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Fatty Liver Disease and the Use of Dietary Fats for Companion Birds (Hepatic Lipidosis)

Filed under: Ailments/Illness/Disease, Liver and Kidney Disease, Specialized Information — Leave a comment

January 29, 2012

I recently wrote a fairly comprehensive overview regarding dietary fats for companion birds. In that review I mentioned “fatty liver” disease but I did not go into great detail. I think it might be a good idea to explain just what fatty liver disease is and how it develops as well as how it can be avoided and still feed our birds the “good fats” they need in their diet.

In fatty liver disease fat accumulates in the liver, more correctly an abnormal amount of fat lipids are retained within in each cell of the liver creating liver hepatitis. It affects the metabolism of fats in the liver. It adds to an already existing metabolic problem of glucose processing known as insulin resistance and even adds to the existing problem of malnutrition if it is already present.

Fatty liver disease normally develops in humans as the result of drinking too many alcoholic beverages over a long period of time destroying liver cells thus creating cirrhosis of the liver.

But there is a type of fatty liver disease that develops where drinking alcohol is not involved and it is appropriately called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Scientists and researches aren’t exactly sure what causes this type of FLD but they suspect it has to do with insulin resistance along with a buildup of bad (LCT) triglycerides in the liver, inflammatory bowel disorder, or even malnutrition. They also strongly suspect that the victim has a weakened immune system and this could very well be the case in parrots that may carry viruses for autoimmune disorders such as PBFD or even Psittacosis. Birds that have, or have had Polyoma or Pacheco’s are also susceptible to FLD because both of these are auto-immune disorders. In the case of having any of these immune disorders the immune system attacks the liver causing the liver to become susceptible to FLD.

Another antagonist of NAFLD is Wilson’s Disease. This is an inherited disorder where the carrier of the gene absorbs and retains too much copper in body tissue, especially the liver. In the case of FLD fats cannot be processed correctly because the accumulation of copper present in the liver causes damage to the liver so that it does not function properly.

I will briefly touch on the idea of malnutrition. If, in my opinion, we are feeding our birds nothing but highly processed foods then the signs are obvious, there is absolutely no way our bird can receive the right kind of nutrition from something that is ground up beyond recognition and then chemical supplements are added back into it. Our birds need whole-food nutrition in order to receive all of the natural digestive enzymes, macro-nutrients, micro-nutrients and vitamins whole food has to offer. No living creature can survive on a few ground ingredients with nothing but additional chemicals added to them and be expected to thrive. A large variety of natural and living ingredients need to be fed on a daily and ongoing basis for the life of the living creature.

Then there is the much more obvious symptoms of FLD, too much bad fat. And this is what all of us worry so much about, even to the point that we find ourselves holding back the much needed fat our companion birds actually need in their diet in order for their systems to properly function. In humans it is known fact that 70% of our brain is made up of fat. Fat helps carry oxygen to our brain among other vital nutrients. If we have a knowledgeable understanding about the kind of fats we need to be feeding to our birds then we will not have any worries about feeding fat to our birds. After all, these exotic flighted creatures consume good fats in abundance in their natural habitats, it only makes sense they need these fats in their diet on a regular basis. So why are we taking these healthy fats away simply because we have decided to turn these creatures into our companions in our homes? It doesn’t make sense no matter what reasons we use. To say that they don’t get as much exercise, that they are more sedate in their cages doesn’t add up. They have very high metabolisms even when they are at rest. They have naturally oily glands, especially their preening glands, this is what their feathers need to keep preened correctly to keep them oiled smoothly down for flight and to lay smoothly on their body. They need the oil to keep their skin supple and their beaks and talons strong, but not brittle.

So let me explain the difference in fats once more.

There are long chain fats (LCFAs) and medium chain fats (MCFAs). The long chain fats are what animal fats are made of and the systems of living creatures don’t know how to metabolize these kinds of fats. Therefore they need high amounts of insulin from the pancreas as well as bile from the liver to be broken down and metabolized. In other words these kinds of fats overtax a living creature’s system. And what doesn’t get used as energy ends up getting stored in the fat cells throughout the body, as well as the liver, i.e. fatty liver disease can eventually set in. Compound that with any additional problems such as an auto-immune disorder as I mentioned above and nothing but trouble abounds. LCFAs should not be consumed by living creatures; they are what can cause strokes, heart disease and fatty liver disease.

But if the fats that are being consumed are medium chain fats, such as fats that are found in plant fatty acids such as flax and hemp oils, then we have less to worry about. These fats are “good fats” and do not require insulin from the pancreas or bile acids from the liver to be metabolized. Basically, these fats do not raise blood glucose levels, nor do they tax the liver and kidneys. Almost all of these fats get turned into energy for the body to use. And those that don’t are quickly excreted through the body’s waste system instead of being stored in fat cells.

We have to know to avoid the more common plants fats though such as corn, sunflower, safflower, canola and peanut oil as these are too high in the Omega 6’s and are not balanced enough to consume on a regular basis. Even though Omega 6 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats and are considered to be healthy fats, too many of these can actually cause inflammation of the arterial walls. Americans consume too many of these fats in all of the highly processed foods we eat, and unfortunately this is all too true for our parrots as well. Again, we must know how to balance the good fats for our parrots in order for them to obtain the best possible health advantage. It’s not that we should stop feeding them fat; we just have to know how to feed the good fats in the right balance.

We need to know how to generally balance the good fats so that the proper amount of Omegas they contain are being fed (some species will require additional “good fats” added to their diet). In other words if we are feeding what seems to be good fats but they are heavy in the Omega 6’s, then we are adding to the problem of inflammatory illnesses, such as in the case of arterial plaques. But when we balance the Omegas as I have mentioned in a couple of my articles then the “good fats” actually help scrub the arterial walls of the bad plaque.

Americans have been told for far too long to avoid all fat. We have not been educated on the difference between good fat and bad fat. In fact researchers are now beginning to believe that a diet containing a good amount of healthy fats may not only stop Alzheimer’s, but actually reverse it, because as I mentioned above, our brain is 70% fat! Researchers now believe that a diet rich in Omegas help a person’s brain to process information faster and more efficiently. Researchers are now thinking that depression can be helped by the right kind of fats in a person’s diet. How much fat is a parrot’s brain? Do we even know? What if a parrot’s brain is 90% fat and we are holding back the very nutrient our parrots need to process their logic and emotions? Did you ever think why our parrots scream? What about the parrot who always seems depressed. Maybe it’s the lack of good, healthy fat. What if part of their plucking problem is actually behavioral because they can’t think properly due to the lack of the amount of good fat they need to process their thinking ability? And what about the nutrients in the good fat they need to grow and preen their feathers? It gives us a lot to think about doesn’t it?

The important thing to know and understand is that FLD is not always caused by too much fat in the diet, in fact FLD is usually a secondary disease caused by other underlying illnesses, syndromes, disorders and diseases and even malnutrition. In addition when it is caused by too much fat it’s usually caused by consuming the wrong kinds of fats, such as LCFAs, not by consuming the healthy fats such as the kind living creatures readily recognize as friendly and easy to metabolize, the MCFAs. We can’t just simply state that fats have to be limited across the board. We need a solid understanding of the different kinds of fats and how they work within a living creature’s system.

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*Information supplied by The BEST Bird Food or any of its contributors, associates, et al, does not intend to diagnose, treat or cure any symptom, illness or disease. Any information provided is strictly for the purpose of “sharing” resources. Should a reader decide to use any such information they do so at their own risk and holds author(s) and associates, et al, of The BEST Bird Food blog harmless in any and all legal matters concerning their health and the health of their family and/or friends and/or colleagues who they may share the information with as well as all of their pets and/or livestock whom they may practice the information upon.

Tags: Bird-elicious, Birdelicious, fatty acids for birds, fatty acids for parrots, Fatty Acids in Parrot Diet, fatty liver disease, fatty liver disease in birds, Fatty liver disease in parrots, omega fatty acids, Omega Fatty Acids in Bird Diet

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When NOT to Use Apple Cider Vinegar

Filed under: Allergies, Mutilation Syndrome (AKA Feather Destruction), Specialized Information, XYZ...But REALLY Good Files! — Leave a comment

January 29, 2012

Apple Cider Vinegar has been touted as one of Nature’s most reliable bird room cleaners for many, many years because it’s “natural” and doesn’t contain harmful chemicals, dyes, or preservatives. However if you have a companion feathered friend in your bird room that exhibits signs of feather plucking, skin mutilation or generalized picking you may want to re-evaluate your use of any kind of vinegar in your bird room, apple cider or otherwise.

There are a couple of reasons why vinegar or apple cider vinegar should not be used in a bird room where there are birds who suffer from the Mutilation Syndrome.

The first reason you may not want to use apple cider vinegar is that some birds may actually be allergic to apples. While this is highly uncommon, this allergy does exist and should be considered.

But the second reason is much more common and highly probable. Many living creatures are allergic to all fermented products. And all kinds of vinegar are fermented. It doesn’t matter which kind of vinegar you choose, white or apple cider, both are fermented. Fermentation requires the use of bacteria and yeast and some living creatures are highly allergic to one, or both of these. While, yes, apple cider vinegar is the healthier of the two types of vinegars, it still has to be fermented to be, well, vinegar. And living creatures that are extremely sensitive to certain substances will most likely be sensitive to apple cider vinegar as well, whether they ingest it or they just come into contact with it as an airborne substance.

You may wonder how I know this for sure. I’ve done my research. But first and foremost I know by my own experience. If you want to know how I know firsthand please read here. I first began noticing this when I would use apple cider vinegar to clean my own bird room. I would feel physically horrible soon after beginning the task at hand. I would begin to itch all over and not long into the process I would begin to develop a headache. It was then I began thinking about the couple of “pluckers” I had in my flock, wondering if the vinegar was affecting them the same way it was affecting me. I began to watch them closely after I cleaned their room and cages, bowls, etc. To my surprise I realized that they scratched more intensely after cleaning their room each time I cleaned! I knew I had to find a new product to clean their room, both for my own comfort as well as theirs!

But apple cider vinegar is not only a “histamine-causing” agent; it’s really not all that great to be feeding on a regular basis. I know there are those who believe in feeding vinegar in order to keep their bird’s system on the “alkaline” side, but if our birds are receiving enough greens in the way of herbs and grasses in their diet in the first place, their system will already be on the alkaline side of the PH range and they should not need additional support to make their systems lean towards the alkaline PH range. You see, apple cider vinegar has a tendency to deplete the body of potassium as well as create low bone mineral density because it depletes calcium from the bones. And excessive use of apple cider vinegar has shown to cause damage to the stomach, duodenum and the liver in animals. How much is too much? This is information we do not yet know.

By this time you may be asking, “What do I use instead of apple cider vinegar to clean my bird room, cages and all of the bowls and toys?” I have a very simple answer for you, grapefruit seed extract (GSE) diluted to the manufacturer’s directions. It is not a fermented product so you need not worry about it affecting highly sensitive individual birds that suffer from allergies. And if you buy a reliable brand there will be no dyes, chemicals or preservatives to worry about. I always purchase mine from Mountain Rose Herbs and I have had absolutely no problems with it since I started using it many years ago. I don’t itch when I use it and neither do my birds. And I have never found myself suffering a headache after using it. It has no scent and leaves no film. But you must dilute it according to manufacturer’s directions (a little goes a very long way).

Apple cider vinegar may be one of Nature’s miracles, but just because it’s “natural” doesn’t mean it’s good for all creatures. I found that out the hard way. Yes, GSE may be more expensive than ACV, but aren’t our beloved feathered friends worth the extra expense? Especially in the case of those that pluck, mutilate and pick? Isn’t their comfort just as important as ours? I think so. I hope you do too!

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Tags: Apple cider Vinegar, Bird-elicious, feather destruction, feather destruction behavior, feather mutilation, feather mutilation in parrots, feather picking, feather plucking, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Grapefruitseed Extract, mutilation syndrome, Vinegar

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Liver and Kidney Disease – Part 2 – Hypervitaminosis A

Filed under: Ailments/Illness/Disease, Liver and Kidney Disease — Leave a comment

December 5, 2011

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In “Liver and Kidney Disease – Part 1 – Protein” we discussed how too much protein, or more accurately, the wrong kind of protein, may contribute to liver and/or kidney disease. In part 2 we will be discussing how hypervitaminosis A, or too much vitamin A, or again, more accurately the wrong kind of vitamin A, may contribute to liver and/or kidney disease. And I really, really want to stress, that I’m talking about the wrong kind of vitamin A more than I am the overdosing of vitamin A. However, the symptoms may very well look like the overdosing of vitamin A, but then the overdosing of vitamin A are very similar to the lack of vitamin A, so one cannot be absolutely sure which situation you are dealing with, the lack of this vitamin, or the overdosing of vitamin A because of feeding the wrong form of this vitamin unless you have your licensed avian veterinarian perform a blood test. Now that being said, let’s continue with our post regarding liver and kidney disease and how hypervitaminosis A contributes to this disease.

