Lile Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor) Picture of bird Full life history info: hp://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/lile-penguin

Introducon Ecology and life history The Lile Blue Penguin (also known as lile penguin, Normal adult weight range: Male 925-1650g blue penguin, fairy penguin, or kororā) is the smallest Female 765-1250g of all the penguin species in the world. They are found Moult: Synchronous moult i.e. moults all feathers at the on the main islands and coastal islands of New Zealand same me. In January-March for a 2 week duraon. and along the southern Australian coastline. Recent During this period LBPs stay in the burrow and do not go genec analysis strongly suggests that the NZ and swimming to forage for food. They can loose up to 50% of Australian lile penguins are two separate species. body weight during this period. Although they are the most common penguins in their Breeding: July to February. range, the populaon is declining due to several Monogamous. threatening processes including introduced predators Egg laying between Jul to Nov. (dogs and cats, ferrets in NZ and foxes in Australia), Incubaon 30-39 days. human disturbance or destrucon of nesng habitat Age at fledging 54-56 days. and decreased food supplies through overfishing. Age at first breeding 2-3 years. LBPs are a robust and resilient species that copes well Lifespan: up to 25 years. in the rehabilitaon environment, making them the Diet: Piscivorous ideal candidate for wash, rehabilitaon and release Conservaon status (NZ Threat Classificaon): Declining during an oil spill.

Personal protecve equipment (PPE): Appropriate PPE must be worn when capturing and handling oiled wildlife to prevent exposure to oil (disposable nitrile gloves, safety glasses/goggles, protecon for clothing e.g. Tyvec suit). Old towels or blue inconnence pads are useful to handle oiled birds as they can be discarded once soiled. Capture Handling Consider the safety of both humans and Wear normal examinaon gloves if not oiled to birds. prevent feather damage. Wrap the body in a LBPs can be caught in a net or by hand towel to restrain the flippers and prevent feather with or without a towel. Long-handled damage. Cover the head with the towel to fishing nets are useful for capture if the reduce stress. bird is in the water. If the bird is on land Penguin bills are sharp and easily cut through then ensure that someone is standing skin. Restrain the head by holding the back of the between the bird and the water to head in the palm of one hand and gripping the prevent them from entering it. boom of the jaws with thumb and fingers.

Transport to WARNING – NEVER place your eyes close to holes in transport boxes. facility Herons, gannets & shags will lunge at eyes causing serious injury or blindness.

Transport box: made of plasc, NOT wood or cardboard, as oil contaminaon can be cleaned and box reused. Best opon is a Corflute box (pictured). Available from A&E Karsten LTD (ph +64 9 266 2781, [email protected]) Size: Large = 240(W) x 420(L) x 315(H) mm. Alternave opon is a plasc PetPak. Only ONE bird per box.

Flooring: Correct flooring in the transport box is important. It should (i) be so and non-abrasive in order to prevent development of bumblefoot during transport, (ii) be non-slip so that the bird can steady itself and (iii) prevent build up of faecal maer that can cause urate burns. Blue-tube rubber mang covered with blue inconnence pads or a suspended neng floor are the best opons. Folded newspaper is inappropriate as it becomes too slippery when contaminated by faeces. Shredded paper, straw, hay and seagrass should be avoided as it increases the risk of Aspergillosis

Vehicle transport: van or ute, with canopy and a separate air space from people to prevent inhalaon of oil fumes. Ideally temperature controlled (heang on cold days, cooling on hot days).

Lile Blue Penguin HUSBANDRY REQUIREMENTS Housing Keep indoors and temperature controlled at 25-27°C because oiled animals cannot thermoregulate.

pre-cleaning Enclosure (oiled) Plasc, vented bulk bins or box pallets are ideal for easy cleaning (available from www.plasc.co.nz and other plasc packaging companies) Can keep mulple birds in one crate, but do not overcrowd. Stainless steel or plasc hospital cages can be used as an alternave, but keep only one bird per cage.

Flooring Best opon is fine (0.5cm) non-knoed coon neng using PVC pipe as a frame and suspended at least 15cm from the cage floor. Alternave is blue tubing (available at hardware stores). These flooring types prevent uric acid and faecal buildup which can cause feather damage and bumblefoot. If using steel or plasc hospital cages then mulple layers of towels can be used on top of blue mang, but soiled towels must be changed regularly.

Covering Mesh or shade cloth on top of bulk bins/box pallets and secured with clips or weights. Cover the front of hospital cages with a towel to reduce stress.

Housing Enclosure post-cleaning Outdoor aviary with shade cloth covering the roof and walls. Can house mulple birds together. (NOT oiled) Flooring: Blue tube mang on floor to prevent uric acid and faecal buildup and bumblefoot. NOTE: grey tube flooring is harder than the blue version which increases risk of bumblefoot.

