Stethascope..

[AmyMyBlueFront]

… I know this is prolly a weird question..but...does anyone have/use a stethoscope primarily to listen to your fids heart?
now that Amy has been doing the flapflap sessions on a regular basis I'm thinking of getting one so I can listen to his heart,since my hearing kinda sucks.



Jim

 

[noodles123]

Interesting idea, but I think I would just freak myself out lol! Plus, I think the cord would be bitten....

 

[HEEDLESS]

I do have one and I don't listen to her heart everyday..



If you use one, don't do it with laying on his back.

Try it and you will see the difference of laying on his back and standing.





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[AmyMyBlueFront]

I do have one and I don't listen to her heart everyday..



If you use one, don't do it with laying on his back.

Try it and you will see the difference of laying on his back and standing.





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I didn't realize there is a difference..since he has no problems of lying in my hands on his back,that was my plan

Jim

 

[charmedbyekkie]

I have thought about getting one, simply because I do want to have an idea of how stressed he is when we dremel his nails - I can sort of feel his heartbeat when I cradle him. But I also know just touching him sometimes gets him upset (he is getting a bit better about it though), so it'd be tough to figure out what's a good baseline of normal/healthy heartbeat.

Sounds like a good idea for Amy though!

 

[ChristaNL]

Since you can feel the heartbeat pretty well if you place your fingertips lightly on the keel / breastbone and then next to it (or even if you hold the bird around the body and feel through the pectoral/ flightmuscle) why bother with a stethoscope?


(unless you need the exact count of course, but bird-hearts beat so fast I could not keep up with the counting anyway)

 

[EllenD]

This is an interesting question...Do you know what you're listening for? That would be the first thing I would look into, if you're wanting to do this because you're concerned about stress on his heart...I'm not sure what you're main motivation is for doing this, so forgive me if I'm not understanding why right now Jim...

If I remember correctly I think Amy has a heart issue? I don't remember if it was him or another bird...Either way, if you get him flappin' and get his heart-rate up, listen for both arrhythmias (missed beats or off-beats) and murmurs (sound like "whooshing" beats rather than sharp, bright beats, like "whooshing" water)...And of course take his heart-rate...

And you can certainly listen to his heartbeat while he's laying on his back, that's not an issue at all, neither at-rest or under stress. Doctors have to listen to it any way they can to pick-up every little thing, and Amy laying on her back will not effect anything at all that you're listening for...

 

[noodles123]

I can see my bird's feathers moving in her chest are when she is nervous...It is like a shiver/heart-beat (that having been said, when she is really nervous, she flattens them out so that seeing them move is difficult, but again, I can tell by looking at her). That is my signal that she is stressed...That is, perhaps, a perk of owning a Cockatoo (among the goofy ones).

 

[noodles123]

This is an interesting question...Do you know what you're listening for? That would be the first thing I would look into, if you're wanting to do this because you're concerned about stress on his heart...I'm not sure what you're main motivation is for doing this, so forgive me if I'm not understanding why right now Jim...

If I remember correctly I think Amy has a heart issue? I don't remember if it was him or another bird...Either way, if you get him flappin' and get his heart-rate up, listen for both arrhythmias (missed beats or off-beats) and murmurs (sound like "whooshing" beats rather than sharp, bright beats, like "whooshing" water)...And of course take his heart-rate...

And you can certainly listen to his heartbeat while he's laying on his back, that's not an issue at all, neither at-rest or under stress. Doctors have to listen to it any way they can to pick-up every little thing, and Amy laying on her back will not effect anything at all that you're listening for...

Are you sure there is no difference between a bird on its back and sitting up? This is certainly not the case in humans, as even slouching/crossing legs can interfere with blood pressure readings. Gravity must take a toll..Maybe I am missing something about bird anatomy though.

 

[Laurasea]

Birds hearts beat very very fast. It can be very hard to hear abnormal sounds, unless the heart problem is severe. It takes a lot of listening to teach yourself, or pick up these sounds. If you get one , you want a nice one, the cheap ones aren't worth it , at least for listening to a bird. Guess I need to dig mine out, and give it a try myself

 

[Scott]

Might ask Amy's vet for some guidance on what to listen for. During my ekkie Angel's last year and a half, she had heart issues. I could hear definite murmurs and arrhythmias.