We hear so much about how our companion birds are not receiving enough vitamin A, and that is called hypovitaminosis A, or lack of vitamin A in the diet. That condition can very well be true if a diet high in seed and low in fresh produce is being fed.

But what if a diet primarily consisting of highly processed ingredients is being fed and then on top of those processed, or basically “dead” ingredients, a combination of laboratory-produced synthetic vitamin mix of supplements are added to the pressed and shaped pelletized kibble? This removes the need for the bird’s body to synthesize the vitamins from any whole-foods that they would normally ingest if they were being fed whole-foods rich in living digestive enzymes, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. In other words, when a diet that has already been “pre-digested” and smothered in artificial vitamins, like highly processed pellets, are fed to our birds, the need for our birds’ bodies to function as they were designed to function is removed from the entire digestion process; the need to utilize, synthesize and metabolize all of the digestive enzymes, fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals they were specifically designed to do all on their own becomes virtually unnecessary! Our birds’ entire digestive systems, endocrine systems, metabolic systems and every other natural bio-synthesis action becomes weak, lethargic, sluggish and lazy. We are taking away Nature’s miraculous built-in processes and actions.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning that it requires the fat in a living creature’s body in order to be metabolized. And where are the fats metabolized? Among many, many of the vast functions of the liver and kidneys, fat metabolism is only one of the functions they perform. When too much “synthetic” vitamin A is introduced to the body, or any fat-soluble vitamin for that matter, the liver and kidneys have to work overtime to metabolize it. If they cannot metabolize all of it, then these organs become over-taxed and disease sets in, especially if the bodily system is already lazy due to the kind of low-quality diet of a highly “pre-digested” diet it may be accustomed to.

There are two kinds of hypervitaminosis A, “acute” and “chronic”. Acute is when too much vitamin A is ingested over a short period of time and chronic is when too much is present in the system over a long period of time. Chronic overdosing is what I am so concerned about when feeding highly processed kibble that has been fortified with synthetic forms of vitamins, like the fat-soluble vitamin A that cannot be so easily thrown off and out of the system like water-soluble nutrients can. When we feed highly processed diets that contain synthetic forms of vitamin A we are constantly introducing and re-introducing this “artificial” source of vitamin A into our bird’s diet on a daily basis, without even knowing if science is correct about the amounts we should be feeding to our birds of this all-too-difficult-to metabolize-synthetic-form of vitamin.

So what actually happens when the liver and/or kidneys become over-taxed with synthetic vitamin A? You may see black spots on the feathers, feather loss, an overgrown beak, or talons, cracking, peeling or itching of the skin, abnormally oily skin, bright green urine, decreased appetite, lethargy, vomiting, and/or hypercalcaemia (too much calcium in the blood), and cataracts. Not all of these conditions need be present in order for your bird to be suffering from hypervitaminosis A. Interestingly enough; these can be the symptoms of hypovitaminosis A as well. But if you witness even one of these symptoms, I strongly encourage you to set up an appointment with your licensed avian veterinarian and have a test performed to check on the blood level of vitamin A in your bird.

Synthetic vitamin A, the kind produced in a laboratory is really a inferior substitute for the real thing, in my opinion, when so many whole-food sources are available for us and our companion animals. If the source of vitamin A listed on your brand of food says “acetate” or “palmitate” the source is synthetic. If the source is not listed, if it just says “vitamin A supplement”, the source is most likely synthetic, not natural. And even if it is natural, remember, because it is “oil-based”, it has to be preserved with something so that it does not go rancid. As I have mentioned many times, scientists, even after years and year of debate, still cannot agree whether synthetic vitamins are readily absorbed and metabolized by any living creature’s body. Therefore we have no concrete evidence that any synthetic vitamin is actually utilized in the very same manner as whole-food nutrition is utilized by a living creature’s body.

So what is the better, more natural approach to fulfilling our bird’s need for vitamin A, how can we be sure our bird is receiving enough vitamin A when all of this talk is going around that our birds are actually suffering a lack of vitamin A? It’s not all as difficult as it is made to sound.

We only need to know how to supply whole-foods, not highly processed foods that contain synthetic forms of nutrients, but whole-foods that supply the body’s need for the precursor to vitamin A, the nutrient that is needed for the body to synthesize vitamin A, so that the body can synthesize what it knows it needs in the proper amount of vitamin A. If that natural and organic nutrient is available in abundance then your bird will have plenty of what is needed to have all of the vitamin A it needs.

What is that nutrient? It is beta-carotene. Foods high in beta-carotene, like mango, apricots, and carrots are what are needed to manufacture vitamin A. These are my first choice of foods because they are also high in the essential amino acid “Lysine”, the other half of the chain of amino acids also necessary to make a complete protein. There are many other foods that contain beta-carotene, but unfortunately they are high in the essential amino acid “Arginine”. Our birds normally receive too much Arginine, the predominant amino acid which makes the other half of the complete protein, so that’s why I always try to get my readers to add foods that contain high amounts of Lysine to their bird’s diet. We want to be sure to introduce foods that are high in Lysine to make sure our birds are receiving complete proteins.

In addition to supplying the foundation to vitamin A, beta-carotene is an anti-oxidant which means that it helps in fighting the free radicals that cause so much harm to our birds’ bodies, like any carcinogenic agents. Beta-carotene helps heal minor skin irritations and wounds, it actually cleanses the liver and helps to excrete fats and bile, helps fight respiratory ailments and illnesses, helps fight anemia, boosts the immune system, and improves eyesight among many other important properties.

At any rate, beta-carotene is fairly harmless in comparison to synthetically produced vitamin A. Because it is a whole-food source, and only a precursor to vitamin A that the body uses to produce its own vitamin A as it needs it, the body can also rid itself of any beta-carotene easier than it can synthetic vitamin A. Don’t get me wrong, you will still need to be watchful about the amount of intake of beta-carotene through whole-food sources, you want to exercise common sense. But overall, vitamin A when synthesized from whole-food sources of beta-carotene, are a much safer form than synthetic vitamin A from laboratory-produced sources found in highly processed foods, especially when we still aren’t absolutely sure what each bird species really needs in their daily diets; we are basically guessing based on poultry diets even with all of the research that has been performed. So all said and done, doesn’t it just make sense to allow our birds’ bodies to decide how much vitamin A they really need and supply the beta-carotene needed to synthesize their own supply? It is my personal opinion it does makes good common sense.

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Tags: bird food, bird nutrition, Bird-elicious, Fatty liver disease in parrots, healthy bird food, Hypervitaminosis A in parrots, Hypervitaminosis in parrots, Hypovitaminosis A in parrots, Kidney Disease in Parrots, lack of vtamin A in parrots, Liver Disease in Parrots, parrot disease, parrot diseases, parrot nutrition, Parrots, the best bird food, too much vitamin A in parrots, vitamin A and parrots

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Liver and Kidney Disease in Parrots – Part 1 – Protein

Filed under: Ailments/Illness/Disease, Liver and Kidney Disease — Leave a comment

December 1, 2011

Liver and kidney disease runs rampant among companion birds. One holistic veterinarian, Robert D. Ness, DVM, believes, along with me, that it has to do mostly with the diets we are feeding to our beloved feathered friends. He believes that we need to lower the amount of protein we are feeding to our birds.[1] I personally believe that it may be possible that we are feeding diets too high in protein, but more accurately, we are feeding the wrong kind of proteins, animal protein in many cases. Even more accurately, when we adhere to feeding only plant protein, we still, after all of these years of research, are not feeding a balanced “complete protein” along with the appropriate amino acids, the building blocks of complete proteins, in which to aid the metabolism of those proteins. What happens next is an abnormally heavy burden that taxes both the liver and the kidneys in metabolizing these proteins without any help from the already over-taxed metabolic process, using the naturally occurring enzymes that would be produced by the body’s system if all of the amino acids were present to do the job they were meant to do, work as a team to break the proteins down in a way the body could actually utilize them, and recognize them as a nutritional substance.

Let’s begin with the nutrients being feed to our feathered friends. Normally we are feeding pellets which are virtually void of any real “living” nutrition to begin with. And usually the main ingredients, if you look on the package in order of ingredient listing from most to least, are either corn or sunflower seeds first, and usually soy follows not too far down the list, eventually you may find rice, barley or wheat too. All of these ingredients are high in the amino acid “Arginine”. And the holistic veterinarian I mentioned earlier, Dr. Ness, believes that our feathered friends who are suffering from kidney disease needs to go through kidney detox to remove some of the Arginine overload.[2] Now, I have discussed this amino acid at great length on our blog and I have indicated that because so many formulated bird foods are so heavy-laden with ingredients, lop-sided in containing this amino acid in comparison to its balancing partner “Lysine”, needed to make up a “complete protein”, that I highly suspect this may be one of the factors leading to “The Mutilation Syndrome”. But here we have yet another problem this imbalance of nutrients could be contributing to, liver and/or kidney disease.

And don’t think those of us who don’t feed highly processed foods are going to get off Scott-free! Because if we aren’t performing due-diligence and doing our homework, learning which foods to offer in order to feed a completely balanced diet to our birds, we could very well be causing the same problems that are caused by feeding highly processed foods. As I have indicated before, formulating a well-balanced daily diet isn’t a snap job!

So anyway, here we have diets that are high in “incomplete proteins”, and to add insult to injury we may be feeding animal proteins in addition to these diets that are lacking in the real kind of protein our birds need to thrive. It’s no wonder our birds are ending up with liver and/or kidney disease. Interestingly enough, if a bird has one, say liver disease, it seems that the other follows, kidney disease as well, or vice versa.

So what do we do then when our birds are found to have either or both of these diseases? Well, I’m assuming that if they have been “found” to have either of these diseases you have already had the disease(s) confirmed and diagnosed by your licensed avian veterinarian. And following your vet’s advice is definitely what you should be doing in the case of severe disease. But what can you do homeopathically at home to further aid in the detox your bird’s liver and kidneys?

I have compiled some information for you from a number of resources, one of which is from Dr. Ness himself. I have thoroughly checked out this information to make sure that this information is, I believe to be, reliable, useful and harmless for our birds. But of course, as always I must reiterate, I am not a licensed veterinarian so I cannot claim to diagnose, treat or cure any ailment, disorder, illness or disease in humans, pets or livestock. Any information I offer is purely for use at your own discretion.

*Important Note: Any detox program will deplete your bird’s mineral reserves to some great extent. For this reason I strongly recommend offering your bird freshly juiced fruits and vegetables on a daily basis as adding these juices will reintroduce a new supply of micronutrients consisting of enzymes, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals to your bird’s diet!!! This will also aid in the detox process. When I say “freshly juiced”, I mean using a high quality juicer to actually juice the fruits and vegetables yourself at home, not some juice you buy at the grocery store, those juices have been so overly processed, and have been sitting on the shelves for so long, their real nutrition have been long lost.

Here is a recipe to replenish your bird’s minerals while at the same time detoxing your bird’s kidneys: Please use organic fruits and vegetables, these will always supply the best nutrition and remember, you are attempting to “detox”, that means removing all chemical substances too, like fertilizers and pesticides!

4 cups watermelon (No rind) *If your bird is suffering “The Mutilation Syndrome” do not use this ingredient!

2 tablespoons raspberry *If your bird is suffering “The Mutilation Syndrome” do not use this ingredient!

6 strawberries

1 carrot

½ cucumber (May use skin as long as it is organic)

½ cup parsley

Here is a recipe to replenish your bird’s minerals while at the same time detoxing your bird’s liver:

2 kale leaves

6 spinach leaves

1 beet(you can use the tops too, if you have them

1 dandelion leaf(you can also get this in herbal tincture form)

2 carrots

1 beet (May use leaves)

¼ cup of cranberries

3 apples (Please use the skins)

1 handful of parsley

1 handful of alfalfa

And if your bird has both liver and kidney problems, just combine both recipes together for a wonderful and nutritional, replenishing and supportive juice! Buy only enough fresh, organic produce to last only a few days so that it doesn’t spoil or loose its nutritional content. And after you juice the produce, be sure to keep it in your refrigerator tightly capped so that nutrients don’t leach out. Feed only as much as your bird will consume at one serving and do not allow the juice to remain in open air any longer than say, about ½ hour due to spoilage concerns. Then toss what your bird does not consume.

Secondly, I would begin brewing either organic white or green tea and using it as your bird’s drinking water while taking your bird through the detox program which should last as long as your veterinarian is treating your bird for the specified disease. Organic white teas are the best teas to use for chelation, but they are also more expensive. I prefer to purchase my teas from Silk Road Teas. They literally travel to China and hand picks their teas. I use only their organic teas. Obviously allow the tea to cool to room temperature before serving to your bird. Do not allow the tea to sit openly all day long once your serve it to your bird, but you can allow the tea to sit for a few hours without worry of spoilage. Don’t serve water at the same time; make this the only beverage available so that your bird will be forced to drink it. Most likely your bird will readily drink it as birds actually like the tannins in teas.