Burrows Hides made of plasc - upturned plasc box with semi-circle cut out. Protect the sharp edge of doorway with a hose-pipe split lengthways and taped in place. Provide one hide per bird.

Pool Penguins in the rehabilitaon phase need access to water in their enclosure to aid waterproofing. • Suitable pool types: built-in, large plasc containers or children’s swimming pool or shell. • Non-slip ramps to allow easy access and exit of water. • Minimum water depth for LBPs is 30cm. • Preferably use seawater, but freshwater can be used. If using freshwater then provide birds with a salt supplement in order to maintain salt glands (see “Supplements” secon). • Heat water during winter months if ambient air temperature is below ~10-15°C. • Connuous flow of water is required to prevent buildup of fish oil and faeces on the surface of the water which inhibits the waterproofing process. This is most easily achieved by placing a hose above the pool allowing the running water to break the surface of the pool water and leng it overflow. Good drainage around the pool is required. • Surface skimmer is useful for removing oil, food and faeces floang on the surface.

Transport As per handling instrucons. within facility If oiled, then wear appropriate PPE and encase in disposable material such blue inconnence pads. If clean, then encased in large towel. Wear gloves to prevent feather damage. Cover head to reduce visual smuli and stress.

Idenficaon Leg band or flipper band (temporary idenficaon to be removed before release) Lile Blue Penguin NUTRITION, SUPPLEMENTS and FLUIDS At admission Triage assessment: physical examinaon by trained personnel (preferably a veterinarian) Record cloacal temperature. Give fluids at inial stabilisaon rates below. Dosing If large numbers of birds require dosing then calculate dose based on the weight of the heaviest bird. Group animals into similar age and/or size class for dosing calculaons. Fluid rate Inial stabilisaon: 75-80ml/kg body weight/day divided into two doses PO Once hydrated: 50-60ml/kg body weight/day divided into two doses PO Fluid type For long term maintenance use either isotonic saline (0.9%) or Vytrate®/Lectade® Amount Feed 10% of body weight (BW) TWICE a day. (i.e. 20% of body weight total each day). Food type If weak, emaciated, severely dehydrated or unable to hold head up: Only give oral electrolyte fluids at inial stabilisaon rate for 24 hours to rehydrate gut. Use either: Equal parts (50:50) Hartmann’s soluon and 2.5% dextrose in 0.45% saline 5% dextrose in 0.9% saline or Vytrate®/Lectade®

Once gut is hydrated, then start with small amounts of fish slurry and change to isotonic fluids. If able to take solids: human grade small whole salmon. Food Fish slurry: Place human grade salmon in heavy duty blender and blend. Add just enough isotonic preparaon (0.9% NaCl) fluid to blender to achieve a smooth consistency. Sieve slurry using a metal sieve to remove any chunks that may clog the feeding tube. Discard aer 24 in the refrigerator. Whole fish: Ideally defrost covered in refrigerator to retain nutrional quality. However, if large amounts of food are required then fish can be defrosted under cold running water immediately before feeding so long as vitamin supplements are given. To cut large whole salmon into pieces, cut on an angle as pictured. Supplements ① Mazuri seabird vitamins: 1 tablet per 225g fish. (Available at Carlyle Vet Clinic, Napier 06 835 1096). ② Itraconazole (Sporonox): 5mg/kg BW PO once daily via so crop tube to prevent Aspergillosis. ③ Salt (sodium chloride) to recondion salt gland: Only required if birds have been housed long- term in freshwater. Start at least 2 week before release. Give orally either as 3% saline soluon at maintenance fluid rates or 100mg/kg BW PO once daily. Gradually increase dose over four days: Day 1 give ¼ dose, Day 2 give ½ dose, Day give ¾ dose, Day 4 give full dose, then connue at full dose.

Delivery & Warm fluids and slurry to 38-40°C. Deliver fluid and fish slurry with so crop tube, preferably silicone. device Force feed (FF) whole or pieces of fish head first. Some birds will learn to take fish by hand, others will need the head restrained and bill opened to place fish into the back of the mouth. Once the fish is far enough to the back of the throat the bird should swallow it down – release the head at this stage to allow the animal to swallow. Avoid geng fish juices on the skin and feathers at the corner of the mouth as this disrupts waterproofing and causes dermas. If fish juice/oil gets onto skin or feathers DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WIPE OFF. Rinse area with a large syringe of water and allow bird to preen. HEALTH SCREENING Venepuncture sites: Interdigital, brachial, and medial metatarsal veins

