Posted by Karlene Sunday (128.227.99.49--ds099049.shands.ufl.edu) on February 27, 2000 (or so) at 08:00:20:
In Reply to: Anemic cockatoo posted by Eric and Jenna on February 25, 2000 (or so) at 19:04:16:
: we are just loking for an idea for a course of action. this is what we have so far as far as a medical chart on him in the past 5 days.
: 1 owner notes increased water in stool
: 2 bird has always had polydipsia
: physical exam showed: excellent shape!,NSF on PE,
: wt WNLs, plumage&skin excellent.
: fecal flotation = neg
: gram stain looks fine
: PROTEIN ELECTROPHROESIS= no sign of inflamation or infection
: blood parasites= neg
: also done were kidney liver panels and a complete cbc the ONLy thing to show out of range was:
: a 37% RCB = hemocrit is down
: norm is 42-55.
: what causes anemia with no other symptoms in birds?
: our next thought is a lead/zinc toxcicity test.
: I was wondering if you had any other suggestions?
: he is eating, drinking and acting normally. he is on a diet of kaytee parrot chunky and harrisons 80% diet. organic vegetables (no onions) 15% and pasta/fruit 5%. he has good sun light esposure and seems to be in great physical shape minus the anemia???
: any thoughts?
: thank you so much
: eric and jenna
: and agustus 11 month old mullucan too
The first glaring thing that I see in your post is Kaytee parrot chunky.
I am very blunt and if I offend you by anything I say, please don't take it wrong. What I see is a direct contradiction in your feeding. Why feed something that is so wholesome (Harrison's) and then contradict it with something that is loaded with dyes, preservatives and worst of all, the dreaded "E". Ethoxyquin. Please take him off the Kaytee but do it gradually. Over a period of 3 weeks as a minimum. Maybe you can do it sooner if he is eating his Harrison's without any problems. You need to start feeding him iron rich foods. Maybe he is having an assimulation problem but for whatever reason, he is anemic. This has "usually" always been related to diet. Yes, Harrison's is one of the best pelleted brands on the market today but he may be having problems with one or some of the ingredients. Just like some people can drink milk, others can't. I am in the category of one of the people that can't.
From reading his current level, I would say he is borderline anemic and again, I believe it is directly linked to the garbage in Kaytee. I'm sure I am going to hear about this post.
Please take a moment to visit Sally Blanchard's site The Pet Bird Report and read the article she has posted there about the Kaytee contract with Petsmart. Not only do Kaytee products contain "E" but they are also involved in a multi-billion contract with PetSmart that is detrimental to any parrot that is unlucky enough to end up in their care.
Karlene Sunday