Thirdly, combine and feed just a couple to a few pinches of this mixture on top of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Or, if preferred, mix it in with the fresh juice you are offering:

1/8 tsp of ground Burdock root (Arctium lappa)

1/8 tsp ground Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

1/4 tsp part Bupleurum (Bupleurum chinense)

1/4 tsp ground Oregon grape (Mahonia spp.)

1/2 tsp of ground Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

3/4 tsp of ground Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)

3/4 tsp of Chlorella (Chlorella vulgaris)

3/4 tsp of ground Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum)

1/2 tsp of Echinacea purpora root

3/4 tsp of ground Calendula flowers (Eschscholzia californica)

3/4 tsp of ground Cleavers leaves (Galium aparine)

3/4 tsp of Tumeric (Curcuma longa)

Few drops of Gardenia extract (Gardenia jasminosides)

In addition, the kidneys need Omega 3’s in order to flush out the bad fats/cholesterols, the LDL’s. Feeding organic flax seed and/or oil, as well as organic hemp seed and/or oil are good during this time of detox, but in small quantities because again, we don’t want to overburden already stressed kidneys. So offer just a couple to a few drops of each, the flax and hemp oil a couple times a week only depending on the size and species of your bird. And as far as the seed is concerned, probably 1/8 to 1 tsp of the two seeds mixed together, again depending on the size and species of your bird. Obviously a Budgie will only need a drop of oil a couple times a week compared to a Macaw who can consume as much as 5 to 15 drops several times a week when they have already over-taxed liver and kidneys. And again, a Budgie will only need a few sprinkles of the seed mixture a couple of times a week compared to a Macaw who can consume as much as 1-2 tsp per day while it is detoxing. So any species in between these sizes of birds you can kind of estimate in your mind.

Together with the above added detox you can add the following to your list of kidney detoxification regimen: Couch grass (Elymus repens) (aka Dog grass root), Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) and Marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis). I would combine them in equal parts of ¼ tsp each, ground, and add just a pinch on top of your bird’s fresh fruit and veggie mix, or as above, directly in their fresh juice mix.

Please understand, I’m not discussing the chelation process in regards to heavy metal toxicity, this is a topic I will cover in a blog post further down the road. Although this detox program will help with metal detox to some good extent, this detox program is mainly for general liver and kidney health and vitality in regards to over-taxed organs due to high protein or inaccurate/imbalanced protein intake without the necessary means, the correct amino acid present, to help metabolize the proteins that are being consumed.

It is well passed the time that all of us, bird lovers and avian nutritionists alike, but especially those who formulate daily commercial diets for our feathered friends, to wake up and realize we are not formulating diets for poultry who’s digestive tracts are much different than exotic aves. In addition, if we are really serious about the health and vitality of keeping companion birds in our homes for our pleasure, then we must also be serious about their long term health, not just the short term pleasure we may receive from the time we enjoy their presence in our life span before passing them off to someone else to carry the burden we can no longer carry for whatever reason we had to relinquish them, be it our own illness, death or financial situation. These beautiful creatures deserve the very best we have to offer them because they offer us, without any conditions forced upon us by their nature, their companionship…that’s what “companion” means…companionship. And it is supposed to go both ways, they offer us unconditional companionship, and we offer it back to them as well.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Liver and Kidney Disease in Parrots. I will be covering Vitamin A and how it affects these precious and miraculous organs!

[1]Clinical Avian Medicine – Volume 1 Pg. 361

[2] Clinical Avian Medicine – Volume 1 Pg. 361

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Tags: best bird food, bird food, bird nutrition, Bird-elicious, Birdelicious, Kidney Disease in Parrots, Liver Disease in Parrots, Parrot, parrot disease, parrot diseases, parrot nutrition, Parrots, Proteinuria in parrots, renal disease in parrots, the best bird food

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Seed to Combat “The Mutilation Syndrome”

Filed under: Mutilation Syndrome (AKA Feather Destruction) — 7 Comments

November 22, 2011

Lately we have been discussing some of the possible causes of “The Mutilation Syndrome“, one of which is the imbalance of the amino acid ratio of Lysine to Arginine in manufactured foods the pet food industry produces for your beloved birds. We are learning just how vitally important it is for you to educate yourself regarding each of the ingredients in your bird’s daily diet.

I have been attempting to help you learn how to properly judge those ingredients from the wholesomeness of those foods, to the vitamin content, the fatty acids, and now we are talking about the amino acid content which make up the protein and whether the protein is balanced and constitutes a “complete protein”. It is my belief that if your bird is not consuming a complete protein it is highly possible this may be one of the causes of “The Mutilation Syndrome“.

But what if your bird already has “The Mutilation Syndrome” and you are attempting to counter it? Then you need foods to balance the system. I have been searching for foods that will help you accomplish that task and I have been posting them on our blog as I complete the research.

Today I want to add a few seeds to our list of foods you can feed that are high in Lysine, the amino acid you want to feed to your plucking, mutilating bird. These seeds should not add to the problem, but instead help deter your bird away from this harassing disorder if it is, indeed, a physiological problem.

Amaranth, Buckwheat and Quinoa are all seeds (some people categorize them as grains) that are high in Lysine, the amino acid that counters Arginine. While Lysine is only half of the protein needed for a “complete protein”, if your bird is already consuming too much Arginine from all of the other foods it is consuming, adding these seeds to your bird’s diet will help balance the Arginine/Lysine ratio.

And don’t worry about “Buckwheat” containing wheat, it contains no wheat at all, and therefore no gluten, that indigestible protein that Celiacs cannot consume.

Okay, so for this reason, I am adding these seeds to our “do feed” list of ingredients for daily diets as well as the diet for “The Mutilation Syndrome“.

*Word of caution: Millet is high in Arginine, as well as Phenylalanine, (an amino acid we will be discussing further down the road when we discuss the issue of toe-tapping and wing-flipping), therefore I will be adding this seed to the list of “Do Not Feed” for birds suffering from “The Mutilation Syndrome”.

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Tags: bird food, bird nutrition, Bird-elicious, feather destruction, feather destruction behavior, feather mutilation, feather mutilation syndrome, feather picking, feather plucking, foods that contribute to feather plucking, healthy bird food, Parrot, parrot food, parrot nutrition, Parrots, the best bird food

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Bee Pollen and “The Mutilation Syndrome”

Filed under: Mutilation Syndrome (AKA Feather Destruction) — Leave a comment

November 21, 2011

Bee Pollen is naturally high in Lysine, and almost balanced in ratio with the amino acid Arginine. This makes it a wonderful source to add to your bird’s daily diet!

Our mission is always to provide a complete protein source for our birds. Knowing that birds have a predisposition in difficulty to absorbing and metabolizing proteins, it is absolutely necessary to provide the best possible proteins for their consumption we can find.

Not only does bee pollen offer a good ratio of Lysine to Arginine, it also contains a fair supply of Methionine, the amino acid necessary for the metabolism of protein.

In addition, bee pollen contains many, many natural vitamins and minerals not found in other food sources, making this food source an almost perfect food completely standing on its own.

One might say that a living creature could, if absolutely necessary, survive on bee pollen alone if desperate times called for it.

For these reasons I am adding bee pollen to our ever-growing list of foods “to feed”, not only for daily diets in general, but for birds suffering from “The Mutilation Syndrome“.

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Tags: bird food, bird nutrition, feather destruction, feather destruction behavior, feather mutilation, feather mutilation syndrome, feather picking, feather plucking, foods that contribute to feather plucking, healthy bird food, parrot food, parrot nutrition, the best bird food

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My Bird Scratches All of the Time! – Allergy Help!

Filed under: Ailments/Illness/Disease, Allergies — Leave a comment

November 15, 2011

Does your bird appear to have allergies? Does your bird scratch constantly? Even to the point of some amount of generalized feather picking, but not to the point of actual feather plucking or skin mutilation?

Well if this is the case your bird may be developing, or has already developed, allergies that are air-borne or contact allergies. It could be though that your bird is simply lacking in some nutrients that have caused it to develop food sensitivities that it would otherwise not be sensitive to. Sometimes a bird will develop a food sensitivity if it has been eating the same food for too long, or if a certain nutrient has been lacking in the diet for too long, or both situations are occurring simultaneously.

If you have not been offering fresh, whole foods to your bird’s diet other than a packaged, processed food day after day, it could very well be that your bird’s system is trying to tell you that it is developing a resistance to the food. So you may want to consider switching brands, or adding fresh, whole foods to your bird’s diet.

But let’s examine the possibility of certain nutrients lacking in a bird’s diet.

Many of you already know that I have a hypothesis that because parrots are quickly becoming the third most loved animal to keep as “pets” in our households, thus the “wild” is being bred out of them through the little amount of domestication that has taken place, they are losing their natural ability to synthesize vitamin C. And because of this they might need small amounts of vitamin C supplemented in their diets. I suggest feeding grapefruit as the natural food source for vitamin C. Besides acting as a natural “anti-histamine”, the vitamin C found in grapefruit will also help alkalinize your bird’s system, keeping it on the good side of the Ph range for optimum health.

Foods I would/would not feed that contain natural vitamin C are:

(Organic, please)

Red Grapefruit (You may feed the entire fruit, rind, seeds and all)
Grapefruit Seed Extract (diluted)
(Please do not feed oranges, they are not as high in vitamin C as grapefruit, and they actually contain histamines. The myth of eating oranges during the cold and flu season is just that, a myth.)

In addition, another dietary need that helps squelch the release of histamines is the essential amino acid methionine. This particular amino acid is also necessary for the metabolism of protein in our birds’ diets. Unfortunately it is not naturally synthesized in a bird’s body, therefore is must be introduced by way of the diet. It is not found in abundance in very many foods so we have to be diligent in finding foods that contain methionine.

Foods I would feed that contain methionine are in order of highest amounts are: (Organic, please)

Eucalyptus Leaves (Do not feed leaves that have the potential of being sprayed with pesticides)
Egg Whites (Cooked, always)
Eggs (Cooked, always)
Pumpkin Seeds (Raw)
Squash Seeds (Raw)
Sesame Seeds
Brazil Nuts

Of course I rarely suggest adding laboratory-produced nutrients to our pets’ diets. Instead I suggest adding natural whole foods that contain the nutrients in their purest form. Scientists, even after decades of use, are still debating whether synthetic nutrient supplements are absorbed and metabolized by living creatures in the same or similar manner as natural whole food nutrients. Since this is the case, I would rather err on the side of caution and obtain as many of the nutrients as I can for myself and my pets from natural whole food sources.

*Just in case allergies are not the cause of bird’s scratching and picking, you might want to take your bird in for a checkup by your licensed avian veterinarian. Your bird may have a parasite infestation such as Giardia or some other parasite. Birds are even known to be infested with lice and/or mites. It’s always good to rule out all medical reasons for your bird’s “itchiness”.

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Tags: feather destruction, feather mutilation, feather mutilation syndrome, feather picking, feather plucking, Parrot, parrot allergies, parrot disease, parrot diseases, Parrots

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Chili Peppers: High in Arginine

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November 12, 2011

Many of us know just how much our parrots LOVE chili peppers!

Unfortunately if your bird is suffering from the “Mutilation Syndrome” this particular delicacy may not be the food to feed to your beloved avian friend.

As it turns out chili peppers are high in “arginine” an amino acid, a precursor that produces “nitric oxide”. “NO” causes blood vessels to relax and dilate so that blood rushes through the vessels more freely which stimulates the vessels so much that they almost “vibrate” causing a “tingling” almost “itchy” feeling. In my opinion this is what alerts our birds to begin plucking their feathers out, leading even further to skin mutilation in some extreme cases.

In addition, as we all have experienced, chili peppers contain capsaicin which causes a “heated sensation” on top of the “vibrating sensation”. All of this lends to the itching sensation and adds to the plucking and mutilation syndrome.

Besides this issue of blood rushing through the vessels too fast, thus causing this itchy, tingling sensation, too much arginine in the diet, and not enough lysine, makes for unbalanced protein, or better said, an incomplete protein, one that cannot be properly metabolized. And as we already know, the avian species, overall, already has a difficult time at best metabolizing proteins.

For this reason I am adding chili peppers to the list of foods not to feed to birds that are suffering from the “Mutilation Syndrome“.

For further reading regarding chili peppers, here is an interesting article: Chili Peppers

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The Mutilation Syndrome – Breeding

Filed under: Breeding, Mutilation Syndrome (AKA Feather Destruction) — Leave a comment

October 30, 2011

It is a well-known fact that companion birds have not been fully domesticated, not by a long shot. Any person who has a parrot in their house for any length of time understands this simply by observing their behavior and attempting to interact with their “companion” bird, they quickly experience the “wild” that is still abundant in their feathered friend.

