Category: health

Weighing risk of disease

Weighing risk of disease

This article was motivated by interactions with my local bird rescue. Using three examples, I attempt to illustrate the importance of weighing the risk of disease with the likliehood of it happening. The goal would be maximizing the happiness of as many birds as possible, perhaps finding ways to mitigate risk rather than just refusing to take it on, losing benefits to birds in need.

If fostering and adopting birds feels like walking through a minefield, people will be less likely to become involved. We need to present people with risks that that have some probability of actually happening. Think of all the possible ways a child could get injured. Do we want to make sure a child is never exposed to any situation where they might become injured? What kind of life is that?

Newcastle disease

In 2019, Virulent Newcastle Disease made a comeback. In Northern California, a single case was reported on March 15 in a backyard chicken.… READ THE REST

Diatomaceous earth and parrots

Diatomaceous earth and parrots

What is diatomaceous earth?

For this article, I’m leaning heavily on a very concise and clearly worded fact sheet from the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC). This organization is a collaboration between the Environmental Protection Agency and Oregon State University and receives funding from no other sources.

Rather than describe what diatomaceous earth is, I’ll defer to NPIC.

Diatomaceous earth is made from the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. Their skeletons are made of a natural substance called silica. Over a long period of time, diatoms accumulated in the sediment of rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. Today, silica deposits are mined from these areas.

Diatomaceous earth is not poisonous; it does not have to be eaten in order to be effective. Diatomaceous earth causes insects to dry out and die by absorbing the oils and fats from the cuticle of the insect’s exoskeleton. Its sharp edges are abrasive, speeding up the process.

… READ THE REST
Are bird respiratory systems really more sensitive?

Are bird respiratory systems really more sensitive?

It’s generally regarded as a fact that birds have very sensitive respiratory systems, far moreso than humans. Much of this comes from the proven sensitivity of birds to smoking Teflon products.

When heated to temperatures above 260C (500F), this otherwise stable material emits several flourinated prolysis products that are known to be rapidly lethal to birds.

The Avian Respiratory System: A Unique Model for Studies of Respiratory Toxicosis and for Monitoring Air Quality—Environmental Health Perspectives—Harvard School of Public Health—February 1997

However, an extensive and exhaustive study in a journal called Environmental Health Perspectives by the Harvard School of Public Health paints a much more nuanced picture. The article starts with a detailed look at the entire respiratory system of birds, then looks at orally administered toxins, inhaled particulates, and toxic gases.

The general summary is that the bird respiratory system is not uniformly more problematic than ours. Sometimes it behaves similarly to humans, sometimes it’s more sensitive, and sometimes less.… READ THE REST

The real reasons the “all seed” diet is bad

The real reasons the “all seed” diet is bad

I previous wrote about the mythical “all seed” diet.

I should preface this article by saying that every bird should be given fresh foods in addition to their staple diet. This post is merely to examine some of the claims about the “all seed” diet.

Assuming you could find an “all seed” diet, what are the usual complaints about it? Here’s a short list:

  • It’s too high in fat
  • Birds on this diet will become obese
  • It will result in poor feather condition
  • It will lead to diseases such as fatty liver disease, heart disease, and diabetes

Creating an “all seed” diet

Since it’s hard to find a 100% seed mix, I decided to create my own and then analyze it. I targeted budgies since they are the most common pet bird in the world. There are also a huge variety of budgie mixes on the market.

I went to a Petco and looked at every budgie mix that was predominantly seed.… READ THE REST

Hormonal behavior in parrots

Hormonal behavior in parrots

Just like humans and other animals, hormones can have a profound impact on the health and behavior of birds. They are often overlooked even by vets as potential causes for problems such as feather plucking and aggressive behavior.

Coincidentally, one of my own vets has written a VERY long article on hormonal behavior in parrots that is a must read for anyone who wants to go to the next level of understanding their birds. Or perhaps you have a particularly intractable problem and are curious whether it might have a hormonal basis.

Here’s a link to the multi-part article. Below, I’ll quote some interesting bits.

Hormonal Behavior in Pet Birds

Caveat

I’ll add my own caveat that her conclusions about seed diets are based on a study in the 1980s that that was from the heyday of the low fat, high carb diet. Since then, we now know far more about both human and bird nutrition.… READ THE REST

Arguments against wing clipping

Arguments against wing clipping

There are some topics in the bird community that are very controversial and for which opinions are very divided. Wing clipping is near the top of the list.

