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Rev ‘em up and watch ‘em go! -Purines in Our Exotic Birds’ Diets.

December 25, 2012 § Leave a Comment

Ever wonder how they condition race horses and racing Greyhounds before a race to make sure their candidate has an “edge” to win the big race? You have to know they all do it…short of using “doping” that would disqualify the contestant.

Have you ever heard of “hot feed” or “sweet feed”? This is what is commonly used in horse feed to really get them hyped up for racing. It is not used so much for racing greyhounds because their system metabolizes this feed differently than horses do because Greyhounds are carnivores, horses are herbivores.

As herbivores horses eat mostly grasses. But when the big race day arrives it is not uncommon for their keepers to feed them a healthy dose of “sweet grains mixed with molasses”. Grains are high in “purines” that cause the horse’s metabolism to greatly increase and thus dramatically raise their energy level. But this isn’t all it does, it literally changes the “mood” of the horse too, making it a lot more difficult to handle because it makes them much more aggressive, and this is part of the reason the horse really needs a professional handler that understands what this “hot feed” does to a horse’s system.

In racing Greyhounds protein-rich meat is used because the way canines metabolize grains it wouldn’t make any sense to feed them grains right before a race. Within one hour their blood glucose level begins to dramatically fall, so the grain really defeats the purpose. But using meat, maybe even very fatty meat, might just do the trick for these carnivorous creatures.

And what do grains and meat both have in common? Purines. They are abundant in meat products, especially organ meats like liver, kidneys, heart and spleen, but are found in all meat and fish. In grains they are most abundant in oats, wheat, millet, barley and rye but are also found in lesser degree in other grains. All legumes contain purines too. In addition there are several vegetables that contain purines such as asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bean sprouts, artichoke, chives, leeks, green peppers, and spinach.

You may be reading along wondering what this has to do with exotic birds…A LOT!

A small amount of purines in the system act as anti-oxidants, but like anything, too much of a good thing becomes toxic itself when it overloads the system. Purines ultimately metabolize into uric acid and can deposit as gout crystals. But that’s not all. When they are in the system in levels that are too high, and this is accomplished fairly easy when a diet is lopsided containing primarily grains, legumes and vegetables that contain purines as well, purines can raise all kinds of havoc besides gout.

Gouty Liver

In humans if levels of purines get too high in the system it can cause a disorder called hyperuricemia and can ultimately lead to renal failure, gouty arthritis and crystal deposits under the skin known as tophi. In addition it can cause neurological disorders such as dystonia, choreoathetosis, ballismus and hyperreflexia(in birds this would be characterized or present as “toe-tapping”, “wing-flipping”, “seizures”, “tilted head or wry neck”, or even “prolapsed cloaca” due to “autonomic” or “detrusor” hyperreflixia). The behavioral problems associated with these neurological dysfunctions include aggressive and impulsive behaviors such as persistent and severe self-injurious behaviors like self-mutilation like we see in feather-destruction and skin-mutilation. In other words, these purines “hype” our birds up causing them to become overactive, loud screamers and in some cases even aggressive.

This really brings to my attention the fact that so many of us that have birds we cannot seem to calm down and they engage in constant screaming, pacing their cages religiously, even if they don’t destroy their feathers or mutilate their skin. But then if they are self-destructive, this should alert us that the possibility of too many purines in their diet may be the culprit, not that this behavior is “normal” for a parrot, or that they are merely bored.

In humans it is usually due to an insufficient enzyme known as hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase, or HPRT. Turkeys and chickens, and even Finches and Emus produce this enzyme, but it is believed that most species of birds do not produce this enzyme at all. And even if they do produce this enzyme, it is questionable if birds have the ability to “gene dosage” like humans can, so they can make up for the lack of the enzyme in their gene pools. Without this enzyme, because our exotic birds dispose of uric acid by “concentration” and not by filtration through a bladder like humans, the buildup of purines in the system has a great potential over time to cause all of the disorders named above when the liver can no longer filter the purines from the system.

If this is the case, why are we feeding foods like meat, cheese, yogurt, and volumes of grains, legumes and even vegetables that contain purines to our exotic birds? These foods are well and fine to feed to mammals that are naturally equipped to handle purines, if an HPRT enzyme disorder does not exist, but not to birds that are in a class of their own, “aves”, specifically our exotic birds. (You might think “eggs” would be included on that list of “do not” feed list, but as long as the yolk is removed, the white of the egg does not contain any purines.)

Purines raise the “acidic” level in the body and decrease the alkaline Ph. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the foods themselves are acidic, it is the effect of the foods once they enter the body. A food can be acidic itself but have an alkaline effect on the body, or it can be an alkaline food, but have an acidic effect on the body, it all has to do with how the body metabolizes that specific food. Foods high in purines tend to have an acidic effect on the body.

Knowing all of this it brings me back to my simple, yet very important research that tells me what our exotic birds were meant by Nature to consume based on their indigenous origins: berries, fruit, tender young grasses/leaves/herbs, limited amounts of seed, nuts, small amounts of larvae/insects, clay/dirt and other supplements based on their individual species. Of all other foodstuffs berries and fruit contain the lowest amount of purines.

The more research that comes across my desk the more I am absolutely convinced that our exotic birds have had foodstuffs shoved down their tender throats for far too long by an industry basing their research on poultry science, Galliformes, chickens that don’t even have a digestive system anything like our exotic birds! Why do we, as a community, continue to listen to this kind of false logic? It is time we stop and begin looking at the truth. The truth is staring us in the face every time we look into the eyes of our exotic birds…their digestive systems are telling us everything we need to know in order to feed them correctly and help them to thrive. It’s time we throw down the false information we have been convinced to believe and begin believing the living, breathing creature squarely in front of us, the beloved and magnificent birds we care for each and every day. Their health or lack of it, is telling us that what we have been doing is not working, it’s time for change.

For more information on how to provide natural diets and naturopathic healing for your pet visit The American Council of Animal Naturopathy or our Right To Flight Elite Rehabilitative Sanctuary page today!