"DNA"

Unlike dogs (domesticated since between 30,000-15,000 BC) and cats (domesticated since 7500 BC), domesticated for literally centuries upon centuries, exotic birds (domesticated only since 300 BC) have only been seriously kept as pets for a much shorter period of time, if our record-keeping is correct. Keeping parrots for pets really caught on in the early 1500’s in Great Britain, even though the Roman’s regarded them of great value even before this. But still, this is not long enough for gene pools to split, expand and provide high and variable gene pool differences which guarantee that breeding anomalies will not occur at some point in any given breeder’s flock. And when you consider that the original “breeder birds” were literally captured from the wild, and this is where the foundational gene pools have been obtained, and because this is considered a “black market”, therefore difficult to smuggle these creatures across border lines, it is obvious that the gene pools, aka blood lines, are going to be relatively limited. This is what adds to, or constitutes breeding anomalies. Because of a lack of gene pools from which to draw in breeding these exotic creatures for the commercial market coupled with the lack of good DNA data and record-keeping, birds are being paired with other birds they should not be paired with and producing offspring that are less than healthy enough to possess that “survival of the fittest” DNA. Add to that a high demand for companion birds from the public at large and we have, out of our own lack of knowledge, created an absolute breeding nightmare. (In fact parrots are only third behind dogs and cats as the largest growing sector of “domesticated pets” in the U.S.) What we have been left to deal with are birds in our cages who are suffering a combination of physical, mental and emotional deficiencies. This is not a pretty picture.

There is a very specific name and category to the medical problem I am describing in this post. However, I will not be going in-depth here in my post because the overall problem cannot be solved with one post. This problem is one that will need to be addressed on a very wide-scale within the breeding community, as well as in the the commercial market of selling and buying parrots. This is a large-scale problem dating back to when parrots were first introduced as “domesticated pets” for us to enjoy in our homes. This wide-scale problem can be corrected, but it will require many, many years and a lot of diligence on the part of avian societies, groups and clubs working alongside breeders, as well as the general parrot-loving community getting involved and educated about the genetics of these beautiful creatures.

Much of what has happened, if my hypothesis is correct, was done out of lack of knowledge and our sheer desire to enjoy these wild creatures in our presence. As humans, we do what humans do; we welcome the wild into our civilized arenas hoping to co-habitate in a friendly manner. Unfortunately, often we don’t see the harm in such actions until it is too late and our actions cannot be reversed.

Now, let me state very clearly, my intention is not to condemn breeders, or anyone who has one of these dearly beloved creatures in their home. I only wish to help solve the problem of the Mutilation Syndrome so our avian companions can enjoy a healthier lifestyle with living in the misery of itching, scratching, plucking, picking and mutilating.

I also want to make sure that my readers understand I am not throwing out the premise of a good, healthy and balanced diet for birds who suffer from the Mutilation Syndrome just because I am announcing my hypothesis of the hidden cause of the Mutilation Syndrome. The very nature of my research findings, based on the genetics of the disorder, absolutely requires a specific diet for these birds. So please understand the means to the end of this research is a specific diet for a bird who’s genetics are such that they will have this disorder for the remainder of their life. After all, the general meaning of a “genetic disorder”, is that it will be in the DNA code of the living creature forever, it was born with the disorder.

I will go into a lot more detail about this “genetic disorder” in my future book I’m embarking upon. I have already begun writing my book, so be sure to keep your ears and eyes open for future updates. It will cover, in-depth, a myriad of topics that I only slightly touch upon within our blog-o-sphere.

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Tags: bird nutrition, Bird-elicious, Birdelicious, feather destruction, feather mutilation, feather mutilation syndrome, feather picking, feather plucking, foods that contribute to feather plucking, healthy bird food, mutilation syndrome, mutilation syndrome in parrots, Parrot, parrot disease, parrot diseases, parrot food, Parrots, the best bird food

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Cinnamon ~ Helpful for “The Mutilation Syndrome” and Diabetes

Filed under: Addendum "A" - Herbs & Spices — Leave a comment

October 26, 2011

I will be adding the spice, “cinnamon” to our list of ingredients that are a naturally high source of Lysine. While it is not super high in the ratio of Lysine to Arginine, it is just high enough to help balance a diet that is suffering an Arginine overload as discussed in our multi-part series “The Mutilation Syndrome“.

Cinnamon also helps in diabetes as it helps to regulate blood sugars by increasing insulin action. It actually slows the emptying of the stomach so as to slow the rushing of sugars into the blood stream.

In addition, the polyphenols present in cinnamon are extremely effective anti-oxidants and insulin sensitizers. Also, proanthocyanidin, a bioflavanoid in cinnamon alters the insulin activity in fat cells aiding in the regulation of blood glucose.

A side benefit of cinnamon is its digestive properties.

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Tags: best bird food, Bird-elicious, feather destruction, feather mutilation, feather mutilation syndrome, feather plucking, foods that contribute to feather plucking, healthy bird food, Parrot, parrot disease, parrot diseases, parrot food, parrot nutrition, Parrots, the best bird food

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The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 6 – Bringing It Full Circle

Filed under: Mutilation Syndrome (AKA Feather Destruction), Mutilation Syndrome Part 6 Final — Leave a comment

October 24, 2011

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When it comes right down to it there are no easy answers to feather plucking, skin mutilation or generalized picking in our birds. I wish there were. But as you have seen, if you have read our entire series on “The Mutilation Syndrome”, new information is slowly coming to light. When we apply the new research to what we already know, combine all of the information, it helps us bit, by tiny bit, to help our birds with each small step.

Personally, as you probably realize by now, I believe in order to curtail the mutilation syndrome, it all begins with a healthy all-around diet. We must get our birds off of highly-processed foods such as the pellets that came out in the dark ages of the 1970’s and early 80’s. Come on, it’s the 2010’s now, health and nutrition has gone full-circle! We are back to understanding we had it right all along by eating whole, organic foods! Let’s turn around, go back and start applying those good old practices to our diets as well as our pets’ diets! Let’s begin supplying a diet high in a variety of organic, human-grade foodstuffs to our pets; they deserve to eat just as well as we do.

The total idea is “balance” in our birds’ diets. Unfortunately the highly-processed formulas, most of us are feeding when we purchase packaged foods from the commercial manufacturers, are not what our birds’ would find in the wild and instinctively consume to balance their diet themselves. Our birds eat what we place in their bowls out of sheer desire to survive, that’s all. They depend on us to provide a balanced diet for them. If our birds’ were free to forage for what they wanted to consume as wholesome foods and nutrients, I guarantee you it wouldn’t be that packaged food you bought from your local pet store. Instead, your bird would be picking and choosing tree and bush leaves, berries, nuts, fruits, spices, and other delicacies that we don’t even have access to in our part of the world. So what are we to do? The best we can do is find whole foods that mimic what they would find in the wild, and when we do, minimally process them so that our birds’ are receiving the maximum amount of nutrition available from those foods. Because when foods are highly processed they lose the bulk of their nutrition and then chemical, laboratory-produced nutrients have to be added back in to the end product to even come close to being recognized as a “total nutrient source”. But all of those so-called “nutrients” that are added back in are “chemical”, not natural, which is still being debated by scientists as to whether the “organic” bodily system really recognizes as a useable and reliable nutrient source…

Furthermore, even some whole foods aren’t a reliable food source. When we read in the latest parrot magazine that parrots were observed consuming corn, wheat and/or soy fields, that doesn’t mean that was their first choice. What that means is that humans have invaded their natural habitat and taken away their first and most natural sources of food and they have nothing else left to choose from than those secondary and sometimes third choices of foods left to eat. Unfortunately bird food manufacturers use this example as a reason to sell us on their cheap, highly-processed foods. If a parrot magazine tells us that parrots have been observed consuming these foods, well then, it must mean that this is what parrots eat, right? Wrong! And don’t blame it on the messenger, they are just reporting to us what has been seen. The blame goes on the manufacturer of the food. They should know better than to lead the pet-lover down that road of mis-information in order to make a buck. The manufacturer is responsible for producing food that is in the best interest of the pet and maintains the health of the animal. It is not the primary responsibility of the pet food manufacturer to produce food cheap enough to allow them to go away on exclusive vacations year after year.

When we look into the parrot diet a little deeper we find that parrots, depending on their natural location in different parts of the world, consume foods that are much, much different than our “domesticated” foods. But like I stated above, unfortunately, most of these foods are not available to us here in the United States. However, some of them are. Some of the more tropical foods, that would be found at the edges of the Rainforest, such as papaya, mango and some of the nuts and several spices, we do have available to us. And these are the foods we need to concentrate on when feeding our companion birds because these are the foods that will help our birds systems to operate at peak performance and remain balanced in nutrients.

I have supplied a lot of information to you regarding the imbalance of Arginine to Lysine in most commercial parrot foods. Most commercial foods contain too many ingredients that are high in Arginine lacking a counter balance of Lysine. Too much Arginine may be responsible for skin irritation because of the dilation of blood vessels and the rushing of blood to the skin surface causing a “flushing” to occur which may cause our birds to pluck, mutilate and pick.

I have also brought up the possibility of yeast infections being the cause of the mutilation syndrome, and parasites as well. If your bird has a yeast infection this provides a perfect environment for your bird to development a secondary infestation of parasites as these little pests love the same kind of environment as yeast cells thrive in. If you suspect either of these to be the cause I strongly encourage you to take your bird to your licensed avian veterinarian to have it checked for both of these health issues.

One last nutritional issue, and one that most veterinarians do not consider, is the lack of vitamin C in your bird’s diet. This can be easily taken care of by simply adding kiwi, red grapefruit or red bell peppers to your bird’s natural diet. Red Grapefruit will also help to make your bird’s system more alkaline, which is a very good thing considering that most highly-processed foods tend to make bodily systems on the side of being “acidic” providing a ground for ill-health. Vitamin C is a natural anti-histamine and will help in relieving food sensitivities as well as many air-borne allergies. It is also a good natural sedative. Many renowned authorities, even your bird friends, will tell you that birds don’t need added vitamin C in their diets. I believe, because of the slight amount of “domestication” beginning to occur in the breeding of parrots for placement in our homes, this is absolutely false information. I believe the gene pool is beginning to change and therefore our birds need a small amount of vitamin C added to their diets by way of a natural source through whole foods containing a good source of this vitamin.

Last, but not least, are toys and other such gadgets we place in our birds’ closed environments. We need to look at these items from a bird’s point of view and not a human’s point of view. Just because birds, in general, are colorful creatures it doesn’t mean they need to be surrounded by colorful items. (That includes painted walls by the way.) Added color to their environment may have a tendency to stimulate their hormones, thus keeping their “breeding behavior” turned to “on” at all times. This may cause our birds to become frustrated and make them pluck, mutilate and pick. It is far better to make their environment calmer, more monochromatic. They can still have “toys” that are chewable and shred-able without the loud colors, just use natural fibers to make their toys. Another important point, please don’t use any toys that are made of soft plastic, these contain zinc, considered to be a heavy metal that can cause metal toxicity. Zinc is used as a binder in plastic toys. And when choosing the “metal” that your bird’s cage is made of, try to be able to afford medical grade stainless steel. But if you cannot, then buy the powder-coated. But as soon as you see the powder-coating beginning to come off, remove the cage from its use and replace it with a new cage so that your bird cannot “beak” the raw steel under the powder-coating. This rule pertaining to metal applies to any metal used in, or around, your bird, even the metal used to make your bird’s toys, or to hang your bird’s toys. Make sure any metal that is used is of a high grade stainless steel.

As additional information comes across my path I will supply it to you. Like you, I am obsessed with learning why our captive birds pluck and mutilate. I hold the opinion that most of it is diet related because, to my knowledge, we don’t see this happening as frequently in the wild. Although some cases of feather plucking in the wild have been reported, not enough have been found to warrant that it is any other reason than diet related. Therefore it is still my opinion that, even in the wild, because their natural habitats are being destroyed, and thus what they would normally eat is being destroyed along with their habitat, and in its place corn, wheat and soy fields are being planted, that these divine creatures are being relegated to eating what we humans are devouring as well leading us to “dis-ease” too.

We must give this long and hard thought. We take nutrition for granted in the United States because healthy food has always been so readily available to us. But the fact is, good, organic, pesticide-free, added-hormone-free, GMO-free foods are becoming rare even in the U.S. and we need to pay very close attention to why and how we can affect turning the table back around to our, as well as our pets’ benefit. The “foods” we are consuming are literally killing us. It is time we take a stand and do something about it instead of relying on someone else to do what they say they will do, when clearly they are not. We need to be purchasing, even at the higher cost, organic foods that are free of all of the pesticides, added hormones and GMO’s. This will send a loud and clear message to the FDA as well as the farmers that we are not going to settle for anything less for our own bodies as well as for our pets’ bodies! The more of us who take that stand the sooner the prices of these foods will come down and more and more of us can get back what big corporations have attempted to take away from us, the very basic of living, good health

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The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 5 – Parasites

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October 23, 2011

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I’m not going to go in depth into the aspect of parasites and “The Mutilation Syndrome” because, in my viewpoint, I don’t believe feather plucker’s, skin mutilators and generalized picker’s participate in this kind of behavior all that often because of parasites. Nonetheless, I think a good all-around discussion regarding parasites might be a good idea for the general purpose of this topic and for the overall purpose of covering the problem of parasites in our birds’.

