softie
06-06-2008, 05:09 PM
Hey guys! :D
Last night, I went to the library and decided to borrow some BirdTalk magazines. One issue (May 2008) I picked up really sparked my interest. In the corner of the cover, there was the heading, "Aspergillosis: Is Your Bird At Risk?"
I came home and flipped through the pages, and finally got the big story. The story was about Baby, a 9 year old Blue & Gold Macaw. He was everybody's best friend, until tragically, he was diagnosed with Aspergillosis disease and passed away only 6 weeks later.
I read line to line, and felt so touched by the author, who was Baby's owner. The article felt so real, and all the emotions went through. The article was also very helpful on noting on how to detect signs of aspergillosis, prevent the disease, and much more.
I have decided to share some of the information I've gathered from the article, with you. I believe that all bird owners should know about this disease and how fatal it can be. I encourage you to do what's best for your budgies sanitation, environment and health.
------------------------------------------
You can read more about Aspergillosis on these online articles:
Written by Katrina Coleman - The Silent Parrot Killer (http://www.frankgrobertson.net/armand/diseases/aspergillosis.html)
Written by Drs. Foster & Smith - Aspergillosis in Birds (http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=1829&articleid=2384)
Written by Parrot Parrot (http://www.parrotparrot.com) - Aspergillos Peanuts and Parrots (http://www.parrotparrot.com/articles/aa080701.htm)
Written by Virginia Caputo - Aspergillosis and Jardine's Parrot (http://www.virginiacaputo.com/parrot/asper.html)
I could not find the article of Baby, "Aspergillosis Hits Home" online. If any of you can possibly look for it when you time, I would be very much grateful. :) If nothing pops up, I will try my best to take super-clear pictures of the article in the magazine. :)
------------------------------------------
The following information was taken off by the "Aspergillosis Hits Home" article in the May 2008 issue of BirdTalk Magazine. The author of the article is Katrina Coleman
Prevention is Key - Here are a few simple but critical preventative measures to include in your daily routine.
Change your bird's drinking water twice a day and anytime it has been contaminated in any way (e.g. bathed in it, dunked food in it), or accustom your bird to drinking from a water bottle.
Offer fresh food everyday.
Remove fresh produce after 4 hours.
Fresh air and exercise are very important, a lack of them can compromise the immune system.
Wash and disinfect cages, toys and perches weekly.
Provide good ventilation.
Provide clean bowls (stainless steel is preferable).
Prove extra nutrition to your breeder birds.
Make sure nesting material are clean and dry.
Eliminate poor ventilation, poor sanitation, dusty conditions and close confinement.
Place an air filter in the room.
Where to Look - A list of possible contaminates include:
peanuts (note from softie - when offering peanuts, make sure it is de-shelled. The shell is a perfect place for aspergillosis to grow and can be risky.)
sunflower seeds, if their growing season was really wet or the seeds weren't harvested on time (in essence avoid sunflower seeds since there is no way to detect their history)
corn-cob bedding and other organic matter
walnut shells
wood bark (mulch)
the air during spring planting and fall harvesting on farms
construction sites where soil is being moved
damp nesting materials
potting soil and peat moss; don't transplant or plant when your birds are around
wet shavings or other litter
dried corn
moldy parrot seed
a warm, humid environment, which can spread up the deterioration of nutrients in a parrot's food and increase the possibility of spores becoming rampant
Some Symptoms to be on the look out for include:
nasal discharge
weight loss (especially if the bird appears to be eating well)
diarrhea
flaky or de-laminating beak
unstructured or frayed feathers
black-edged feathers on the outside of the wings
extreme itchiness
tail bobbing
labored respiration
change in the pitch of voice
loss of voice
extreme change in behavior
Here are a few stressors you should be concerned about:
Spending much of the day in restricted isolation
shipping
quarantine
overcrowding
trauma
injury
smoke inhalation
prolonged antibiotic therapy
being a breeder bird (laying eggs and caring for the young)
aspiration as a baby
The information above was taken off by the "Aspergillosis Hits Home" article in the May 2008 issue of BirdTalk Magazine. The author of the article is Katrina Coleman
------------------------------------------
Here are some other tips that are important to do, to ensure a healthy bird in a healthy environment:
- Make sure to change the bottom liner every morning or night. Bacterial growth is very high there and it can effect your budgie's health.
- Do a quick wipe down on the cage bars daily.
- Wipe down droppings or produce on the cage as soon as possible.
- Be sure to completely clean and disinfect the cage and washable toys at least once a week.
- Rotate toys around every 3-4 days.
- Offer different types of veggies and fruits on different days.
If you have any more tips that are helpful to keeping our budgies healthy, please feel free to post them! :D
All the tips provided should be practiced as bird owners. If you see some slack in your efforts (as I'm sure many of us do), remind yourself of how important our budgies are to us, and that they deserve the best.
These simple preventions and practices will save us a heap loads of worry, anguish, and vet bills!
------------------------------------------
Please note that these tips are not just to prevent Aspergillosis, but a whole line of other bird diseases. These measures should be taken in the first place, as the health, both mental and psychical, of your birds come first.
------------------------------------------
This thread has been a similar duplicate of Preventing Aspergillosis (http://www.talkbudgies.com/showthread.php?t=22193) in the Other Birds forum. I decided to share this information in this thread as well, so that all the members have an equal chance of reading it.
