DANGER! ORGANIC BEDDING

Aviculturists have a new headache to watch out for, Organic bedding. We've been seeing birds die of grit impactions for years now, as we slowly (but hopefully) get the information out to the bird-owning public. Now, we have new killers.

I had a breeder find her male Severe Macaw dead one morning. She had had the bird for about a year. He had sired 12 fertile eggs during that year and had been observed feeding his mate the evening before his death. Fortunately for us, the breeder is one of those who is willing to have necropsies done on her birds, so if there is anything to learn from a bird's death, we will. When we opened the bird's body we discovered that there were signs of bleeding into the bowel. The gizzard and proventriculus were both distended with bloody food and small corn cob bedding. There was so much cob in there that there was very little room for food. Like grit, the corn cob bedding was inert and stayed in the gizzard. Unlike grit, the stuff swelled. This bird had not had access to corn cob bedding for over a year.

Another notable necropsy was an Amazon that died suddenly. His proventriculus was thickened and his bowel, just past the gizzard, showed gross evidence of bleeding. His gizzard was FULL of walnut shell bedding. He had access to the bedding for a few hours, a month before death.

A survivor that had also only had two hours of access to walnut shell bedding was seen at the clinic for off and on eating and off and on depression for five days. Fecal content of the droppings was decreased and black in color. His urates (the whites) and urine (the clear liquid) were normal. The bird had been observed to be choking or trying to regurgitate and then vomit the evening before presentation.

Blood work indicated that the bird was fighting off an infection or inflammation. The history and physical indicated that he probably had a bowel obstruction. The owner declined X-rays and barium series and would not have opted for surgery if the problem was a tumor, so we attempted medical therapy. With laxatives and antibiotics, the bird started passing more volume feces in his droppings. It took more than 48 hours to get rid of bowel bleeding.

An 8 week old Senegal baby started to regurgitate and have variable crop emptying time. The next day, the baby passed bloody droppings. We started antibiotics and he improved for 24 hours. Then he started to pass walnut shell bedding in his droppings -- 3 to 6 pieces per dropping. He had been parent-raised for his first sixteen days.

His parents were in a cage over a tray of walnut shell bedding that was thought to be out of reach, due to a cage bottom grill. That is as close as the young one got to the bedding. After three days of treatment, he had a dropping containing about fifteen pieces of the bedding... and DIED.

So please, don't risk your bird's life. Not just babies eat cage bottom materials. Adults can, and do, as well. And birds of all ages can die from that behavior. So, NO WALNUT SHELL BEDDING, NO CORN COB BEDDING and NO KITTY LITTER. Plain old newspaper, paper towels, brown paper bags, etc., work just fine. You can see and evaluate daily droppings, catching any changes before the problem is overwhelming. Color, size, consistency and number of droppings are all VERY important. Sure, it's easier to keep clean if you only change bedding once a week or so, but who knows what's going on with the droppings if they can't see them?

All the bird books tell us that avocados and parsley are toxic and that if our birds eat them, they might die. Why then, do we hear about some birds that DO eat these foods and don't have any ill effects at all?

I asked an Avian Vet about this, and these are the facts... The avocado PLANT can be fatal, because the leaves, bark, pit and fruit skins contain a substance that can cause a pneumonia-like condition known as pulmonary edema (fluid on the lungs). It is probable that avian deaths have occurred when owners have left the pits attached, did not wash pesticide contaminated skins, or left pieces of skin or leaves mixed in with the fruit. Also, the brown coloring that seeps off the pit is toxic. If the avocado meat is well trimmed, it should be okay for your birds to eat. But why take the chance?

Parsley is an herb used in cooking and is nontoxic and does not harm birds. It has been used as a blood tonic and reproductive stimulus for birds in the past. It can be a gastrointestinal irritant in small animals, however, no cases of toxicity have been noted in birds. (Veterinary Poison Control Center at the School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University).

1. No nutrient value is lost in freezing or refrigeration. Your seeds will remain fresh as the day you received them.
2. Freezing or refrigeration temps of 40 degrees or below for long periods of time will retard insect infestation.
3. Insects lay eggs in seeds before harvesting. These again will hatch in warm, damp environments. While these insects do no harm, they are obviously undesirable in the home.
4. Never mix new seeds with old in the same container. Always clean your receptacle thoroughly before adding new seed.
5. Clean all spilled seeds immediately. They can become a major source of insectinfestation.
6. Always put your seeds and feeds in an airtight container with a tight-fitting lid.
7. Keep your seeds and feeds cool, dry and off the floor wherever possible.