Mutilation Syndrome (AKA Feather Destruction)
When NOT to Use Apple Cider Vinegar
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 [...]
Seed to Combat “The Mutilation Syndrome”
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 [...]
Bee Pollen and “The Mutilation Syndrome”
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 [...]
Chili Peppers: High in Arginine
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 [...]
The Mutilation Syndrome – Breeding
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 [...]
Cinnamon ~ Helpful for “The Mutilation Syndrome” and Diabetes
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 – Part 6 – Bringing It Full Circle
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 [...]
The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 5 – Parasites
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 [...]
The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 2 – Addendum A – Herbs & Spices
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! [...]
The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 4 – Toys
One of the last things we take into consideration when we think about our bird’s feather plucking, skin mutilation and/or generalized picking problems is their environment. 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 [...]
The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 3 – Yeast Infections (Vitamin C)
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 3rd part of our continuing series of The Mutilation Syndrome I will be delving into [...]
The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 2
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 [...]
The Mutilation Syndrome – Part 1
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 [...]
Machelle