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We have a brand new “open” discussion group and I would LOVE to have you join us in this ongoing conversation!

Please join us at: “Growing Feathers: Picking Plucking Barbering Destruction Mutilation”!

Join us in supporting the Tambopata Macaw Project headed by Dr. Donald Brightsmith.

Please be sure to do your part in protecting wild parrots from illegal poaching , join The World Parrot Trust and The World Parrot Trust: Cananda in their effort to stop illegal trade of wild parrots.

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We now operate a National Exotic Bird Rescue & Sanctuary Listing Service located at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/All-State-Exotic-Parrot-Bird-Rescue-Sanctuary-Listings/163115600475472

*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.

Teachable Moment: Liver Disorders

December 20, 2012 § Leave a Comment

Click on Photo for larger view.

What do you see when you look at this photo? A bird that barbers? A bird that plucks?

When an avian nutritionist looks at this photo they should see more than that.

I see a bird that probably has suffered, and may still suffer from a liver disorder. But I see way more than just that, a “liver disorder” is too general. Looking deeper I see that this bird probably suffers from being exposed to ingested metals over an extended period of time. And in addition I see that this bird probably has hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) to some extent. Then in general I see that this bird probably suffers from an overload of both the amino acid Arginine and too many omega 6’s in its diet.

Now you may wonder how it is possible to see all of those things by just looking at a photo of a bird, but after years of diagnosing birds with feather destruction problems this is what my experience tells me.

First of all, it is probable that a bird exhibiting this much of a feather destruction problem has some amount of metal toxicity, even if metal toxicity blood tests show otherwise. We really don’t know at what sensitivity level metal toxicity will show up in blood tests for exotic birds, we are simply giving it an educated guess based on all birds that have been tested over all time that exotic birds’ blood have been tested for metal toxicity in labs. But the alarming statistics are something like only 10% of bird-lovers take their birds in for exams…if that is the case how many of us have our birds tested for metal toxicity for the community of veterinarians and other researchers to add to the “pot” of statistics…not very many to arrive at the “average” level of what any given exotic bird can have floating in their system and not have metal toxicity. Bottom line, we really do not know.

Based on the research I am finding in writing my avian nutrition book, the amount of metallic ferrous iron in highly processed bird food is probably enough, fed over a period of time, to give a bird a baseline amount of metal toxicity! This should alarm each and every one of us that has ever fed highly processed bird food to our birds. This metallic ferrous iron doesn’t go away, it sits in our birds’ systems indefinitely, primarily in all body organs, but specifically in the liver as “Iron Storage Disease”. I have written many blog posts on this, but I write in depth about it in my book. At any rate, this is ONE of the reasons highly processed foods could be unhealthy at best, and lethal at worst for our exotic birds.

Secondly, most of our birds receive far too many foods high in the amino acid Arginine. It is literally in all highly processed foods nowadays. The reason for this is because food manufacturers are using ingredients that are the most economical to use in their highly processed foods in order to make a profit. Ingredients like corn, wheat, rice, and soy are being used as the primary ingredient in most foods, whether the foods are made for human consumption or animal consumption. Manufacturers are required by law to list ingredients on the package in the order they are most abundant in the total product. This could mean that when we see corn, for example, as the main ingredient, there could be as much as 99% corn in that product. Or there could be as little as 50% corn, but if it is the first ingredient, then there is more corn in that product than anything else. Corn has an extremely high Arginine content. Then if any of the other ingredients have a high Arginine content, it throws the amino acid balance way off. The only way to balance the amino acid profile then is to add a synthetic source of the balancing amino acid L-Lysine. Still, the living body is going to recognize the natural source of amino acids quicker, and process it more readily than the synthetic source. So having this abnormally high ratio of Arginine in any given food can be disastrous when so many foods contain this sort of ratio and these foods are consumed all day long, day after day.

What does Arginine do? It forms a gas called nitric oxide that dilates the blood vessels. At first glance this may appear to be a good thing, allowing a better flow of blood to and from the heart muscle. But in too much abundance it inflames the arteries and blood vessels causing an “itchy” feeling, leading birds to pick and pluck; yes, birds really are more sensitive than we are, they feel every little sensation.

Finally, all of these ingredients I am mentioning are also high in the omega 6’s, a necessary “good fat”, but again consumed in too high of an amount they have the opposite effect on a living creature. Just like Arginine, when too many omega 6’s are consumed they act as an inflammatory and irritate the arteries and blood vessels. In order to counteract these omegas a good supply of the omega 3’s are necessary.

Unfortunately the foods most of us feed to our exotic birds are high in metallic ferrous iron, found in highly processed foods, high in Arginine and omega 6’s found in all grains, legumes, pastas and many tuber vegetables and other starchy foods even squash.

One more identifying mark I want you to take a look at is the area right behind the keel bone, at the bottom of the bird’s breast bone, right before the excretory area. This is where the liver would be located. If you notice it is ever so slightly “puffy”. Now this could be due to the manner in which the bird is posing, but it also could be the liver itself. If it is the liver, then the liver is swollen and this indicates liver toxicity or fatty liver.

Overall, in my opinion this bird not only needs to be placed on a powerful liver detox, including a metal detox, but it needs a change in diet. It could be that the bird consumes too many foods high in Arginine, high in omega 6’s and not enough quality protein, and/or plant proteins containing proteases that help with the breakdown of those plant proteins. If the bird is on a diet high in starches then the pancreas is overtaxed and too much insulin is being produced on an ongoing basis which could eventually lead to pancreatitis or diabetes. I would like to see this bird placed on a diet high in omega 3’s to balance out the omega 6’s, a diet high in anti-oxidants to help detox the liver and other organs, and a protein the bird’s body can easily recognize.