"Giardia"

The parasite we would be most likely to find in our birds is Giardia. There are about 40 species of Giardia, the most common species of Giardia found in birds are G. ardeae and G. psittaci, which is likely to be the species found in parrots. Giardia is an infection caused by a microscopic organism (protozoa) called Giardia lamblia. They live in infested food, soil or water. Our birds normally ingest them by drinking from dirty water bowls, this is why it is so very vital that we clean their water bowls daily, even twice a day. And this doesn’t mean just emptying the water, this means actually washing the bowls. As I suggested in an earlier post, I like to use grapefruit seed extract diluted with water because it is on the alkaline side of the Ph range. Grapefruit seed extract does not exacerbate the symptoms of any potential lurking yeast infection, whereas vinegar will, even apple cider vinegar will induce, or concentrate, the symptoms of a yeast infection because it is a histamine-inducing agent.

Giardia lives in the intestines and it is here where it will rapidly reproduce. Once in the digestive tract, it will be eliminated in the feces, so if your bird picks through any of its feces it is only adding to the problems by re-ingesting the parasite.

Among the symptoms, but not all of the symptoms need be present in order for Giardia to be a problem, are diarrhea, vomiting, excess gas, nausea, abdominal cramps. Along with these symptoms you will begin to see dehydration and malnutrition as the disease progresses. Almost always your avian veterinarian will prescribe medication to eradicate this parasite.

There are other, less popular internal parasites that affect our companion birds such as tapeworms, roundworms and threadworms. Parrots can also have external parasites such lice, mites and ticks. When you bird presents with these kinds of parasite you will almost always need the help of your avian veterinarian.

Unless your bird has an infestation where your bird is literally knocking on death’s door and the best way is to use a medicinal treatment, like going in with “full armor”, such as the medical treatment offered by your licensed avian veterinarian, there is a more natural way to both prevent and cure your companion bird of Giardia parasites. This natural way of healing has been of great debate and controversy, I will not parse words with you. I have used it with much success in my own flock with absolutely no side effects, therefore I have nothing but praise to give to this method of control of parasitic infection, as well as cure after an infection has occurred.

This method utilizes diatomaceous earth (D.A.), a natural substance made out of finely ground crustacean shells. The shells are so finely ground they look like flour. The manner in which this substance eradicates the Giardia is by literally slicing the exoskeleton open and the guts of the parasite leaks out and the pest dies. Now, that being said, there is a very specific manner in which you must use D.A., I will not lie to you. And if you are not willing to follow specific instructions regarding its proper use, then do not use it! Never use it topically. Never. The dust can get in your bird’s eyes and cause blindness because the edges of the finely ground shells can literally slice the surface of the eyes. In addition, because this substance works by feeding it to your bird, and no worry because the powder is so finely ground that it cannot harm anything larger than a tiny ant, if it can even harm anything that large, you must mix it with something that maintains moisture so that it does not become dry. Why? So just in case your bird does not consume the food placed in its bowl, the food doesn’t dry out and your bird inhales while its face is down in the bowl and it breathes in the powder. Breathing in the powder will cause it to get into the respiratory system where the D.A. can harm the lungs. Now while it would require a lot of the D.A. to begin to harm the lungs, why create a secondary problem, respiratory problems, while curing the primary problem, the parasitic infestation?

So, the question is, what do you mix the D.A. with? I suggest you mix it with your bird’s favorite oil, like palm oil and offer it maybe once a week. Oils don’t dry out, or, well, they take a very long time to dry out. Most likely your bird will consume any food substance long before the oil ever has a chance to dry out. Whereas mixing the D.A. with water, the substance will immediately dry out and this will be harmful to your bird if your bird inhales the substance, as previously explained.

So this is my suggestion to you regarding how to mix the D.A. Mix a large pinch of D.A. to literally a 1/32+ of a tsp. of palm oil, mixed really, really well, offered once a week from the tip of your finger if your bird is nice enough to eat from your finger. If your bird is not calm enough to eat from your finger, then smear the palm oil on your bird’s favorite food and offer it that way. The idea is to get the D.A. circulating in your bird’s system on a regular and consistent basis. This amount should be good enough for about 450-500 grams of body weight. If your bird is larger, adjust accordingly. If your bird is smaller, adjust accordingly. I suggest feeding this on an ongoing basis. There really isn’t any reason to discontinue its use. Once your bird is cured from the initial infestation, why not make sure your bird never gets re-infested?

I don’t want to make you paranoid about using D.A., I want to help you become responsible while you are using it. Like I said, I have had great success in preventing Giardia in my flock as well as curing Giardia in any rescue bird that came into my flock. I have used it and had no ill side effects. It just takes using common sense and utmost care to know that it cannot be used dry around your birds.

By the way, we used it in very small amounts in our BirD-elicious! foods. This accomplished two things, it kept pests out of our foods for shelf life and it kept your birds free of Giardia! And in case you don’t know, most of the foods you buy at your grocery store, all of the grains, seeds, processed foods, contain D.A. and it doesn’t even say so on the package! Why doesn’t it say on the package? Because FDA has ruled that because it is a “natural and organic” ingredient, and it’s not a “main” ingredient used for nutrition, and it is basically an “inert” ingredient, manufacturers don’t have to place it on the label. Just like manufacturers don’t have to label their foods as containing “GMO” (genetically modified organisms). You would be surprised, there are a lot of ingredients we eat that we don’t know we are eating! And why do manufacturers place D.A. in their foods? For pest control. So their foods don’t get those tiny little weevils in their packages while sitting on the store shelves waiting for you to purchase their product. It’s that simple! Yes, you and your family are consuming D.A. and you don’t even know it.

So while Giardia, and parasites in general, can be a possible cause in feather plucking, skin mutilation and generalized picking, they are not the first and most immediate cause for “The Mutilation Syndrome” in my opinion. However, along with a yeast infection, which can provide the environment for parasites to nest and grow, you need to have your bird checked by your licensed avian veterinarian, if for no other reason, to rule out the possibility of this playing a role in your mutilating bird. Once you have dealt with this possibility, then you can begin addressing, with more confidence, your bird’s diet and the possible nutritional imbalances there.

As I have attempted to state and re-state, our bird’s overall health, just like our own, is about overall “balance”, or homeostasis, that which a living creature’s body needs for optimum health, not just basic survival, in order to thrive! And when it comes down to it, don’t we really want our companion birds to thrive? I hope so.

Using all of the information I wish to supply you with may help you once you employ part, or all of it with your mutilating beloved bird. *Also, please understand that when it really comes down to it, in the larger scheme of life, it really comes down to “balance”. You might want to skip ahead to the hi-lighted word so you will gain a better understanding of what I mean about “balance” before you finish reading the entire multi-part series…

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The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 2 – Addendum A – Herbs & Spices

Filed under: Addendum "A" - Herbs & Spices, Mutilation Syndrome (AKA Feather Destruction) — Leave a comment

October 21, 2011

I want to share with you a partial list of specific herbs and spices you can add to your bird’s diet to help in the process of eliminating feather plucking, skin mutilation and generalized picking, as well as aid in the overall healing process. These are herbs and spices that were part of our BirD-elicious! Plucker’s Natural Select ® formula. (If I included every herb, or natural ingredient, we used in our formula, you would be absolutely overwhelmed!)

Not all of them actually fall into the category of “herbs and spices”, but I will include them anyway with a brief description of why I believe them to be important to your mutilating bird.

Bee Pollen: This all-around great food source contains so many nutritional properties it is believed that a living creature could survive on this alone if no other food source was present. It contains an abundance of minerals and balanced amino acids (higher in Lysine to Arginine) not found in such quantity of any other single food source. And let’s be sure not to underestimate the role of minerals in a living creature’s health. Minerals play a role in healthy bone mass, but they also help keep the Ph leaning toward slightly alkaline, which is what we want for total overall health.

Flax Seed: Flax seed is high in Omega 3 oil which is a natural anti-inflammatory that will aid in the healing of your bird’s skin. Omega 3 also has a calming effect overall.

Ginger: It is an anti-inflammatory, it helps to relieve pain, and it’s a natural anti-histamine, good for breaking down proteins, great for digestion.

Kelp: This is a good natural source of iodine, it is an anti-inflammatory as well as an anti-oxidant, and it is also a good source of iron.

Oregano: Helps soothe itchy skin, it is an anti-oxidant, and it also helps eliminate parasites and bacterial as well fungal infections.

Rose Hip Powder: Good source of natural vitamins c, d, e. It is also a natural anti-inflammatory.

Rosemary: Anti-oxidant, high in vitamin A, high in calcium.

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*Information contained in The BEST Bird Food blog does not intend to diagnose, treat or cure any symptom, illness or disease. Any information provided is strictly for the purpose of “sharing” resources. Should a reader decide to use any such information they do so at their own risk and holds author(s) of The BEST Bird Food blog harmless in any and all legal matters concerning their health and the health of their family and/or friends and/or colleagues who they may share the information with as well as all of their pets and/or livestock whom they may practice the information upon.

Tags: best bird food, bird food, bird nutrition, Bird-elicious, bird-elicious forum, Birdelicious, feather destruction, feather mutilation, feather mutilation syndrome, feather picking, feather plucking, foods that contribute to feather plucking, healthy bird food, parrot nutrition, the best bird food

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The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 4 – Toys

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October 20, 2011

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No! No! Too Colorful!

One of the last things we take into consideration when we think about our birds’ feather plucking, skin mutilation and/or generalized picking problems is their environments. Although, many times our bird friends, and even sometimes our veterinarians, will tell us to go out and buy more toys, and not just “more” toys, but more colorful toys! So off to the bird store we go, smiles wide across our faces because now we have a “justified” reason to go out and spend frivolously on all the toys we ever wanted to buy for our beloved fine-feathered friend!

We really need to give this a lot more thought before we just hap-hazardly go out and buy to our little heart’s content. This isn’t as easy as it seems. Many of us know this now, after spending hundreds of hard-earned dollars only to find out that rushing home with all of those beautiful toys didn’t do a thing to stop our dear bird from pulling out its feathers or ripping its delicate skin off of its body.

Why?

Well, first of all, like we have discussed in previous parts of our multi-part series of “The Mutilation Syndrome”, all of this nasty behavior may be food induced. But it may not. It really is a matter of studying our bird and learning just what makes it “tick”. And when it comes right down to it we have to try every trick in the book, maybe all of them simultaneously to see what does and doesn’t work. It may be one thing that proves to work, or it may be any combination of any or all of our ideas that prove to work out in the end.

So here we are. Looking at our bird’s environment as the next possible cause.

Let’s take a look at the inside of the cage at the toys and the bowls. I will briefly talk about the bowls first.

In my opinion you need to be using the highest grade of stainless steel bowls you can find. If it is possible to find medical grade stainless steel bowls, buy them and use them. Under no circumstances should you be using cheap plastic because it contains zinc which is considered to be a heavy metal which can lead to metal toxicity.

Metal toxicity can cause the mutilation syndrome, but it can also cause lethargy and this is a sign that your bird is knocking on death’s door. If you see your bird acting lethargic, or not being able to keep its balance, or worse, falling off of its perches, get it to your vet immediately! These are signs of metal toxicity.

Items such as cheap zinc, nickel and steel chains and wire can provide the very metals simply by your bird “chewing” on these items. It has been said that unless a bird actually ingests a piece of metal it will not get metal toxicity, but this is not a proven fact. It is now believed by some of the leading avian veterinarians that it is possible with the mucous in a bird’s mouth constantly touching the metal on any given part of a cage or toy, erosion can occur and the chemical elements are transferred, even in minimal amounts repeatedly over time, and eventually build up in a bird causing metal toxicity. This is why I strongly encourage the use of stainless steel cages. If you cannot afford stainless steel cages and powder-coated is the best you can afford, then be sure to constantly check for the flaking of the powder coating. If you see any flaking beginning to occur, immediately replace the cage with a new one.

Cheap colored plastic toys contain zinc, this is what is used to bind the color to the plastic. So when your bird chews on the plastic it ingests small amounts of zinc. Over time your bird ingests enough zinc to cause metal toxicity if you are constantly re-supplying your bird with these kinds of toys. If you are going to use colored toys, then stick with acrylic, this is much safer. So if you are using any zinc, cheap nickel or steel chain, or quik links, or cheap wire in your bird’s cage, replace them with stainless steel asap. And be sure to replace any soft plastic toys too as these will assuredly contain zinc.

However, I would like to introduce a new idea to you all together. Toys that have no vibrant color to them. This is not a brand new idea. There are many “natural” toys on the market for parrots. But usually we overlook them because we don’t think they are very pretty, they look boring to us. But in reality these are some of the most fun toys for parrots to chew and shred!

But this is not the main reason I’m asking you to change the way you think about toys for your bird. I want you to begin to think about your bird’s hormones. In the wild birds actually use their vibrant colors to attract one another during mating season. They will do special dances that will show off their colors to their best advantage. By offering toys with vibrant colors, hanging all over their cages in various places, dangling here and there and the light catching them, and then reflecting off, as they dance around, we could very well be stimulating our birds’ hormones, triggering them so to speak without really even knowing it, not meaning to cause any harm.

