Epizootiology of Proventricular Dilatation Disease in Breeding Cockatiels

Proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) continues to cause morbidity and mortality among companion and aviary birds. Field observations have been used to suggest that the etiologic agent of PDD can be spread through horizontally and vertically. To evaluate issues related to the natural transmission of the PDD agent, breeding pairs of cockatiels in which at least one individual of each pair was histologically positive for PDD were placed in enclosures to facilitate breeding and both the adults and their offspring were followed to determine the rate of transmission in the population.