Will this bird ever grow its feathers back in? Probably not in full; but our main goal should always be the current health of the bird moving forward to continued health in the future, even if the bird never actually grows another new feather. Getting the bird to stop picking and plucking should be our next goal in order to prevent the bird from moving on to skin mutilation, because this particular bird did, in fact, mutilate in the past. Other birds begin with feather-destruction and progress to skin mutilation. Looking deeper into this particular bird’s history I learned that it formerly suffered seizures and would fall off of its perch; this is indicative of a bird that suffers from metal toxicity and/or fatty liver. Also this bird suffers respiratory problems, this is indicative of a bird that has an enlarged liver.

What I am learning while researching for my avian nutrition book is that almost every disorder, illness and disease can be linked back to diet, primarily to highly processed foods containing metallic ferrous iron, over-feeding of high-Arginine ingredients and too many omega 6’s along with diets high in starches. We have had our exotic birds’ diets absolutely flip-flopped for decades. When will we learn? Our exotic birds are not poultry; we cannot feed them chicken scratch and expect them to thrive in optimum health with beautiful feathers to boot! Exotic birds have a completely different digestive system than poultry; why are we continuing to feed them like they are chickens?

I urge you, open your mind, be the person that begins a new conversation about nutrition for our magnificent exotic birds today. Don’t put it off one more minute. They deserve our best efforts.

For more information on how to provide natural diets and naturopathic healing for your pet visit The American Council of Animal Naturopathy or our sanctuary site at Right To Flight today!

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We have a brand new “open” discussion group and I would LOVE to have you join us in this ongoing conversation!

Please join us at: “Growing Feathers: Picking Plucking Barbering Destruction Mutilation”!

We encourage our readers to support The Tambopata Macaw Project headed up by Dr. Donald Brightsmith.

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Be sure to visit our Facebook Page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Parrots-The-BEST-Bird-Food/169623509768097

We now operate a National Exotic Bird Rescue & Sanctuary Listing Service located at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/All-State-Exotic-Parrot-Bird-Rescue-Sanctuary-Listings/163115600475472

“The Mutilation Syndrome”: Treating Truly Hormonal Birds – Testosterone Levels

October 18, 2012 § 2 Comments

When dealing with “The Mutilation Syndrome”, and as I have discussed previously in many of my posts this includes barbering, picking, plucking of the feathers as well as skin mutilation, treating a truly hormonal bird is one of the most difficult and confusing aspects in dealing with this syndrome. We can address the nutritional needs of our birds, and usually that is the first and foremost issue I do address when dealing with a feather-destroyer. But in dealing with a “career feather-destroyer” there are many issues we come across during the overall course of treatment for any one bird.

While our companion birds need many nutrients such as limited “animal protein” as found in organic hardboiled egg or meal worms, they also need plant fatty acids found in seed, nuts. Unfortunately too much fat, specifically from the incorrect sources, can actually contribute to “The Mutilation Syndrome” in birds that are truly hormonal. Our birds also need the correct kind and amount of carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.

So what do we do to balance all of this? How do we make sure our birds receive the nutrients their body needs to replenish and regenerate all of their internal organs, along with their largest organ, skin, and grow beautiful feathers without contributing to their hormonal state?

It’s a very delicate balance.

We cannot limit the amount of protein and fatty acids they take in to their bodies; quite simply their bodies need these nutrients in order to thrive!

But we have to figure out how to balance all of these nutrients once they are in the body and make sure these nutrients find the correct pathways to all of the organs and bodily functions they need to feed. We have to not only supply the correct amount, and right kind of protein, fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and all other kinds of nutrients, in the case of hormonal birds that barber, pick, pluck and/or mutilate, we have to know what to supplement to their diet to minimize or maximize the other nutrients to balance out their hormones. This is not an easy task.

I recommend keeping the protein levels, the fatty acid levels, and the carbohydrate levels the same; our birds simply need their basic nutritional profile to remain consistent regardless of whether they are hormonal, or not. What we do need to alter, in my opinion, is the kind of fat, carbohydrates, and possibly the amount of vitamins and minerals they ingest.

In addition, there are some really great herbs and essential oils we can use to help balance their hormones.

You will want to eliminate nuts of all kinds in a feather-destroying bird because they are high in Omega 6’s which add to inflammation of the blood vessels and arteries. In addition they are high in the amino acid “Arginine”. Nuts cause a specific gas, “nitric oxide”, to form in the blood stream, the metabolic system. When this happens the blood vessels begin to “vibrate” causing an itching sensation, the bird begins to scratch, then pick and pluck, leading to more picking and plucking. It becomes an “itch that cannot be scratched”, a vicious cycle that continues without end.

But removing nuts from our birds’ diets doesn’t mean they have to live without the great fatty acids these foodstuffs have to offer for the benefit of their health! You still want to make sure your bird is receiving enough fatty acids for proper skin lubrication, moisture and feather health and sheen, along with beak and talon health so they do not become dry and brittle. I make sure to add healthy oils in the form of organic flax seed oil which is high in Omega 3’s. These omegas do not add to inflammation, they actually reduce inflammation. I also use a little organic hemp oil because it contains GLA (gamma linoleic acid), the precursor to Omega 9. Together with Omega 3 these omegas cross the blood brain barrier. Omega 3 alone cannot accomplish this. Then I also use just a little organic Palm Fruit Oil, depending on the species, making sure I purchase it from a source that obtains their product from a sustainable source. In some cases I use a limited amount of organic Coconut Oil, depending on the species of bird I am feeding.

We must remember, plant fatty acids are “medium-chain” fatty acids and they are easily recognizable by a living creature’s body. They actually go into the system and break up the lousy LDL cholesterol by raising the healthy HDL’s; HDL’s remove the plaque buildup eliminating it from the arteries, unlike the unhealthy, harmful LDL fatty acids found in dairy, cheeses and meat. Even the saturated fat in these healthy plant fats are medium-chain, not long-chain, a completely different saturated fat than the long-chain saturated fat we find in animal fats. So yes, while we must balance the amount of fat in a truly hormonal bird, remember, it’s animal fat that really causes a hormonal bird to go off the charts hormonally. What we need to do with the healthy fats is keep them at a minimal amount keeping our birds’ systems humming, while monitoring the levels of these oils our hormonal birds ingest, not totally eliminate them.