I began experimenting with this right before we closed our business, this was when we began our natural toy line. To my amazement my birds that had a tendency to pluck actually slowed down their plucking behavior when I removed the colored toys and replaced them with the natural colored toys. Now, I believe this was for two reasons, with the natural toys they had something to shred, but also the natural colors didn’t stimulate their hormones. But even the birds that didn’t “shred” were calmer, they poked around at their toys with their beaks, and they didn’t bother their feathers as much, they seemed calmer overall.

So I began to trade out all of my birds’ toys, switching all of the brightly colored acrylic toys to the all natural colored toys. To my utter amazement it was a huge hit with all of my birds! They didn’t miss the colored toys at all, and they actually preferred the natural toys!

Now, a word of caution, when you go out to buy your natural toys, be sure to ask the store if they know if the natural fibers have been treated with any chemicals. Of course you want the items to be cleaned, but not with harsh chemicals or solvents. If you have any doubts, when you bring them home try to clean them yourself using grapefruit seed extract diluted with water. You can purchase this through Mountain Rose Herbs online. It is a wonderful cleaning agent.

In fact, while I’m on the subject of cleaning, I may as well bring up the subject of cleaning your bird’s toys and cages. Many people ask about what solution to use, especially for birds that have the mutilation syndrome. PLEASE do not use vinegar! Not even apple cider vinegar. Vinegar is on the acidic side of the Ph scale and any bird who is suffering a Ph imbalance, or is sensitive to yeast infections will have a harsh reaction to vinegar, even if they don’t come in direct contact to it. You may not visually see your bird react, but it will cause your bird to continue to pluck, mutilate and pick. And by all means do not feed it to your bird! Instead, use grapefruit seed extract diluted with water to clean your bird’s toys and cages. It actually has an alkaline Ph so it will tip the Ph to your bird’s favor and help balance out the yeast infection problem if your bird is experiencing one. You can also add just a tad to your bird’s drinking water a couple of times a week. This will keep the water bowl clean and will aid in digestion and in fighting the yeasties too! But just a tad already diluted with water.

We often think of stimulating our bird’s environment, desiring them to be kept busy and happy. But we don’t often think about the fact that we may be over-stimulating them. We need to think about what birds might be doing in the wild. They may be spending most of their time foraging for food during the daylight hours. But when they are not doing that, they are probably sitting in the tree tops resting and watching out for predators and preening themselves and one another, anyway those who do preen one another, some do not. Or they may occasionally reach out to a tree leaf and nibble on it, maybe reach over to a piece of bark, pull it off and chew on it, but I doubt that they keep themselves constantly busy chewing, shredding and beaking everything in sight 100% of the time. When it’s appropriate they probably take an afternoon siesta too! As long as someone is watching the fort! But for some reason we think our birds have to be kept busy during each minute of every day. I just don’t believe this to be true. Have you ever really listened to how quiet your bird room gets sometimes during the day when no human is in there stirring things up? Very, very quiet…

Let’s allow our birds to be, well, birds. Let’s not expect them to be human toddlers who want to run around the house all of the time making all kinds of noise. Yes, there are times our flock will want to interact with one another and squawk out loud, but to actually stimulate that behavior ourselves, to artificially induce their hormones with bright colors acting as aphrodisiacs hanging in their homes, we may be causing problems to our bird’s natural instincts that we don’t need to cause. We may be inducing hormones that shouldn’t be induced in a “closed” environment thereby increasing frustrations that lead to nervousness by which our birds try to relieve by plucking, mutilating and picking.

The idea is to try to create a calm and serene environment for an already upset species. We are taking them out of their natural habitat so they are already confused and ill-at-ease. In my opinion they don’t need stimulation, they need calm, harmony and balance. And let’s face it, their eye sight is so much better than ours. It is believed they can see tones and shades not visible to our human eye. We still don’t know the range of light frequencies they can see. If we have all of the lights on, all of these brightly colored toys hanging catching the light rays, and the cages shining, and all of the chains glistening, the noises going on in our homes, music playing, T.V.s on, cell phones going off, so on and so forth, it may just be too much stimulation for these creatures who are intrinsically geared for sounds of the wild. Think about it, sometimes their squawking is too much for us to handle…what if our human sounds are too much for them to handle? Maybe we just need to tone everything around them down, sounds and colors, so they can have a little bit calmer life. Maybe our “artificial” lifestyle is contributing to their mutilation syndrome.

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Tags: best bird food, bird food, bird nutrition, Bird toys, Bird-elicious, Birdelicious, feather destruction, feather mutilation, feather mutilation syndrome, feather picking, feather plucking, Natural bird toys, parrot nutrition, Parrots, the best bird food

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The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 3 – Yeast Infections (Vitamin C)

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October 20, 2011

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In the previous two parts of “The Mutilation Syndrome” I very lightly made mention of yeast infections. I said nothing about the fact that they can contribute to feather plucking, skin mutilation or generalized picking, but they can. In this 3^rd part of our continuing series of The Mutilation Syndrome I will be delving into yeast infections, how a bird develops a yeast infection, how an infection cycles and how to begin to reverse an infection. Once you have rid your bird of an infection it is of utmost importance to understand that from that point on your bird will always be prone to future yeast infections so you will need to be diligent and make sure you feed foods that don’t contribute to, but instead prevent yeast infections. I will do my best to help you understand this menacing ailment.

"Candida Albicans"

Yeast infections (candida albicans) are fairly common, even amongst human beings. Because of the kinds of diets we seem to be eating nowadays, highly processed foods that contain an overabundance of simple carbohydrates such as overly processed foods, highly refined pastas and breads, white rice, corn, wheat and grains that have been highly processed and not left with their outer shells or husks on them. Simple carbohydrates are loaded with sugars that, once in the body’s digestive tract provide an environment that is perfect for a fermentation process to begin. This is how yeast begins to grow. Add to the fact that the body provides a warm and moist internal temperature to “bake” the yeast and you have the absolute perfect environment for the yeast to continue to multiply and spread throughout the body rapidly.

However, it is rare for yeast to spread throughout the entire body unless a weakened immune system is already present. Normally the only areas a yeast infection will appear are in the warm, moist areas of your bird, such as the inside of the eyes, beak areas, under or on top of the tongue, or around the cloaca or anus areas. If you see the yeast infection appear on the skin, such as the legs (femur), next to the chest where the legs meet the chest, especially the keel bone and the surrounding area, or anywhere on the skin at all, then you know that your bird has a systemic yeast infection and your bird definitely has an overall weakened immune system.

If a yeast infection gets into the bloodstream it can be deadly, for this reason they cannot be taken lightly. Besides the point that your bird will become extremely uncomfortable, and unbearable to live with, yeast infections are an ailment that must be dealt with as if they are an illness that will eventually lead to advanced morbidity, because left untreated they can. If your bird has become lethargic and/or cranky, has begun to scratch and/or pick, pluck or mutilate its skin, you may have a bird with a yeast infection. With an already weakened immune system, along with the introduction of yeast into the system, your bird’s health will rapidly decline if left untreated. This will allow additional viruses and bacterium to attack at will and destroy any and all health reserves your bird may have.

So how do you go about reversing a yeast infection? Of course, legally I must tell you to visit your licensed avian veterinarian. So, do so. Now that I have done that I can give you some naturopathic opinions. You probably are beginning to understand me well enough by now to know that I like to approach health problems from a more subtle standpoint, with food as the healing medicine, as well as herbs, supplements, flower essences, essential oils and some less conventional methods such as healing gemstones placed in or around my pets’ favorite areas. It may all sound too “whoo-whooey” to you, but I experience tremendous results and my vet and doctor bills are much lower than many others I know.

I have found, and used on myself, Caprylic acid to treat my yeast infections, that being said, I do not recommend that you use straight Caprylic acid on your bird; it can be very drying to the mucous membranes if used alone and not via a transport as contained naturally in a foodstuff. Instead, you want to feed foods that naturally contain Caprylic acid, Lauric acid and Lysine. I’m going to sound like a bit of a broken record here because you will want to be feeding some of the same foods you feed when you increase your bird’s diet with foods high in Lysine. This amino acid is wonderful in preventing yeast infections. So you can go back to the list of foods high in Lysine and begin feeding those to your bird if it is suffering from a yeast infection. Lysine will not cure a yeast infection, but it will help prevent one from occurring, so these are the foods you want to feed once you have your bird cured of its yeast infection to prevent another one from popping up, so you may as well begin feeding those foods while your bird is still suffering the yeast infection. Wild Mountain Oregano Oil is good in clearing the body of yeast infections. You can normally find this at your local health food store. Use a couple of drops on top of your bird’s food daily. Do not add to your bird’s water as it will not mix well and may cause the water to become stagnate. White tea is a powerful antioxidant, even better than green tea, it is very helpful in attacking yeast growth cells, and we used it in our Yeastie Die-Off Diet ® when we were producing our BirD-elicious! ® foods. You can feed it in its raw form without steeping it. But one of the best foods to feed when your bird has the “yeasties” is coconut. Now, that being said, you may have a problem here. If you suspect that your bird is suffering from Arginine overload you should not feed coconut because it is high in Arginine and this could cause more mutilation, plucking and picking.

So you really need to know what you are dealing with, an amino acid overload or a yeast infection. Or both? If it is both I suggest you first deal with the yeast infection, get that completely under control and then begin to deal with the amino acid imbalance because one is an “infection” and the other is an “imbalance”, one is a medical issue, one is a condition. Hopefully you see my point.

Another very good food to address yeast infections is coconut oil, because it is very high in both Caprylic acid and Lauric acid. But again, coconut oil is high in Arginine, so be careful if your bird is suffering from an Arginine overload. However, palm oil is the best oil to choose if you are battling both Arginine overload and a yeast infection because it has a balanced chemical ratio of Lysine to Arginine and it has a fair amount of Caprylic and Lauric acid as well. It is exceptionally high in Oleic acid which has shown to hinder the formation of yeast.

In addition to the above, you will want to simultaneously feed good, reliable sources of antioxidants. I mentioned one above, white tea, but there are many others. For example, blueberries, wolfberries and schisandra berries are all wonderful natural antioxidants. Again, you will need to be careful with blueberries, wolfberries and schisandra berries if you are battling an Arginine overload because they all are high in this amino acid. This being said, if you believe you are battling both situations at the same time, Arginine overload and a yeast infection, it may be wise to use white tea as your bird’s primary antioxidant.

One more very important supplement to your bird’s diet I found very helpful in aiding my birds to regain their feathers and cease to pluck, mutilate and pick was vitamin C. Now most, if not all, mainline veterinarians, as well as your bird friends, will tell you that birds do not need vitamin C supplementation because they manufacture it themselves. I beg to differ based on this point, even though I do not believe birds are anywhere near being a “domesticated pet” suitable for household cohabitation, I do believe they have enough of the “wild” bred out of them that their basic genetics are beginning to change. Therefore their genetics are beginning to transition and they are losing their ability to pass down to future generations certain biological markers, or immunological genes. In other words, their genetics are being weakened by being “domesticated”. It is a well-documented study that Passerines are well on their way to losing their ability to manufacture their own vitamin C. It only stands to reason that Psittacines are not far behind.

One side note I wish to add, if you know your bird is suffering from fatty liver disease, vitamin C supplementation is vital because it is in the liver and kidneys where vitamin C is manufactured and stored in birds. Because vitamin C is a strong anti-oxidant, you will want to be sure your bird has enough to both detoxify its liver and kidneys while also combating any nervous system sensitivity due to Arginine overload..

I have found by adding a natural source of vitamin C to my birds diet, such as kiwi, red bell peppers, and red grapefruit their feather picking, skin mutilation and generalized picking decreased dramatically. Go ahead and use the whole fruit or vegetable, seeds, skin and all, it will not harm them in any way. Of course wash it thoroughly before you present it to them, and be sure to cut it up in pieces your bird can handle. Vitamin C is a rich antioxidant and it boosts the immune system dramatically. It acts to curtail the histamines, so you can say it is a natural “anti-histamine” too! It is almost impossible to overdose on vitamin C as it is a water-soluble vitamin and the body throws off what it cannot utilize.

Oh, I almost forgot, grapefruit seed extract is an excellent supplement to add to your bird’s drinking water to help fight yeast infections. You can find this online at Mountain Rose Herbs. It comes very concentrated so you will need to dilute it way down before adding it to your bird’s drinking water. Once you dilute it down, then add the dilution at the rate of only two or three drops only a couple of times a week. It will keep the water in the bowl from going stagnate, and it will help eliminate the yeast build up in your bird as well! It is on the more alkaline side of the Ph range so it will help balance out an acidic system, which is normally the case with a yeast infected bird.

