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Yellow-Eyed Penguin (Megadyptes Anfipodes) Picture of Bird

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Yellow-Eyed Penguin (Megadyptes Anfipodes) Picture of Bird Yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes anpodes) Picture of bird Full life history info: h6p://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/yellow-eyed-penguin Introduc@on Ecology and life history The yellow-eyed penguin (YEP) is endemic to New Normal adult weight range: Zealand and is the largest species of penguin that 5-6kg but get to 7-8kg pre-moult breeds on the mainland. Breeding colonies are found Moult: Synchronous moult i.e. moults all feathers at the on the southwest coast of the South Island as well as same Fme. In April for a 3-4 week duraon. the subantarcFc on Auckland and Campbell Islands. During this period YEPs stay on land and do not go The mainland and subantarcc populaFons are swimming to forage for food. geneFcally disFnct. Breeding: August to April. There are approximately 1700 breeding pairs and Monogamous. the species is considered naonally vulnerable. Egg laying between September to October. Chicks are suscepFble to predaon by introduced Two eggs laid over 2-3 days predators such dogs, cats, ferrets and stoats. Incubaon 39-51 days. There is a great deal of inter-annual variaon in Age at fledging 98-120 days. breeding success which is thought to be due to Age at first breeding 2.6 years. variaons in food supply. Lifespan: 20+ years Disease in an important threat to the mainland Diet: Fish and squid populaon. Outbreaks of diphtheriFc stomaFs or Conserva@on status (NZ Threat Classifica@on): bill deformiFes in growing chicks occur intermi6ently Naonally vulnerable but no specific causave agents have been idenFfied. 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, protecFon for clothing e.g. Tyvec suit). Old towels or blue inconFnence 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 YEPs can be caught in a net or by hand towel to restrain their strong flippers and with or without a towel. Long-handled prevent feather damage. Cover the head with fishing nets are useful for capture if the the towel to 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 between the bird and the water to the head in the palm of one hand and gripping prevent them from entering it. the bo6om of the jaws with thumb and fingers. Transport to WARNING – NEVER place your eyes close to holes in transport boxes. facility Herons, gannets & cormorants will lunge at eyes causing serious injury or blindness. Transport box: Made of plasFc (NOT wood) as oil contaminaon can be cleaned and the box reused. Best opFon is an PetPak carrier: XXL Model No. PP60, 74(H) x 62(W) x 95(L)cm. YEP must be able to stand up or lie flat inside cage (average YEP height approx 65cm) Only ONE bird per box. Flooring: Correct flooring in the transport box is important. It should (i) be sod 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 inconFnence pads or a suspended neng floor are the best opFons. 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). Yellow-eyed penguin HUSBANDRY REQUIREMENTS Housing Keep indoors and temperature controlled at 25-27°C because oiled animals cannot thermoregulate. pre-cleaning Enclosure (oiled) • Keep in temperature controlled rooms. YEPs are too large to be kept in standard hospital cages. • If room is very large then build temporary enclosures. Ensure walls of temporary enclosure are made of materials that can easily be cleaned of oil such as plasFc or metal, not wood. Examples of suitable walls include temporary metal fencing lined with shade cloth (to prevent feather damage) or plasFc traffic barriers without holes. Ensure metal fencing is not galvanised with zinc or lead as this could lead to heavy metal poisoning if the birds chew on the fence. • MulFple birds can be housed together. Do not overcrowd. • Reduce visibility of humans and noise to minimise stress. Flooring Avoid oil coming into contact with a concrete floor as it is very difficult to clean. Line floor with heavy duty plasFc sheets (e.g. pond liner or large garbage bags) then place blue tube mang on top (available at hardware stores). Correct flooring is very important to prevent uric acid and faecal buildup which can cause feather damage and bumblefoot. Covering Cover over the enclosure is not required. Housing Enclosure post-cleaning Outdoor aviary with shade cloth covering the roof and walls. Can house mulFple birds together but do not overcrowd. (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 Large hides made of plasFc - upturned plasFc box with arch 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 plasFc containers or plasFc (non-inflatable) child’s pool. • Non-slip ramps to allow easy access and exit of water. • 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” secFon). • No need to heat the pool water. YEPs are large, robust and come from a cold water climate. • ConFnuous 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 instrucFons. within facility If oiled, then encase in disposable material such as blue inconFnence pads. If clean, then encase in large towel. Must wear gloves to prevent feather damage. Cover head to reduce visual sFmuli and stress. IdenFficaon Leg band or flipper band (temporary idenFficaon to be removed before release) Yellow-eyed penguin NUTRITION, SUPPLEMENTS and FLUIDS At admission Triage assessment: physical examinaon by trained personnel (preferably a veterinarian) Record cloacal temperature. Give fluids at ini,al stabilisa,on 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 IniFal stabilisaon: 80-100ml/kg body weight/day divided into two doses PO Once hydrated: 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 and dehydrated: Give oral electrolyte fluids at ‘iniFal stabilisaon’ rate listed above for 24 hours to rehydrate gut. use either: Equal parts (50:50) Hartmann’s soluFon 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. If able to take solids: human grade small to medium 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 nutriFonal 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. 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 sod crop tube to prevent Aspergillosis. ③ Salt (sodium chloride) to recondiFon 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 soluFon 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 conFnue at full dose. Delivery & Warm fluids and slurry to 38-40°C. device Large volumes of fluid and fish slurry are easier to deliver with a large, plasFc, lamb stomach tube 16” in length (pictured) and 60ml catheter-Fp syringe. Force feed (FF) whole 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.
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