Cruciferous vegetables such as kale, collard greens, bok choy, watercress, arugula, parsnips, mustard leaves, daikon, horseradish, kohlrabi, beet greens, rutabaga, swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, turnips, cabbage and brussels sprouts contain indole-3-carbinol and convert and reduce excess estrogen, this automatically raises testosterone levels. When testosterone levels rise is when our birds are sent into mating/breeding behaviors. So it makes perfect sense to totally remove these foods from our birds’ diets if they are truly hormonal feather destroyers. This could easily explain why so many of our birds are in a constant hormonal state, because so many of us believe it is good to feed these “greens” to our bird on a daily basis.

Research strongly indicates that both potassium and zinc are needed for the production of testosterone. Therefore it makes good common sense to reduce or completely remove foods that are high in potassium and zinc in a truly hormonal bird that is acting out the desire to mate/breed. Foods we will want to drastically reduce or totally eliminate would be bananas, pine nuts, yogurt, cheese, beans, cottage cheese, beets, cantaloupe, potatoes, prunes, spinach, lima beans, raisins, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, cashews, chickpeas, and winter squash.

Herbs, seed and berries we can feed to increase estrogen, which is what we want to do to lower testosterone in our birds, so they will leave the desire to mate and breed behind, are red clover and red clover seed, juniper berries, thyme, sage, parsley, oregano, alfalfa leaves or powder, organic pitted dates.

Fruit we can add to our birds’ diet to help balance hormones are papaya, pomegranates, plums, dates, cherries and apples. But we have to be careful of the amount of cherries and apple skin we offer because they contain a high amount of quercetin. In small doses it is a wonderful anti-oxidant, but in high doses it forms the above-mentioned gas “nitric oxide” causing the blood vessels to vibrate stimulating an itching effect.

A particular essential oil I have had great success with is “Clary Sage”. I diffuse it as well as use it in a much diluted spray to help calm the hormones of truly hormonal birds. I also use it in their food from time to time in very small doses, maybe just one drop to the morning or evening meal. Make sure you purchase your essential oils from a highly reputable source because some manufacturers use chemical solvents in the processing of their essential oils. You can purchase a very reliable source at: https://youngliving.org/willostory . This source of essential oils grows their plants without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides too!

Regarding birds that have the desire to lay eggs, this is an entirely different topic. I am not attempting to address that topic in this post. I am addressing purely birds that are in a mating/breeding hormonal state and barbering, picking, plucking and/or mutilating strictly because of that desire to mate/breed. (Many times birds that are experiencing a high-testosterone level will be birds that are also bonded too closely to their caregiver. And sometimes exhibit an assertive or aggressive behavior.)A much different approach would need to be taken for a female bird that has moved beyond the mating/breeding state and now desires to nest and wants to constantly lay eggs. In that case she most likely has high estrogen levels and actually needs her testosterone levels raised. We would want to use opposite methods than described in this post, along with other techniques. My question would be for the caregiver of that bird, “Is she also barbering, picking, plucking and/or mutilating?” If so, then we definitely have the opposite problem of the bird with the high-testosterone profile. We would need to employ a completely different set of protocols in balancing her overall hormonal profile while ensuring her total nutritional profile does not suffer.

Like I mentioned, dealing with hormonal balances in our birds is a very difficult, yet delicate problem. This is why I don’t like to feed foods that can alter their delicate hormonal balances. Foods that are known phyto-estrogens such as soy for instance, I steer clear away from. The protein found in soy is not worth the risk of upsetting my birds’ hormones when there are so many other more reliable protein sources to be had. There are so many other drawbacks to feeding soy anyway, so many in fact that I really don’t want to delve into that topic in this post.

Other foods that contain high levels of phyto-estrogens that I steer clear of feeding to my birds, unless I am feeding them for a very short period to time in order to purposely alter their already imbalanced hormones in order to regain balance, are brewer’s yeast, barley, cabbage, yams, bladderwrack, cucumbers, green beans, peas, potatoes, pumpkin, legumes, lentils, rhubarb, rice, rye, sprouts, sunflower seed, squash, high fiber grains, spinach, various squash varieties, navy beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, fava beans, oats, wheat, and any food with a “high lignin” count (high fiber), fermented foods, hot chili peppers, cranberries. As previously noted I don’t normally feed these foodstuffs because of their phyto-estrogen activity and for other reasons as well. If I am working with a bird to regain the hormonal balance of that particular bird, I normally use herbal formulations designed specifically for the purpose of rebalancing a bird’s delicate hormonal system.
As noted above, chili peppers are a source of phyto-estrogens, so I steer clear of hot and spicy foods in birds that are hormonal, these foods trigger the above-mentioned gas, “nitric oxide” and can cause the itching to ensue thus adding to the picking and plucking syndrome.

As you realize by now, after reading this post, balancing our birds’ hormonal system is no easy task, but getting our birds’ hormonal system out of balance can easily be done simply by feeding an over-abundance of foods containing phyto-estrogens.

But there are other ways in which we can get our birds’ hormonal clocks out of balance.

If we don’t have their daylight hours set correctly for them, we can mess up their time clocks in nothing flat. Our birds are more “time conscious” than we are. Their delicate systems don’t adjust as fast as ours do. This is why it is extremely important that our birds receive the right amount of quiet and uninterrupted sleep each and every night. Most authorities on this matter will tell you that our birds need a good 10 to 12 hours of sleep each and every night to stay healthy. But do you know that if you are trying to reduce the testosterone levels you actually want to reduce the number of hours of sleep your bird gets? Yes, it is so. Less sleep equals lower testosterone levels. (Ref: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1029127) So I recommend that if you are purposely attempting to reduce the testosterone in your bird, reduce the amount of sleep you bird is allowed to receive, at least temporarily while you are attempting to re-balance the hormonal levels. You might want to allow your bird to receive only 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night until you are able to get your bird’s hormones balanced. This doesn’t necessarily mean to leave the lights on in your bird’s room, because this could trigger an artificial breeding season. I would recommend turning the lights off but the door open, or leaving a night light on for a couple of hours for subdued light, to create a “dusk” effect, then turning all lights completely off when it’s time for real sleep to begin. Remember, it’s all about reducing the testosterone for most birds.