Okay, so let’s bring all of this back around to a close that is compiled in a few paragraphs that make sense. Yeast infections are due to a suppressed immune system that gets invaded by an overabundance of simple carbohydrates like highly processed foods, pastas, corn, wheat, rice, sugary foods, even sugary fruits and vegetables that are fed in overabundance like beets, carrots, apples, grapes, juices. Yeast continues to grow and reproduce in warm, moist environments in body cavities. Left unattended it can even get into the bloodstream where it become dangerous and can even enter into the brain. In birds it can cause flushing, hives and itching which can, and almost always does, lead to feather plucking, skin mutilation and generalized picking. *Often times yeast infections go hand-in-hand with parasitic infestations, so be sure to have your vet check for parasites upon your bird’s check up.

Once we realize our bird has a yeast infection, which usually can be seen by white-ish film on the inside of the mouth, nostrils or on the legs or skin, then it’s time to head to the veterinarian. If we desire to take a holistic approach we need to begin feeding foods high in Caprylic and Lauric acid as mentioned above, with the addition of foods high in antioxidants as well as foods high in vitamin C to boost the immune system. Once our bird is clear of the yeast infection we need to continue with a diet to prevent further yeast infections and that includes a diet that is similar to the diet for a bird that has suffered an Arginine overload, a diet that is high in foods containing Lysine.

Now, I wish to address one more issue and that is the issue of “balance”. I am in no way suggesting that you completely remove ALL foods that contain Arginine from your bird’s diet. That would be impossible anyway. In life all of us must strive for a balance in everything we do. Arginine has a place in the nutritional profile; it is good for the heart. But used in overabundance it causes problems, just like “too much of any good thing” is actually bad for us. The problem with the pelleted diets that have been on the market for decades is that they are improperly balanced, in other words, they are not balanced in my opinion. They tilt toward using Arginine ingredients in overabundance, and they use very few of the ingredients that are naturally high in Lysine that would help prevent the Arginine overload as well as helping to prevent yeast infections. Yes, the manufacturer may add Lysine as a chemical substance to their diet to try to help balance the ratio, but overall, in my opinion, a substance cannot be isolated in that manner, without all of the other constituents naturally found in a whole foodstuff and expect it to perform to its peak performance in neutralizing its counterpart amino acid. In other words, you cannot expect a chemically produced amino acid to balance out an amino acid that is found in a natural foodstuff. So to have a large amount of Arginine provided in so many ingredients at the top of the ingredient list, and then place a dash of Lysine in chemical form at the bottom of the ingredient list just isn’t going to balance the amino acid profile, in my opinion. This is why we, as parrot lovers and keepers, MUST be diligent in research and educating ourselves. It is not only our responsibility, it is our obligation to make sure we are caring for our beloved creatures of the air to the upmost of our ability, regardless of the time and the money we have to spend on them. We made our commitment to them, and now we must keep it to the best of our ability as long as we are able. If a time comes that we are not able, then we must pass our responsibility off to someone who can care for them. But in the meantime, they are in our care, so we have the privilege and honor of beholding their presence in our lives.

Until next time, I wish the very best to you and your birds!

Be sure to visit our “forum” on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Parrots-The-BEST-Bird-Food/169623509768097

Tags: Candida Albicans, feather destruction, feather mutilation, feather mutilation syndrome, feather picking, feather plucking, foods that contribute to feather plucking, Yeast infection, Yeast infections, Yeast infections in parrots

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The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 2

Filed under: Mutilation Syndrome (AKA Feather Destruction), Mutilation Syndrome Part 2 — Leave a comment

October 19, 2011

In the first part of our multi-part series regarding “The Mutilation Syndrome” I discussed the amino acid “Arginine” and how it is the precursor to nitric oxide, a gas that expands and dilates the blood vessels, thus causing the vessels to “vibrate” and “quiver” giving an almost “itchy feeling” to the skin surface. This also causes flushing and on occasion can cause hives as well.

In this post I want to go a little bit deeper into just how this affects our birds’ feather destruction and skin mutilation syndrome in very specific ways. In other words, I want to get down to the biological and physiological reasons behind the dilation of the blood vessels and why the expansion of the vessels actually causes our parrots to pull their feathers out and rip their skin off of their body.

"Mango"

In addition I want to supply you with a list of foods that are high in Lysine, the amino acid that neutralizes Arginine. This will armor you with an “antidote” to help curb the effects of Arginine just in case your bird’s system has become toxic with this amino acid.

So let’s get started with the biology of the feather follicle and how Arginine and nitric oxide affect the blood vessels leading up to the portal of the actual feather. I am confident all of this will make perfect sense once you understand the mechanics of this process.

As you already know, birds are more sensitive in so many ways than humans are to begin with. Their sight, their hearing and, yes, even their sense of touch is more sensitive than ours. So it makes perfect sense that their nervous systems, i.e. their nerve endings, are going to be more sensitive than ours as well. Think of where most of their nerve endings are located on the surface of their skin, around their feather follicles, where their feathers are produced. This is also where most of the blood vessels are located because a very good supply of blood is needed at the opening of the feather follicle in order to produce such fine plumage.

So here we have a conglomeration of nerve endings wrapped together with a very good supply of blood through a myriad of blood vessels for optimum nutrition and oxygen supply. Once the blood system receives an overabundance of Arginine, the precursor to nitric oxide gas, the amino acid actually turns into the gas, and that gas begins filtering through the blood supply and mixing with the oxygen in the blood. The blood then circulates to the feather follicles, and the nerves receive their supply of blood, which contains the nitric oxide gas. Then all of the surrounding vessels engorge causing the nerves to “vibrate”, simultaneously the flushing and itching begins. What do you think your bird is going to focus upon? Exactly! The feathers!

Instinctively your bird is going to pull its feathers out thinking by doing so the itching will be relieved! (Just like we would begin to scratch!) And for some birds, when plucking the feathers out doesn’t relieve the problem, because that isn’t the problem, the engorged blood vessels is the problem, the bird just keeps on plucking and picking, in other words, mutilating the skin. And of course, the more mutilation that the bird continues to do, the more blood that rushes to the area, engorging the blood vessels even more with the toxic gas, nitric oxide. Do you see how the cycle begets itself?

"Rainbow" during the change in his diet. Feathers are growing in!

Okay, so what is the solution to this when feather plucking is due to the overabundance of Arginine in the bird’s system? As I have mentioned, the bird’s system needs to be de-toxed, but in a slow and loving way through neutralizing it with foods that are high in Lysine. As we all have experienced, birds don’t like to have their foods, toys or environments suddenly and drastically changed. So it is with changing their diet from foods high in Arginine to foods high in Lysine. Patience is the key and a virtue in this situation. (Although there are times I do recommend making a total and complete transition from the current diet to a completely new, detoxification diet. But if this is done the bird must be healthy in all other manner of medical terms, no other health issues can exist.)

In The Mutilation Syndrome – Part I I supplied you with a list of foods to begin avoiding, even though I’m sure I will be adding to that list in the future, at least it’s a start. The main thing to remember is that if you are feeding highly processed foods they are probably loaded with ingredients that are high in Arginine. And even if they contain L-Lysine, the synthetic version of Lysine, on their ingredient list, remember, it’s a laboratory-produced version, not a whole-food, natural version like you find in real whole foods. Scientists have long-debated as to whether living creatures can readily absorb and metabolize synthetic nutrients as efficiently as whole-food nutrients and they still have not come to a concrete and unified decision on the matter. Besides, the amount of L-Lysine in the processed food is probably not enough to neutralize the amount of Arginine present via the other ingredients in their formula.

So now we need to get on with the list of foods naturally high in Lysine so you can begin supplementing them for the foods you are going to begin removing from your bird’s diet.

Foods Naturally High in Lysine:

Yogurt – But remember in my last post I cautioned you, ONLY use goat’s milk yogurt because it doesn’t contain cow’s milk lactose or casein. Cow’s milk lactose is too difficult to digest and casein is a glue-like substance that literally causes food to stick to the innards so that they don’t digest or get absorbed properly. You can find goat’s milk yogurt in most health food stores. (1/2 – 1 tsp per 450 – 500 grams of body weight per day)
Papaya – However, be careful with papaya because it is a natural histamine, it can cause allergies. Watch to see how your individual bird responds to it.
Beets – However, beets are high in sugar that can lead to yeast infections. So if your individual bird is prone to yeast infections keep a close eye out for any signs of a developing yeast infection. Beets are also a good supply of beta carotene, the precursor to vitamin A.
Mango – This is a good all around ingredient and has no side effects that I am aware of. A good supply of beta carotene too!
Apricots – A little on the sugary side, but not too bad.
Apple – I don’t recommend apples because they are way too high in sugar content for the little amount of nutrition they offer.
Pear – Excellent source.
*Alfalfa – Very good source. This is a balanced complete protein in itself. It is very good to use as your
base food in a whole food diet for your bird.(Used as our base ingredient in BirD-elicious! bird foods.)
Bee Pollen – A very good source.
Pineapple – This can be somewhat of an allergen to some birds, so watch your individual bird carefully. Otherwise it is an excellent digestive agent.
Persimmon – A good source.
Peach – A good source.
Plum – A good source.
Green beans – A good source.
Lentil SPROUTS – A good source.
Cauliflower – A good source.
Buckwheat Groats – A good source.
Quinoa – A good source.
Amaranth – A good source.
Guava – A fair source.
Cinnamon – A fair source.

"BirD-elicious Feather Destruction Diet"

"Rainbow" with almost all of his feathers grown in after completely changing his diet.

Hopefully between part 1 and part 2 of The Mutilation Syndrome you can begin to wean your bird off of a high Arginine diet if you suspect this may be the reason your bird is suffering from the Mutilation Syndrome.

If you begin trying this and your bird is still experiencing problems after about 3 months, give it more time, these things take time for your bird’s body to fully detox.

But also know that this will not be my last part in our multi-part series regarding The Mutilation Syndrome. I will be discussing additional research and information, some old and some new. There is a lot of information the avian community just doesn’t really talk about that I believe to be of high importance. I have used this information with my own flock with great success.

Using all of the information I wish to supply you with may help you once you employ part, or all of it with your mutilating beloved bird. *Also, please understand that when it really comes down to it, in the larger scheme of life, it really comes down to “balance”. You might want to click on the hi-lighted word so you will gain a better understanding of what I mean about “balance” before you finish reading the entire multi-part series…

Until next time, my very best to you and your flock!

Be sure to visit our “forum” on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Parrots-The-BEST-Bird-Food/169623509768097

Tags: best bird food, bird nutrition, Bird-elicious, feather destruction, feather mutilation, feather mutilation syndrome, feather picking, feather plucking, foods that contribute to feather plucking, healthy bird food, parrot nutrition, Parrots, the best bird food

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The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 1

Filed under: Mutilation Syndrome (AKA Feather Destruction), Mutilation Syndrome Part 1 — Leave a comment

October 18, 2011

"Rainbow" before changing his diet.

This very frustrating syndrome of feather plucking, skin mutilation and generalized picking has long been a subject of debate and discussion for years on end amongst all of us who desire to care for our beloved parrots in a healthy and wholesome manner. We are left scratching our own heads wondering if we will ever find out what really causes them to participate in this unwanted, less than desirable behavior.

Veterinarians have told us that this syndrome is the result of anything from behavioral issues such as depression or anxiety and have even placed our birds on some heavy duty medications to curb these psychological problems. We have been told that our birds may have a disease such as liver disease or cancer that has not yet shown itself, to diabetes or other health issues in the way of parasitic invasions such as Giardia or worms. We have been told this syndrome is the result of not enough toys in their cages to too many toys in their cages. We have been told to go out and get a companion for our bird; we have been told to remove our bird from the “flock environment” because of the “hormonal environment” it causes, we have been told that our bird is suffering a hormonal imbalance and our vet has even suggested placing our bird on synthetic hormones. We have been told that the diet isn’t quite right, too much of this, not enough of that. We have been told that the air quality in their room is either too dry or too humid, or the lighting isn’t right, or that our birds need more natural sunlight and thus they lack natural vitamin D. We have been told that our bird lacks certain vitamins or minerals. We have been told to check for metal toxicity. We have been told that our parrot isn’t receiving enough human contact, or too much human contact. We have been told to use flower essences and herbs, or that if we are using them we are not using the right combination. As you can see, and probably remember your own journey with your own birds, the list is absolutely endless. Exhausting, isn’t it?

Well, the sad truth of the matter is, we have to be diligent and consider all of the above issues, there is just no way around it, there are no short cuts. We have to be our bird’s ears, eyes and sense of touch. Our bird is trying to tell us something by the very fact it is presenting a problem: feather plucking, skin mutilation and/or picking, the “Mutilation Syndrome”. This is the only way our bird can tell us that a problem is occurring somewhere in its daily life. We have to become sharp enough to figure the problem out and resolve the situation. And even the brightest avian veterinarian can’t be the all-knowing problem-solver for these beloved creatures that are not yet fully domesticated from the wild. There is still much research that needs to be done for us to properly care for these birds of the wild.