It’s not hard to find articles weighing the pros and cons of wing clipping, so I wasn’t wanting to write another one. However, I feel that in these articles, important downsides to wing clipping are not mentioned. To have an honest debate, all the arguments need to be on the table.

Here’s just one example. The article only presents one downside: lack of exercise. The text I quoted makes people feel bad about not clipping wings and typical of articles you’ll find.

If you care about your parrot and want to keep them safe, then clipping their wings is generally a good idea. Whether your parrot stays inside 24 hours a day, 7 days a week or not, the bottom line is that you don’t want your parrot to fly away where they can get into harm’s way.

… READ THE REST
Bleach alternatives

Bleach alternatives

For disinfecting cages and toys and other things birds use, bleach is likely the most popular choice. Bleach has a reputation for being an excellent disinfectant, and it’s very effective against both bacteria and viruses.

However, there are significant downsides to using bleach as well as equally effective alternatives.

Birds and inhaled toxins

You’ve heard of expression “canary in the coal mine”? Maybe you didn’t know it’s a real thing!

Well into the 20th century, coal miners brought canaries into coal mines as an early-warning signal for toxic gases, primarily carbon monoxide. The birds, being more sensitive, would become sick before the miners, who would then have a chance to escape or put on protective respirators.

Sentinel species—Wikipedia

There is at least one modern study that suggests the same thing.

Birds are ubiquitously distributed in essentially all of the environments inhabited by humans; thus, if we understood the effects of a broad range of inhaled environmental contaminants (gas and particulate) on a wide variety of avian species, they could serve as highly effective and sensitive monitors of air quality.

… READ THE REST
Animal research applied to parrot psychology

Animal research applied to parrot psychology

Previously, I wrote about animal research applied to parrot diets. This insight greatly opens up the much more prevalent research on animals, including humans. We can then supplement the much sparser research on animals, especially those kept as pets.

But how about mental disorders? There is a branch of psychology that tackles this question called trans-personal psychology. It’s not as crazy as it sounds! The article below has 40 bibliographic references so it’s not exactly a fringe line of thinking.

Trans-species psychology is the field of psychology that states that humans and nonhuman animals share commonalities in cognition (thinking) and emotions (feelings).

Trans-personal psychology—Wikipedia

There strong evidence that animals suffer from mental disorders, especially in captivity. Here is a long quote on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

PTSD, a pervasive psychological disorder, common to human prisoners of war, genocide survivors, and victims of domestic violence. It is characterized by difficulties with severe mood dysregulation, impaired interpersonal functioning, loss of sense of safety and security, and disruption in the sense of self.

… READ THE REST
What causes Fatty Liver Disease

What causes Fatty Liver Disease

When a human, other animal, or a bird has been diagnosed with Fatty Liver Disease, they are commonly put on a low-fat diet (although this is changing). The same goes for heart disease and many other conditions.

However, peer reviewed research is not hard to find and the culprit is not fat, but carbohydrates. This is one I picked because it’s short and sweet.

Ingested carbohydrates are a major stimulus for hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL) and are more likely to directly contribute to NAFLD than dietary fat.

[Note: DNL is the process by which fatty deposits are created in the liver, NAFLD is “non-alcoholic fatty liver liver disease” which should be self-explanatory.]

Carbohydrate intake and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: fructose as a weapon of mass destruction—Hepatobiliary Surgery and Nutrition—April 2015

Just as it’s difficult to get your head around the notion that dietary fat doesn’t make you fat, it’s difficult to comprehend that fat doesn’t lead to the creation of fat in the liver, carbohydrates do.… READ THE REST

Hygiene hypothesis and birds

Hygiene hypothesis and birds

This is a food for thought post. What’s now called the Hygiene Hypothesis was first proposed in 1872 and was studied in depth in a well known study from 1989:

“Over the past century declining family size, improvements in household amenities, and higher standards of personal cleanliness have reduced the opportunity for cross infection in young families,” the paper continued. “This may have resulted in more widespread clinical expression of atopic disease, emerging in wealthier people, as seems to have occurred for hay fever.”

Hay Fever, Hygiene, and Household Size—British Medical Journal—1989—David P Strachan

Although the theory fell out of favor for awhile, it’s returning and is well described in a new book which is excerpted in the New York Times this month.

What does the immune system do when it’s not properly trained?

It can overreact. It becomes aggrieved by things like dust mites or pollen. It develops what we called allergies, chronic immune system attacks — inflammation — in a way that is counterproductive, irritating, even dangerous.

… READ THE REST