Birds and Allergies
http://www.vetafarm.com/pages/Birds-and-Allergies-.html Q - Every other domestic animal gets allergies from things around them - why don’t birds?
A- In fact recent evidence suggests that birds do suffer from allergies. It is just that nobody had looked closely at pet birds and the technology to discover what they where allergies too wasn’t available. With some recent developments and an increase in awareness we are now recognizing allergies as a common problem in birds.
Q - If birds do get allergies what do they look like?
A - Because of the feathers of birds and their very thin skin, the typical reactions we see in humans and dogs do not occur in birds. We don’t see
“ hives “ for example. The common signs of an allergy are an itchy bird or a bird with a gut upset. The itchy bird is probably the most obvious. Not all itchy birds have allergies and not all allergies cause itching but when they do the results can be spectacular.
Q - Give some examples of birds with an allergy.
A -Two particular cases spring to mind. One was a cockatiel who couldn’t sit still. He would hop around on his perch, scream as though something was biting him and chew at his feet. After a lot of trial and error we found that he was allergic to oats. We removed the oats from his diet and he returned to normal.
The second was a white cocky who started chewing at his chest feathers, then plucking them and then stated eating his skin and eventually ate a large hole in his chest. This bird died from an infection that gained entry through the chest wound. We can’t prove this bird had an allergy but the symptoms are similar to other cockies that have allergies.
Now that we know how to diagnose these cases we should be able to help many of the birds who we had previously thought where “ pluckers “.
Q - What does diagnosis entail?
A - For an accurate diagnosis we need to do skin tests - just like in people. The bird is injected with a series of possible things that cause allergies - like extracts from oats, sunflower, safflower etc. Other plant allergens can be used as can extracts from various insects. The problem is guessing which things to test for. There is limited space to do the testing on the skin of the bird so we must be selective.
The procedure involves injecting into the skin along keel a small amount of fluid containing the test material. If the bird is allergic to that material it will develop a lump at the injection site.
Q - What do we do if an allergy is found?
A - That will depend on exactly what the bird is reacting too. If it is a food stuff then the answer is easy - remove it from the diet. If it is something that is always in the birds environment then it is more difficult. Insects can be controlled by spraying and various building materials can be replaced . However in come cases drugs may be necessary for the bird removed to a different environment.
Some birds will have allergies that affect their intestines. This has been seen in budgies as one of the causes of going light. At this stage our emphasis is on skin conditions but the whole subject of bird allergies is now a “ hot topic “.
Q - How practical is allergy testing for most birds?
A - If we are talking about aviary birds of moderate value then it is not very useful. The test solutions are expensive and the procedure time consuming. However if we have expensive cockatoos, lories etc. then it will be invaluable in their treatment. If we are talking about family pets then it is a very viable tool to rid the bird of its problem. As we get more information and build a data base of what things are commonly seen as causing allergies then we take educated guesses at what the cause may be in certain birds.
Q - Can I just get my bird allergy tested without other tests?
A - We always like to have a good look at itchy birds before we start on expensive testing. As you are aware there are many things that can cause itchy birds. We must eliminate the simple things before we start doing allergy tests. We generally look at the bird and its feathers for signs of disease - e.g. PBFD, bacterial infections, Polyoma virus, Psittacosis. Then we try to eliminate things like insect damage, mate plucking, poor cage design bad nest boxes etc. It is usually worth while doing a blood test and dropping test to rule out common things before allergy testing.
Allergy testing is a valuable part of working out why a bird is itchy or feather plucking but it is by no means the only thing that we should do.
Fri Feb 04, 2011 6:58 pm