In addition, our birds trigger off of temperature and humidity levels. If their space is too warm and humid it will trigger their hormones accordingly into an artificial mating/breeding season. You might want to cool off their room to about 65 to 70 degrees instead of the normal 77 to 80 degrees and allow the humidity to lessen just a tad, from the normal 70%-77% to 50%-55%. But don’t let the air become too dry, our birds need humidity to keep their skin and respiratory tract moist. If their skin becomes too dry, this will be yet another reason for them to barber, pick, pluck and mutilate.

To recap, we need to steer clear of foods that naturally contain phyto-estrogens that could possibly upset our birds’ delicate hormonal balances. But if we have a bird whose hormonal balance is already off-balance then we need to set out to re-adjust it naturally. Foods that reduce estrogen levels need to be eliminated from our birds’ diets. Instead we want to increase the estrogen activity in assertive and aggressive birds. We can attempt to achieve that by offering our bird certain herbs, seed and fruits that counter testosterone naturally. Optimum nutrition must be maintained even when we are attempting to manipulate, reduce or remove other foods that might be triggering hormonal imbalances. We can allow our bird to calm down and get ready for total sleep a little slower, easing into total sleep, rather than all at once. We can also reduce the temperature to about 65 to 70 degrees and slightly reduce the humidity level to about 50%, but no less.

Our exotic companion birds are at our mercy to ensure their very existence as happy and healthy creatures within the confines of our homes. Their overall physical, mental and emotional health depends exclusively on us learning how to balance every aspect of their being. We have a very long road ahead of us, but working together with open minds in a collective forum I am confident we can help ensure a brighter existence for the birds already in our care!

“The Mutilation Syndrome”: Treating Truly Hormonal Birds – Part 1 2 3 4

This is what the proper diet can do!

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Please be sure to do your part in protecting wild parrots from illegal poaching , join The World Parrot Trust and The World Parrot Trust: Canada in their effort to stop illegal trade of wild parrots. Visit their website today and become a member: www.parrots.org/flyfree

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Be sure to visit our Facebook Page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Parrots-The-BEST-Bird-Food/169623509768097

If you would like to become a part of our Facebook community “chat” group, contact me, Machelle, at https://www.facebook.com/machellecartier with a Private Message letting me know that you would like to become a member of our Private Group “BirD-elicious! Feeding Feathers of Parrots & Birds with Food & Toys!”

We now operate a National Exotic Bird Rescue & Sanctuary Listing Service located at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/All-State-Exotic-Parrot-Bird-Rescue-Sanctuary-Listings/163115600475472

Machelle Pacion / The BEST Bird Food / BirD-elicious! / Passion Tree House LLC / Right-To-Flight / Growing Feathers

*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.

Growing Feathers: Actual Photos & Succes Stories Part 2

October 12, 2012 § Leave a Comment

Many of you have been keeping up with our blog posts about our “special BirD-elicious! Pectin Puree’ ” custom mix diets and how “we should feed this” and “we shouldn’t feed that” to our exotic companion birds.

Many of you are aware of our private “BirD-elicious!™ Feeding Feathers” Facebook Community where several of us discuss this innovative method of feeding, some of you have even joined our little community and wow, our companion birds are making such great progress in growing their feathers back in!

I have discussed it with our private community members and some of them are willing to “show off” the progress their birds are making on their custom diets!

Continuing on our journey of healing feather growth issues, I will be uploading photos of different “BirD-elicious!™ Pectin Puree’ ” custom species-specific recipe birds for your viewing pleasure. You, our general public will gain a peek into the world of what it is our private community is working on each and every day!

I will not be sharing the names of the birds or the names of their caregivers because all of my clients’ information is always held in the strictest of confidence, a pledge I make to each and every person I consult with. At some point down the road, if you decide that you want a consultation with me, you will be guaranteed the same pledge.

This particular African Grey is a female that has always chewed her tail feathers off until recently when she began “barbering” her other feathers as well. In an exact quote by her caregiver: “This time she bit off all but one flight on her left side and all other feathers she could reach, except her right hand flights.“ Obviously alarmed by this action her caregiver, a former BirD-elicious! species-specific bird food customer of ours, reached out to me to see if I could offer any help. I developed a custom “BirD-elicous! Pectin Puree’ ” formula for her and now just look at her! She is growing her feathers in on both sides as well as her back and front! I have been notified by her caregiver that she is currently going through a molt, which is very common for birds to experience once they are placed on our diet.

You can barely see by the photos, in successive order, that her backside was at one time picked, but her newer photo shows that her backside is completely filled in. Her chest still needs some work, but a lot of the loss is due to the molt she is currently going through. Nonetheless, compared to the fact that she had chewed all of her feathers off “except one flight feather on her left side”, this is absolutely amazing!

We have been working on this little girl since about May of this year, 2012.

8.2012

10.2012

We congratulate this little girl and her caregiver!

Keep up the great work!

And more feathers to come!

(Disclaimer: This is NOT “Koko” of our Right-To-Flight Sanctuary)

See: Growing Feathers Parts 1 2 3 4 5

If you would like to join our private “BirD-elicious! Feeding Feathers” community

send a friend request to Machelle at https://Facebook.com/machellecartier today!

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Feather Destruction: Photo Updates and Success Stories!

October 7, 2012 § Leave a Comment

Soon I will be posting photos of companion birds that have been receiving our custom BirD-elicious! AjoBlanco mixes for “The Mutilation Syndrome” specifically for feather barbering, picking and plucking!

