Category: Liver and Kidney Disease


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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Machelle Pacion / The BEST Bird Food / BirD-elicious! / Passion Tree House LLC © 2012 All Rights Reserved

*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.

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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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Machelle Pacion / The BEST Bird Food / BirD-elicious! / Passion Tree House LLC © 2012 All Rights Reserved

*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.

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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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Machelle Pacion / The BEST Bird Food / BirD-elicious! / Passion Tree House LLC © 2012 All Rights Reserved

*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.

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