Just recently I was able to uncover some very promising research that may help resolve some of the problems surrounding the issue of the Mutilation Syndrome. I have learned about an amino acid that contributes to problems in human lives, as well as animal lives when used in overabundance. It causes “flushing, hives, and itching” and the overall discomfort of the largest organ of any living creature, “skin”. Yes, skin is the largest “organ” of any living creature. And when “skin” experiences an imbalance our entire existence becomes almost unbearable, as we witness everyday in the lives of our birds that feather pluck, mutilate and pick.

Molecular Structure of L-Arginine

This amino acid, Arginine, is present in so many foods, so abundantly present, that it makes my head spin. It’s not that it’s a bad amino acid, it has its place in the food chain and performs many good functions. But place it in overabundance in a living creature’s diet and lookout!

And guess where we find Arginine in overabundance? Processed foods where “fillers” are used. The reason being is that foods that contain this amino acid are relatively cheap for food manufacturers to purchase, ergo the cost of production of their highly processed food is cheap to produce and their net profit is increased by the use of those ingredients.

*Side note and off topic for a moment: One of the newest fillers to arrive on the market for manufacturers to use in human and pet foods is “cellulose”, otherwise known as “sawdust”. Yep, and manufacturers can get away with it because according to the FDA, it’s “a natural and organic ingredient”! “Yeppers, step right up and buy a truck load of sawdust! It’s natural and doesn’t contain any fat to boot!”…and it’s cheap, really, really cheap. Just think of the profit a manufacturer can make while our digestive tracts are…”getting the fiber they need.” Yes, this is how manufacturers market it, they claim you are getting the “fiber” you need in your daily diet by consuming the “cellulose” in the processed food they are selling… I know, I know, I sound like a broken record, but please, read on because I’m going to be giving you a lot more information to help you sort out, in detail, what foods to avoid, and what foods to include in your parrot’s diet to begin weaning them off of ingredients that cause them to engage in the “Mutilation Syndrome”.

Now for those of you who need to understand how the amino acid Arginine works to cause the flushing, hives and itching, and mind you not all of these symptoms will necessarily be present in your bird, maybe only one, or two, but all three can be present at one time, then I will do my best to explain how this amino acid reacts within bodily functions.

Arginine is the precursor to nitric oxide which is a gas. This gas is released in the blood system causing the blood vessels to expand and dilate. When this occurs the nerves become activated and the flushing occurs, possibly hives as well, and the itching too. It’s like the nerves begin to vibrate and our bird wants to pick to relieve the vibrating, or the itching, just like we would want to. (Nitric oxide is one reason why migraine sufferers have instantaneous full blown migraines too.) (By the way, Arginine is the amino acid used in weight-lifter’s powders to give them that “popped-out” veins look, and it’s used in high-protein drinks as well. So if you drink these products and ever wonder why you might be flushing or itching, this could be your answer. It’s also a primary ingredient used in erectile dysfunction drugs! If you know what foods to supply to your honey-baby, he may just not need those horrible pharmaceuticals!) (In addition, Arginine has been linked to aiding in the treatment to people who have high blood pressure. If you, or anyone you know, are currently on a specialized diet for treating high blood pressure, DO NOT change your diet unless consulting with your doctor first. Additionally, DO NOT begin taking L-Arginine for the treatment of erectile dysfunction or high blood pressure unless you consult with your doctor first. This can be a very harmful amino acid if taken without the advice of a doctor.)

Normally we think that feeding legumes to our birds is a good thing because they are packed with protein, and since we are NOT supposed to be feeding meat, in ANY way to our birds…(I hope none of you are feeding meat to your birds…this is a HUGE NO, NO…they do not have the digestive acids to properly digest meat!)…but legumes are one of the main sources of Arginine, so we have to find a way to continue feeding foods that contain Arginine, but balance the Arginine with foods that contains Lysine. Yes, Lysine is the amino acid that balances Arginine.

At any rate here is a partial list of foods to avoid feeding to your mutilating bird:

(I’m sure in the future I will be adding to this list.)

Sunflower Seeds
Butternut Squash
Yams / Sweet Potatoes
Sesame Seeds
Pumpkin Seeds
Almonds / All Nuts for that matter
Peanuts
Watercress
Fenugreek
Swiss Chard
Mustard Seeds
Indian Figs
Wheat
Corn
Soy
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Eggplant
Peas
Wheat germ
Mushrooms
Elderberries
Blueberries
Garlic
Onion
Blackberries
Oranges
Grapes
Coconut
Watermelon
Legumes in general
Chili Peppers (All varieties)
Millet
Cranberries

Now, all of this being said, remember, this is NEW information. Any time new information comes across our desks it takes time for all of us to ingest it, absorb it and make use of it. Likewise, I now realize that some of our BirD-elicious! formulas will need to be slightly changed, which is fine because we are not in production at this current time anyway. Let’s face it, we made huge strides in revolutionizing the parrot food industry, and one of the many reasons we LOVED the fact that we produced our own food in our own plant was that we could change our formulas at any given time in accordance to any new information that we uncovered! Our Feather Plucker’s Diet was a huge success and now, with this new information, it will be even better if, and or when we re-open our production. Our focus is always on continuing research, development, as well as educating our public. I digress, my apology.

For those of you who are feeding yams for the high content of beta carotene it provides, I suggest a source that contains a neutral amount of Arginine to Lysine, carrots. Although I don’t care for the abundant sugar in carrots that could potentially lead to a yeast infection, the benefit still outweighs the danger of an overabundance of Arginine in the system. So if you decide to use carrots as your main natural source of beta carotene, be sure to watch for any signs of a yeast infection due to an increase in natural sugars. Still the thing to remember about the sugar in carrots, they are predominantly monosaccharides, a type of sugar a living creature’s body readily recognizes as friendly carbohydrates and easy to metabolize. In other words, it doesn’t sit in the gut fermenting and waiting to be digested, it goes right into the bloodstream, unlike carbohydrates that come from starchy foods such as rice, wheat or corn. This makes carrots an excellent source of energy as well as an excellent source of beta-carotene. If you decide to use another natural source of whole-food for beta carotene and you are wondering if it contains a high elevation of Arginine, feel free to contact me at aidforthebirds@yahoo.com and I will do my best to research it for you.

Another product that I have NEVER promoted, because I don’t believe in feeding “animal-based” products to parrots, in order to increase the amount of Lysine naturally in your parrot’s system, is a VERY SPECIFIC type of yogurt. Mind you, I will reiterate, a VERY SPECIFC type of yogurt to use, Goat’s Milk Yogurt. You can usually find it at your local health food store. Yogurt overall contains a high amount of Lysine which will help neutralize any Arginine already present in your bird’s system. So a tiny amount, say about ½-1 teaspoon per 450-500 grams of body weight per day is acceptable. Why goat’s milk yogurt? Goat’s milk does NOT contain the same kind of lactose like cow’s milk does. Therefore it is much easier to digest and assimilate because birds don’t produce the digestive enzyme “lactase” needed to digest and assimilate products containing lactose. Also, goat’s milk does not contain the same kind of indigestible “casein” found in cow’s milk, a glue-like substance actually used in the glue we use in our offices, that makes dairy products stick to the innards making everything in the digestive tract stick to the insides and virtually impossible for anything to be thoroughly digested. So, NO cow’s milk yogurt IF you are going to feed yogurt at all, PLEASE!

Now, please remember, this probably will not put an end to all feather plucking, skin mutilation and picking. But this is new information that will help us further understand why our parrots continue to pluck when we seem to be feeding them otherwise healthy diets, even when we are performing due diligence and feeding them fresh foods each and every day avoiding highly processed foods.

Which brings me to the issue of feeding those highly processed diets manufactured by big pet food companies, why are we still feeding those formulas to our birds? Especially birds who continue to experience the “Mutilation Syndrome”? It just doesn’t make any good common sense!

Most, if not all, of those highly processed foods, if they are machine-formed in any manner, heat-processed, or pressed at high pressures, have far less nutritional value than any food you could be presenting if you would choose to feed fresh food to your bird. Having said that, I totally understand the amount of expense and labor that goes in to feeding your bird fresh, organic, whole foods each and every day, and I completely understand that not all of us can do that. But we must make an effort to feed at least 50% of our bird’s diet as such, fresh, organic, whole foods. It’s what they would live on in the wild. And remember, these birds are wild at heart, they are not domesticated by a long shot. Their entire nature, their entire being is calling out to return to the wild, but because they cannot, we must bring it to them in the best way possible. Feeding natural, organic diets is one of the ways we can begin to bring Nature to them.

I will begin to remind you, that highly processed foods not only lack in real natural, organic, whole-food nutrition, but the ingredients normally used are far less than quality ingredients to boot! Most, if not all, manufacturers use the very ingredients I listed above that are high in Arginine, the exact amino acid that, when fed in overabundance, actually contributes to feather plucking, skin mutilation and picking. These are cheap ingredients the manufacturer can obtain at low prices to “fill” or “bulk out” their product so that they can increase their “bottom line” of net profit so they can put their kids through college, and they can treat themselves to big, fancy vacations while your beloved parrot sits in its cage ripping and tearing its skin off its body and you pay exorbitant veterinary bills trying to find out why! Do you think these “pet food manufacturers” really care about your “Polly” and your hard-earned cash? No, they’re laughing all of the way to their bank and off to the next island party! And it’s like I have said before, you can pay for your parrot’s health up front by spending your money on healthy food now and have a healthy parrot, or you can buy cheap junk food and have an ill parrot and spend hundreds of dollars at your vet. Either way you are going to spend money; your parrot may as well be healthy for it.

As always, I have a lot more to express regarding the “Mutilation Syndrome”, some information that was fairly new just before we closed our business, and some information that I talked about repeatedly while our business was still open. But I don’t want to overwhelm you with information in this post. Please take this new information and ingest it, absorb it and begin using it. Try to understand that like with any change, it will take you some time to implement it, and it will take your parrot some time to adjust to it too. Then once you and your parrot adjusts to it, your parrot’s system will need time to begin turning around and showing signs of improvement. Allow anywhere from 30 days to 3 months before you begin to see any change. And for some, more stubborn cases it may even take 6 months before you see a change. Watch closely, you may begin to see a behavioral change, at first it may not be a positive change because your parrot may become cranky because you are taking a favorite food away. But then you may actually see a tiny bit less picking, or less nervousness. It will vary from parrot to parrot because each bird is special and unique just like each human is. The key is to be diligent and once you take the food(s) away, don’t revert or digress, don’t go backwards and reintroduce the food out of sympathy for your parrot’s forlorn or cranky look or behavior. Your bird will eventually adjust, and it will be for the better in the long run. Offer an additional bite of carrot, or the goat’s milk yogurt in place of the food you took away as a bargaining chip! See if that doesn’t help ease the transition. Remember, it really is for the bird’s best interest, and yours too.

Using all of the information I wish to supply you with may help you once you employ part, or all of it with your mutilating beloved bird. *Also, please understand that when it really comes down to it, in the larger scheme of life, it really comes down to “balance”. You might want to click on the hi-lighted word so you will gain a better understanding of what I mean about “balance” as it pertains to feeding our companion birds before you finish reading the entire multi-part series…

Be sure to read all parts of our multi-part series of “The Mutilation Syndrome”! Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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A short quote by Dr. Bruce Fife, ND. I believe this is one of the best explanations of how MCTs (medium chain triglycerides/good fats) "work" in a living body:

"MCTs are processed differently. When we eat a fat containing MCTs, such as coconut oil, it travels through the stomach and into the small intestine. But since MCTs digest quickly, by the time they leave the stomach and enter the intestinal tract they are already broken down into individual fatty acids (MCFAs). Therefore, they do not need pancreatic enzymes or bile for digestion. Since they are already reduced to fatty acids as they enter the small intestine, they are immediately absorbed into the portal vein and sent straight to the liver. In the liver they are preferentially used as a source of fuel to produce energy. MCFAs bypass the lipoprotein stage in the intestinal wall and in the liver. They do not circulate in the bloodstream to the degree that other fats do. Therefore, they do not supply the fat that collects in fat cells nor do they supply the fat that collects in artery walls. MCFAs are used to produce energy, not body fat and not arterial plaque." You can read more from Dr. Fife at OfSpirit.com
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Fatty Liver Disease and the Use of Dietary Fats for Companion Birds (Hepatic Lipidosis)

When NOT to Use Apple Cider Vinegar

Liver and Kidney Disease – Part 2 – Hypervitaminosis A

Liver and Kidney Disease in Parrots – Part 1 – Protein

Seed to Combat “The Mutilation Syndrome”

Bee Pollen and “The Mutilation Syndrome”

My Bird Scratches All of the Time! – Allergy Help!

Chili Peppers: High in Arginine

The Mutilation Syndrome – Breeding

Cinnamon ~ Helpful for “The Mutilation Syndrome” and Diabetes

The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 6 – Bringing It Full Circle

The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 5 – Parasites

The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 2 – Addendum A – Herbs & Spices

The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 4 – Toys

The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 3 – Yeast Infections (Vitamin C)

The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 2

The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 1

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