I think you will be pleasantly pleased to see how much progress these birds are making in a considerable short amount of time considering how long they have been involved in self-destruction.

I am sending out this notice so you can tell your fellow bird-lovers and get them signed up to our blog in time that they will not miss out on the news and the photos once I get those reports and photos all uploaded!

Please be sure to tell all of your friends to sign up to our blog so they will not miss out on these very important upcoming posts!

Self-Destruction-Why Does My Bird Do This?

August 26, 2012 § Leave a Comment

Skin Mutilation-

Feather Plucking-
Feather & Skin Picking-

Barbering & Shredding-

Does any and all of this sound familiar to you?

Have you been told that this is just a behavior or habit your bird has developed, maybe out of boredom?

I am here to tell you that birds don’t do this out of boredom or habitual behavior.

Birds, like any other animal, do what they do for a very specific reason. They communicate to us through their behavior. Yes, they are attempting to tell us something by what they do. It is up to us to learn what it is they are attempting to tell us.

I have consulted many, many clients over my many years in the avian nutrition journey and if there is anything I have learned is that birds do not participate in the above “behaviors” because they want to destroy their beautiful feathers out of boredom or habitual behavior. Instead it is because they are attempting to tell us that their diet is out of balance or lacking in specific nutrients.

Now, there is no way to know exactly how their diet is out of balance or what specific nutrient their diet lacks without taking a hard look at what their specific daily diet consists of, but once I look at a bird’s diet I can usually spot what needs adjusting and within a few weeks to a few months the bird begins to slow down to completely stop mutilating, plucking, picking, barbering or shredding, depending on what type of self-destruction it has been participating in.

All of these self-destructive mannerisms usually have to do with an imbalance of, or lack of, or inability to absorb:

1) Minerals
2) Protein
3) Healthy Fatty Acids

There is one additional reason I have learned, specifically that birds mutilate their skin in one specific area, and that is if they have an internal organ disorder they are attempting to tell us about. If you have exhausted all dietary reasons and your bird continues to mutilate its skin in one particular area I strongly suggest you have a thorough examination performed by your trusted certified avian veterinarian including a full blood workup with an exhaustive list of other tests. It may be that your bird is suffering from some internal disorder or disease and your bird is attempting to get at the organ that is causing the internal problem.

It becomes our job to learn what it is, or is not in their diet that is adding to their mannerisms of feather and/or skin destruction. But a bird will consume its own body to make up for an imbalance or lack of nutrients. If it has a cage-mate it will usually choose to pick on the cage-mate first rather than attack itself. Remember, our birds are animals first and “survival of the fittest” instinct will kick in. And if the proper food is not available in their food bowls in which to supply all of their body’s nutritional needs, they will use whatever source they need to in order to survive, even if that means consuming a cage-mate, or even themselves! These are instinctual creatures, what they are doing doesn’t have to “make sense”, they are only trying to survive.

So next time someone tells you that your bird is participating in any one of these “behaviors” out of habit or boredom, do yourself and your bird a favor and don’t believe it. Instead, take a long and hard look at the diet and begin asking yourself where the diet lacks in minerals, protein and fatty acids. Or ask yourself if your bird has an absorption problem. It may be time to have an avian nutritionist take a look at your bird’s diet just to make sure that your bird’s diet is in proper balance.

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If you would like a nutritional consultation for you bird withme, Machelle, email me at:
AidForTheBirds@yahoo.com
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If you would like to become a part of our Facebook community “chat” group, contact me, Machelle, at https://www.facebook.com/machellecartier with a Private Message letting me know that you would like to become a member of our Private Group “BirD-elicious! Feeding Feathers of Parrots & Birds with Food & Toys!”
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Please be sure to do your part in protecting wild parrots from illegal poaching, please join The World Parrot Trust and The World Parrot Trust Canada in their effort to stop illegal trade of wild parrots. Visit their website today and become a member: www.parrots.org/flyfree

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Whisper Sweet Nothings in My Ear…Emotional Intelligence and Our Exotic Birds

May 25, 2012 § 2 Comments

I was laying in bed this morning, the wee early morning hours, you know, when you are trying to wake up, but you still are in those twilight minutes still not quite awake, in that dreamy state wondering if you are in the real world, or off in some other alien world? And I heard one of the parrots I’m rehabbing off in the distance…going on and on and on…saying things I had never heard it say before, and it got me thinking, “Who did this bird live with in its past life?”, “What kind of life did this bird have?”, “How many caregivers has this bird been through?”, all of these questions running through my mind waking me up at the speed of the sound that was coming out of the parrot.

If you have a bird that’s older than a couple of years, if you have a bird that’s lived with anyone other than you, if you have a rescue bird, chances are your bird has a vocabulary tucked away deep inside its memory, and an emotional memory to go with it, that’s adding to the very behavior you are trying to understand and correct.

I began understanding some things about this bird while I lay there in bed listening to the very articulate sounds being vocalized through its beak. I began understanding that at one time it was loved very deeply and completely by someone. I mean I‘ve heard this bird utter full sentences before, but they were always relatively harsh and punishing sentences like, “Knock it off!” and “Stop it!” This led me to believe that its past owner didn’t treat it very well, or that at minimum there was someone or some other living creature in the house that either didn’t behave very nicely or the owner just wasn’t a very pleasant person to live with.

But this morning was different. The words flowing out the bird’s beak this morning were pleasant and loving, phrases of love that I had never heard before. Had this bird been with more than one caregiver in its life? Or was this bird just now telling me that it lived in a home where there were two people in the same house? Or, even, did the caregiver have two sides to their personality?

Who knows? No one will ever know. But one thing is for sure, at some point in time there was someone that did absolutely love this bird. I heard the words, “Give me a kiss. Kiss, kiss. Give me kiss. Don’t bite. Give me a kiss.” Repeated over and over for about fifteen minutes, this bird was obviously having real time flashbacks of its previous caregiver.

