ZINC AND OUR PET BIRDS
Zinc is extremely toxic to birds, My personal experience has made me very aware of this growing problem. Although all birds and humans require a certain amount of zinc but excess is dangerous. One of the main causes of zinc poisoning to our pet birds has shown to come from cages, where the metal is coated with a zinc covering to prevent rust.
Most birds climb and slide down the bars of the cage, and flakes of zinc covering can he ingest by the bird. Zinc is a cumulative poison, which means it can stay in the body for a long time and affects the liver, kidneys and pancreas. Signs of zinc poisoning are loose and watery dropping, lethargy, weight loss and generally a very unhappy bird. If you suspect any of these symptoms and think it may be zinc related, take your bird to an avian vet where he/she should do a blood test, which will show the amount of zinc in the body. A greater level of 2 parts per million (ppm) is evidence of zinc toxicosis.
Treatment is available and can be successful. But as I have experienced with my pet senegal it does not always have a happy ending, but having said that I am always reading stories of birds that have recovered, including a Macaw called Stanley. Prevention is the best cure, we have to remove all the zinc in cages, and there are now suppliers who sell non-toxic, zinc free cages. I have just purchased one for my newly awaited pet bird. Galvanized wire is another zinc problem, galvanized metal that has been electroplated is safe, but wire (hot dipped) is not, so please check when purchasing materials for outside aviaries.
Toys can have links and chains made of zinc coated metal, if your bird likes to chew and take toys in his mouth, check these are safe. I have always found the best way to be certain is by colour, I am very careful of any thing brass or gold in colour. It is up to us as responsible bird owners to learn more about this problem, its repercussions and how to protect our birds. Also how to make aware and educate other owners of this growing problem.
I was at the Parrot Society Bird Show at Sandown in April, I was pleased to see not as many brass/gold cages as I have done in the past, but they are still on sale. I also noticed the majority of parrot toys have chains and clasps made of chrome or stainless steel. So let's look to the future, keep our lovely birds safe and healthy, stop any more owners going through the loss of a very dear and special bird/friend like I have done.
Written
by Ann Wilkinson....Owner of Widget, member of Parrot Passions UK.
© December.2001