Ketamine hydrochloride intramuscularly is suitable for anaesthesia in swifts, followed by a second injection with Diazepam, since violent excitations often occur with Ketamine hydrochloride as a single medication. This combination, which must never be administered in a mixed syringe due to the risk of muscle necrosis, has proven to be sufficient and well tolerated for most surgical procedures and for imping. An extremely high dosage among birds is necessary to reach the tolerance stage.
Inhalation anaesthesia with Isoflurane is very well tolerated and has many advantages. Possible injuries to the pectoral muscles from injections are avoided, and a long awakening phase often accompanied by excitations is eliminated. This makes inhalation anaesthesia ideal for smaller surgical procedures and feather checks for large feather damage, when a precise, possibly endoscopic examination of affected feather follicles is indicated.
The advantage of injection anaesthesia is the freer mobility of the patient during procedures that require frequent and rapid repositioning, e.g. during imping. The equipment for inhalation anaesthesia would be extremely obstructive here.
Analgesia plays an important role in the treatment of trauma patients. Even if it has not yet been concretely proven in swifts whether an administered analgesic actually relieved pain or not, analgesics should always be administered as standard for fractures, other types of injuries and painful surgical procedures. Carprofen ("Rimadyl") and Meloxicam ("Metacam") have proven equally well tolerated. To minimise the number of injections, Carprofen can be injected once intra-operatively. Subsequently, Meloxicam is given orally 2-3 times daily, each time following a feeding. It is advisable to use Meloxicam as premedication and to continue administration post-operatively for 5 to 7 days.
Flunixin-Meglumine ("Finadyne") should not be used as a precaution due to the side effects observed in other bird species.
Local analgesics such as Diclofenac ("Voltaren eye drops") or Ketorolac-Trometamol ("Acular eye drops") are well suited for eye injuries.
Pre- and post-operatively as well as for injuries of all kinds, oral administration of "Traumeel-S" injection solution has additionally proven effective in swifts. In various observations at the Swift Clinic, it was noticeable that patients who received "Traumeel-S" recovered faster after surgery, an accident or an injury and again showed undisturbed general well-being than those who had not received the preparation. Applied locally as well, e.g. dripped sterile onto injection sites, "Traumeel-S" promotes the healing process and resorption of haematomas.
| Active Ingredient | Dosage | Trade Name | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carprofen | 1-2 mg/kg i.m. SID | Rimadyl | Pfizer |
| Flunixin Meglumine |
5 mg/kg i.m. 1x | Finadyne | Essex Tierarznei |
| Meloxicam | 1 drop p.o. BID SID 5 |
Metacam | Boehringer Ingelheim |
| Active Ingredient | Dosage | Trade Name | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diazepam | 3-5 mg/kg i.m. | Diazepam | Ratiopharm |
| Ketamine | 60-80 mg/kg s.c., i.m. | Ketanest, "Hostaket" |
Hoechst Roussel |
| Embutramide | 200 mg/kg i.v., s.c. | T 61 | Sanofi Ceva |