And all of this leads me to this, for all of us that have birds that have been rehomed once, twice or a number of times, we will never, ever know just what that bird has experienced, the good or the bad. That bird holds in its permanent memory bank all of the experiences, the happy times, the bad times, the close personal bonds, the traumatic events, of its deeply personal life. For any of us to think we can take a bird into our home and “make it all okay” in just a few, short months, we are only fooling ourselves.

Even if we think we can employ behavior modification and change years of molded behavior in just a few short months, we are probably lying to ourselves unless we get a really close bond established with the bird in question. And establishing that bond would mean that we are creating some kind of emotional link between us and the bird, a trust, a kinship. We can’t just look at behavior modification as a textbook, step-by-step approach in which we are proceeding to make analytical adjustments to a birds behavior and environments without taking into consideration the bird’s emotions, how they feel about what it is we are wanting them to do, or not do. Behind every action they must have an emotional reason for doing it, or not doing it, they must have an emotional connection with the behavior, not just an instinctual need that has to be fulfilled. Why else does this bird that I’m rehabbing prefer to sit on the side of the cage that is nearest to my desk where I sit and write all day long? Especially when its food bowl is on the other side of the cage? It only goes over to the food bowl when its hungry and has the need to feed its hunger and then it immediately returns to the side of the cage that nearest to me. This was not the case when the bird first moved in with me. This is an emotional bond that grew as time has passed. This bird seeks closeness, a connection with me that it does not get from sitting on the opposite side of the cage.

Yes, these exotic birds are emotional creatures and we must begin to interact with them in this manner. We must begin to realize that they cannot be exchanged numerous times between homes, from countless caregivers and be expected to thrive without any emotional damage. We get ourselves preoccupied on behavior modification when the real truth of the matter is that these birds, that are extremely complex creatures, have deep-seated emotions. If we don’t think they do, spend one hour with a Moluccan Cockatoo and tell me they don’t have emotions. They need not only behavior modification, they need a lot of love to go along with the behavior modification we are employing.

Maybe we don’t have “it” all “right” just yet. Maybe behavior modification isn’t the only key ingredient here when it comes to understanding our companion birds, maybe we need to be taking a closer look at “emotional intelligence” when it comes to these exotic companion birds.

What is “emotional intelligence”? It is defined by John D. Mayer of the University of New Hampshire, and “et al” as “an ability to recognize the meanings of emotion and their relationships, and to reason and problem-solve on the basis of them. Emotional intelligence is involved in the capacity to perceive emotions, assimilate emotion-related feelings, understand the information of those emotions, and manage them” as stated in their article Emotional Intelligence Meets Traditional Standards for an Intelligence, Copyright 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. Obviously they were not studying “EQ” and how it pertains to parrots when they were writing their article, so I am really going out on my own limb here. Are exotic birds able to “manage their own emotions”? We can only guess at this point in time.

And I’m certainly not saying to throw out the book on behavior modification because there is a lot to be learned by our birds’ actions. But behavior modification only tells us a small portion about their overall intelligence, when adding their emotions to the mix could help complete the total picture.

But listening to this bird this morning sparked something inside of me that I had not thought about to any great degree before…their emotional intelligence. Now don’t get me wrong, I always interact with my birds on an emotional level because I’m a fairly emotional person. But I had not given much thought to their emotional imprint before.

We teach by repetitive action and by the reward system. But what would happen if we tapped into their emotions? This is something we have not yet learned to do. In fact, when breeding/mating season comes around, a highly instinctive and emotional time of season, we go out of our way to discourage it because it brings out some very unwelcomed behavior. Now I’m not saying we need to encourage this behavior, I’m only using this as an example of a type of behavior, a type of “emotional behavior” if you will, that our birds display.

So what if we begin taking notice of other times they display emotional behavior? Maybe this is difficult for many of us because we are not yet comfortable with our own emotions…

But I have noticed that this bird I am rehabbing laughs when I laugh. Is it actually laughing along with me? Or is it just copying me? I have also noticed that when emotions are not so light in my home, when things are tense, this bird takes up a corner in the back of its cage. Is it trying to tell me that it “feels” the tense vibrations in the air? When I have music on and I am singing along with the music and my heart feels light, this bird sings along with me. Does the bird feel light-hearted as well?

I honestly don’t think I have a “special” bird on my hands here, other than I believe that all birds are special in their own right. Take “Alex the African Grey” for example. He was diligently worked with and groomed. But honestly, he could have been any African Grey. No, I think just about any of our exotic companion parrots are able to feel these emotions and express them too.

The short point of my post is this, I’m going to begin interacting with my feathered companions on a deeper emotional level. I have always respected them, talked to them, caressed them and shown them my utmost love and respect with care and attention. But from here on out I’m going to attempt to connect with them on a deep emotional level as if they understand my emotions, not as though I understand them. I am not going to approach them as the all-knowing one, because the fact of the matter is, I don’t know what they have in their past, I don’t know what they remember, I don’t know what they have experienced, I just don’t know.

My personal opinion on all of this is this, until we begin to interact with our exotic companion birds on an emotional level we are missing out on a huge part of the relationship we could be experiencing with them. Many of us “poo poo” animal communicators, but I think it may be time we give them some credit. Maybe all they are really doing is tapping in to the emotions of the animals. And if that’s what is happening in animal communication, just tapping in to the emotions of animals, then all of us that aren’t doing that need to take a huge step back and ask ourselves why we are so uncomfortable with our own emotions that we are missing out on communicating with the very animals we say we would do anything to save…seriously, we need to get in touch with our emotions if it will make our birds’ lives better.

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Spring is in the Air! And it’s Allergy Season!

April 15, 2012 § 4 Comments

Spring is definitely in the air and besides dealing with mating season many of us are also dealing with our own allergies. That brings something to my mind about how our companion birds may be feeling with all of the flowers, trees and weeds in bloom.

