Sedation of Pet Birds

Sedation of pet birds has become an increasingly popular technique to facilitate common clinical procedures, such as physical examination, blood collection, or radiography. Sedation provides immobilization, reduces vocalization, and attenuates the stress response caused by manual restraint. Midazolam and midazolam-butorphanol are the most commonly used drugs for sedation of pet birds, and they provide dose-dependent sedation with no significant side effects if used at the published dosages. The intranasal route of administration is a noninvasive alternative to intramuscular administration and has been shown to be a safe and effective technique to rapidly induce sedation in pet birds. Reversal with flumazenil should be performed in most cases of midazolam or midazolam-butorphanol induced sedation, in order to achieve rapid and complete recovery.