds. Detailed information is provided on procedures, including drug administration, anaesthesia, surgical techniques and dispersal techniques for disease control.

Waterfowl Diseases and Waterfowl Disease Agents provide details of each viral, bacterial, parasitic, fungal, algal, toxophysical, metabolic and miscellaneous disease of waterfowl and the agents causing those diseases. Disease pages over clinical characteristics and pathology, susceptibility and transmission, environment and geography, investigation and diagnosis, treatment and control.

Managing Wetlands for Wildlife discusses the management of manmade wetlands, including pond construction, planting of waterbodies, reedbeds for water cleaning and soakaways for water drainage.

The extensive Electronic Library offers important texts in full, such as "Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases" (USGS-National Wildlife Health Center), and "Wetlands, Industry and Wildlife" (The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust).

Special Thanks

Wildlife Information Network is a registered charity supported entirely by membership subscriptions, grants and donations. We are very grateful for the generous support we received for the development of Waterfowl: Health and Management. It was funded by the Corporation of London's Bridge House Estates Trust Fund and supported by British Airways Assisting Conservation, British Trust for Ornithology, English nature, Environment Agency, Great North Eastern Railway, Olympus Optical Co. (UK) Limited, The Royal parks Agency, The Royal Veterinary College and USGS-National Wildlife health Center. We are especially grateful to our principal collaborator, The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.