In addition to their already frustrated nature surrounding their desire to mate and nest, they may be just as bothered by the pollens in the air as we are. Maybe their skin is experiencing transitioning from the dryness of Winter to a new kind of dryness that Spring brings, the dryness brought on by allergies.

No one knows for sure, but with increased “domestication” in the blood lines from the commercial breeding taking place, it’s quite possible that exotic birds are losing some of their instinctual ability to produce the very DNA that naturally supports and protects their immune system. If this is true, then they will need their human caregivers to provide the vitamins and minerals through diet and nutrition even more as time moves forward.

There are some foods that need to be avoided during times when pollen counts are excessively high. Other times when pollen counts are not so high these foods can be fed without too much worry, that is unless you have a bird that is a picker, plucker or mutilator, then you might want to consider removing these foods completely just in case your bird is participating in these behaviors due to a highly sensitive immune system that runs at top speed at all times.

Foods you might want to consider removing from your bird’s diet, at least during the allergy season are, any fermented foods because they are naturally high in histamines as well as apricots, cherries, cranberries, currants, dates, loganberries, nectarines, oranges, papayas, peaches, pineapples, prunes, plums, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, eggplant and spinach as well as the more common fillers you find in most highly processed commercial foods such as corn, rice, wheat and soy. You want to remove all dairy products as well because these are difficult to digest and cause a buildup of mucous in the sinuses and overall respiratory tract making it very difficult to breathe when it is already difficult to breathe due to the pollens in the air.

Then there are foods you will actually want to feed to help combat the histamines in the system. These are foods which are high in vitamin C, and help to make the system more alkaline, such as grapefruit, lemon, limes, as well as foods that contain quercetin like White and Green Tea that also contain huge amounts of anti-oxidants in the form of additional flavonoids. Citrus is not only high in vitamin C which is a natural anti-histamine, but it is also high in quercetin which fights free radicals, and quercetin is showing great possibilities as a natural anti-histamine itself! Vitamin C is also known to help calm the nerves and is increasingly being used to help curb depression brought on by anxiety.

*All of this being said, I like to supplement each of my birds, every other day or so during mating/allergy season (even daily if necessary and well-tolerated), with 1 tsp. fresh squeezed organic red grapefruit juice, a dash, or two, of fresh squeezed lemon juice, a smidgen of a dash of Valerian Root (taken from a capsule of *certified 530mg*Valerian Root powder-*do not use the entire capsule, just the smidgen of a dash*-) over 2 Tbsp cooked and cooled organic Buckwheat cereal (no salt), with 1/16^th tsp organic Flax seed oil added, per about 400 grams body weight. I have even been known to feed organic red grapefruit to my birds from time to time! (Valerian is a natural and gentle sedative and the Buckwheat contains the amino acid Tyrosine which is vital in balancing moods as in the case of obsession compulsion.) This great-tasting food mixture not only helps fight the allergies, but also calms and soothes any nerves that may be on edge because of any intensity the Spring season may bring with it due to mating season and allergy season combined!

Don’t forget, the rinds of grapefruit, lemons and limes are extremely nutritious too! They are rich sources of vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. In addition the peels of fruit contain many minerals that are the foundation to good health! As an added benefit, scientists have isolated flavones in citrus peel that could be potentially more effective in lowering the lousy LDL cholesterol than some Statin drugs! This could be fabulous news for any of our birds suffering from fatty liver disease or that may be pre-diabetic! Just be sure if you are going to feed the peel you buy only organic fruit and wash it well. Conventionally grown fruit will contain high levels of pesticides that are not easy to get rid of simply by washing the fruit; the chemicals penetrate deep into the pores of the fruit.

One added action you can take to help relieve the amount of pollen in the air of your home and bird room is to run a cool water humidifier or vaporizer. And it is especially wonderful if you will infuse organic essential oils while doing this. I especially like to infuse the air with either Lemon or Purification by Young Living Essential Oils because either of these will help to eradicate any bacteria that may be lingering in the atmosphere from a long Winter’s period. Plus, it just makes the house smell fresh and clean all while taking the pollen count down. As a side benefit these oils will also help detox and purify the blood which, as it flows through the internal organs, will detox the liver and kidneys as well! I only use Young Living brand essential oils because this is the brand I have come to know and trust as the most pure and reliable essential oils to use around exotic birds.

Yep, the seasons are changing and this means taking on a whole new approach to how we care for our birds, one step at a time, hopefully learning even better approaches than last Spring and Summer!

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When NOT to Use Apple Cider Vinegar

January 29, 2012 § Leave a Comment

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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Bee Pollen and “The Mutilation Syndrome”

November 21, 2011 § 2 Comments

Bee Pollen is naturally high in Lysine, and almost balanced in ratio with the amino acid Arginine. This makes it a wonderful balanced protein 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 in 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 animal 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. Studies show that bee pollen contains as many as 59 trace minerals.

Bee pollen is rich in protein as “free amino acids” which are the most readily absorbed proteins available in Nature. Free form amino acids are singular molecules, not attached by peptide bonds to other amino acids, therefore no digestion process is needed to absorb free form amino acids, they go directly into the metabolic system. Bee pollen is also high in B-complex vitamins and folic acid.

In certain research studies bee pollen has shown to increase both white and red blood cells therefore increasing the oxygen carried through the body. In addition bee pollen has shown to help normalize triglyceride levels in the blood, reducing the lousy LDL blood cholesterol and raising the healthy HDL blood cholesterol levels, therefore a normalization in total blood serum cholesterol level was seen overall. (Ref: http://www.mercola.com/article/diet/bee_pollen.htm)

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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*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.

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

November 15, 2011 § Leave a Comment

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 to make your bird’s system more alkaline, keeping it on the good side of the Ph range for optimum health.

Foods I would, as well as foods I 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)
Lemon

And foods I would not feed:

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

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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Skin Mutilation-

Feather Plucking- Feather & Skin Picking-

Barbering & Shredding-

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Where Am I?

Feather Plucking-
Feather & Skin Picking-