Last night, I went to the library and decided to borrow some BirdTalk magazines. One issue (May 2008) I picked up really sparked my interest. In the corner of the cover, there was the heading, "Aspergillosis: Is Your Bird At Risk?"
I came home and flipped through the pages, and finally got the big story. The story was about Baby, a 9 year old Blue & Gold Macaw. He was everybody's best friend, until tragically, he was diagnosed with Aspergillosis disease and passed away only 6 weeks later.
I read line to line, and felt so touched by the author, who was Baby's owner. The article felt so real, and all the emotions went through. The article was also very helpful on noting on how to detect signs of aspergillosis, prevent the disease, and much more.
I have decided to share some of the information I've gathered from the article, with you. I believe that all bird owners should know about this disease and how fatal it can be. I encourage you to do what's best for your budgies sanitation, environment and health.
------------------------------------------
You can read more about Aspergillosis on these online articles:
Written by Katrina Coleman - The Silent Parrot Killer (http://www.frankgrobertson.net/armand/diseases/aspergillosis.html)
Written by Drs. Foster & Smith - Aspergillosis in Birds (http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=1829&articleid=2384)
Written by Parrot Parrot (http://www.parrotparrot.com) - Aspergillos Peanuts and Parrots (http://www.parrotparrot.com/articles/aa080701.htm)
Written by Virginia Caputo - Aspergillosis and Jardine's Parrot (http://www.virginiacaputo.com/parrot/asper.html)
I could not find the article of Baby, "Aspergillosis Hits Home" online. If any of you can possibly look for it when you time, I would be very much grateful. :) If nothing pops up, I will try my best to take super-clear pictures of the article in the magazine. :)
------------------------------------------
The following information was taken off by the "Aspergillosis Hits Home" article in the May 2008 issue of BirdTalk Magazine. The author of the article is Katrina Coleman
Prevention is Key - Here are a few simple but critical preventative measures to include in your daily routine.
Change your bird's drinking water twice a day and anytime it has been contaminated in any way (e.g. bathed in it, dunked food in it), or accustom your bird to drinking from a water bottle.
Offer fresh food everyday.
Remove fresh produce after 4 hours.
Fresh air and exercise are very important, a lack of them can compromise the immune system.
Wash and disinfect cages, toys and perches weekly.
Provide good ventilation.
Provide clean bowls (stainless steel is preferable).
Prove extra nutrition to your breeder birds.
Make sure nesting material are clean and dry.
Eliminate poor ventilation, poor sanitation, dusty conditions and close confinement.
Place an air filter in the room.
Where to Look - A list of possible contaminates include:
peanuts (note from softie - when offering peanuts, make sure it is de-shelled. The shell is a perfect place for aspergillosis to grow and can be risky.)
sunflower seeds, if their growing season was really wet or the seeds weren't harvested on time (in essence avoid sunflower seeds since there is no way to detect their history)
corn-cob bedding and other organic matter
walnut shells
wood bark (mulch)
the air during spring planting and fall harvesting on farms
construction sites where soil is being moved
damp nesting materials
potting soil and peat moss; don't transplant or plant when your birds are around
wet shavings or other litter
dried corn
moldy parrot seed
a warm, humid environment, which can spread up the deterioration of nutrients in a parrot's food and increase the possibility of spores becoming rampant
Some Symptoms to be on the look out for include:
nasal discharge
weight loss (especially if the bird appears to be eating well)
diarrhea
flaky or de-laminating beak
unstructured or frayed feathers
black-edged feathers on the outside of the wings
extreme itchiness
tail bobbing
labored respiration
change in the pitch of voice
loss of voice
extreme change in behavior
Here are a few stressors you should be concerned about:
Spending much of the day in restricted isolation
shipping
quarantine
overcrowding
trauma
injury
smoke inhalation
prolonged antibiotic therapy
being a breeder bird (laying eggs and caring for the young)
aspiration as a baby
The information above was taken off by the "Aspergillosis Hits Home" article in the May 2008 issue of BirdTalk Magazine. The author of the article is Katrina Coleman
------------------------------------------
Here are some other tips that are important to do, to ensure a healthy bird in a healthy environment:
- Make sure to change the bottom liner every morning or night. Bacterial growth is very high there and it can effect your budgie's health.
- Do a quick wipe down on the cage bars daily.
- Wipe down droppings or produce on the cage as soon as possible.
- Be sure to completely clean and disinfect the cage and washable toys at least once a week.
- Rotate toys around every 3-4 days.
- Offer different types of veggies and fruits on different days.
If you have any more tips that are helpful to keeping our budgies healthy, please feel free to post them! :D
All the tips provided should be practiced as bird owners. If you see some slack in your efforts (as I'm sure many of us do), remind yourself of how important our budgies are to us, and that they deserve the best.
These simple preventions and practices will save us a heap loads of worry, anguish, and vet bills!
------------------------------------------
Please note that these tips are not just to prevent Aspergillosis, but a whole line of other bird diseases. These measures should be taken in the first place, as the health, both mental and psychical, of your birds come first.
------------------------------------------
This thread has been a similar duplicate of Preventing Aspergillosis (http://www.talkbudgies.com/showthread.php?t=22193) in the Other Birds forum. I decided to share this information in this thread as well, so that all the members have an equal chance of reading it.