Anaemia Kidney funcon Birds exposed to oil can quickly become anaemic Uric acid (UA) levels in birds are a measure of kidney (decreased red blood cells) due to the toxic affects of oil funcon. Elevated UA levels >600 IU/dl indicate that the and starvaon. As a minimum, packed cell volume (PCV) kidneys are failing or the animal is severely dehydrated, and serum total protein (TP) should be measured at both of which commonly occur in oiled birds. (1) intake (2) pre-wash (3) post-wash (4) pre-release. Treatment: IV or PO isotonic fluids at twice maintenance Severely anaemic (PCV<15-20%) birds require blood rates (100ml/kg/24 hours) transfusion. Birds should not be released unl their UA levels return Birds should NOT be: to within the normal range (<600 IU/dl). If UA levels • washed unl PCV ≥30% and TP ≥25g/L remain elevated despite treatment then the bird likely • released unl their PCV and TP levels return to within has irreversible kidney failure and should be euthanised the normal range for LBPs = PCV 30-55%, TP 40-60 g/L on humane grounds. Lile Blue Penguin

Common Medicaons Washing Birds must be stable and strong enough to withstand An-fungals: Preventave treatment of Aspergillosis the stress of washing. This may mean that a bird will (a severe respiratory fungal infecon) is highly remain oiled for several days unl it has been stabilised. recommended as these birds are extremely suscepble to this life-threatening disease when in capvity. Requirements for washing are very specific, such as Itraconazole available only by veterinary prescripon. water temperature, water soness and brand of See dose rate on page 1. detergent. Refer to the “Washing” factsheet for detailed informaon. Anbiocs: are only required if the animal has an open or infected wound or known bacterial infecon and Waterproofing should only be given if prescribed by a veterinarian aer To regain waterproofing, birds must be given access to a examinaon of the animal. pool with haulouts so that they can preen and dry off Dose rates: Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 125mg/kg PO BID between swims. Degree of waterproofing should be Enrofloxacin 5-10mg/kg PO BID assessed using the Waterproofing Assessment sheets.

Pain relief: is only required if the animal has a painful Lile Blue Penguins can take up to 10 days to become condion (e.g. open wound) and should only be given if fully waterproof. To be fit for release the bird must be prescribed by a veterinarian aer examinaon of the 100% waterproof aer 6 hours of forced swimming (no animal. Dose rates: access to haulouts). Meloxicam (for mild to moderate so ssue pain) 0.5-1 mg/kg BID Release criteria Butorphanol (for moderate to severe bone pain) Birds should only be released if they fulfill ALL the 5mg/kg IM ideally every 2-3hours but can be given following criteria: twice a day 1. Fully waterproof aer 6 hours swim test (refer to “Waterproofing” guidelines). Acvated charcoal: not recommended 2. Weight within normal range (on page 1) AND Body Condion Score at least 3/5 Problems associated with capvity ALL secondary complicaons require veterinary aenon. Isolate any sick birds from the group.

1. Aspergillosis A serious, life-threatening respiratory fungal infecon. Clinical signs include noisy or difficulty breathing. Treatment involves daily nebulisaon with a specific anfungal agent only available through a veterinarian.

2. Pressure sores: keel lesions, hock lesions or pododermas (bumblefoot) 3. PCV is 35-55% and TP is 30-55 g/L

Best prevented with good husbandry and appropriate 4. UA <600 IU/dl

floor coverings. Depending on severity the bird may 5. Secondary complicaons resolved and checked by require surgery. Treatment involves specific wound care veterinarian and bandaging. Other things to consider: • Is their release habitat free from oil? 3. Traumac injuries • LBPs can be released on land near the shoreline. Traumac injuries such as bone fractures can occur in Authors: S. Finlayson, B. White, L. Chilvers, G. Finlayson. capvity due to excessive force used during handling or Thanks to veterinary technicians and veterinary residents in the Wildbase issues in the enclosure (eg. gaps where legs or flippers Hospital and to others for their input, feedback and photos. can get stuck). Disclaimer: This fact sheet is managed by Wildbase Oil Response (WOR) for informaon purposes only. Informaon contained in it is drawn from a variety 4. Feather damage of sources external to WOR. Although reasonable care was taken in its preparaon, WOR does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, reliability, Usually occurs from inappropriate handling or enclosure. completeness, or currency of the informaon or its usefulness in achieving Birds cannot be released if feather damage effects any purpose. To the fullest extent permied by law, WOR will not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred in or arising by reason of any waterproofing. If it is the wrong me of year for a person relying on informaon in this fact sheet. Persons should accordingly natural moult, please seek advice from Wildbase on how make and rely on their own assessments and enquiries to verify the accuracy to induce moult. of the informaon provided. Pictures: Unless otherwise credited, all pictures are copyright of Wildbase.