Preventative Medicine
The National Aviary’s skilled veterinary team provide a high level of care to meet each individual’s needs and to keep every animal who calls the National Aviary home thriving and healthy. Birds, like any other animal, require regular, routine care for their wellbeing through all stages of their lives.
Caring for a flock of over 550 birds is no small undertaking. The National Aviary’s veterinary team perform annual exams on birds as large as a Steller’s Sea-Eagle to those as small as a Guam Kingfisher, from flightless birds like African Penguins to long-legged shorebirds like American Flamingos. Annual health screenings involve a physical evaluation, vaccinations, special treatments, and checkups of any pre-existing conditions.
Veterinary staff customize routine care for each species and each animal’s individual needs. For example, to examine Southern Three-banded Armadillos, the veterinary team uses mirrors to view the armadillos’ underbodies—this keeps the armadillos’ comfortable and prevents them from curling up into a ball, which is a natural behavior. Examining a large bird, like an Andean Condor, requires multiple veterinary team members coordinating closely to complete assessments quickly.
