Heavy Metal Poisoning.
Poisoning from the intake of lead, zinc and occasionally copper “heavy metal” poisoning and is one of the most common toxicities seen in pet and avairy birds.
Inqusitive budgies especially babies will chew and lick everything.Any heavy metals in the seed dishes,cage or avairy wires will cause toxicity in the bird.Stainless steel products are safe but not always available.
The birds may present with one or more of the following symptoms - Weakness - Lethargic and fluffed - Vomiting or regurgitation - Sometimes they will seizure – Or pass watery green droppings - Severely affected birds may die suddenly.A more common syndrome is that of low level poisoning with vague clinical signs and pet birds that are just “not well”.
Zinc is a trace element necessary in the diet and can cause problems if the diet is deficient in this trace mineral. So both toxicities and deficiencies can exist. Zinc toxicity, also known as New Wire Disease, is a common syndrome that is under diagnosed. Aviary wire is galvanized with Zinc Oxide to protect it from the elements. Often the brighter and more shiny the wire the higher the zinc content. There are many household products that also contain zinc as a component. Clinical signs are similar to those seen in lead poisoning.Brush all galvanised wire / twilweld with a wire brush and then paint it with vinegar after , leave for a few hours and rinse off.
Sources of zinc are - Galvanized wire aviaries - Galvanized nails, mesh, washers - Coins - Staples - Some paints and some feed / water containers.
Many thanks to Vetafarm for the following article.
It is amazing how often common things occur! I have seen a string of heavy metal poisonings. Lets discuss some of the ins and outs of metal poisonings in birds.
Which metals? The two common poisonings are from Zinc and Lead.
Lead poisoning is seen in free roaming pet birds. The Hand tame cockatoos are the best example. They roam around the house, yard or shed chewing on everything they can get their beak around. Sooner or later they come across something which contains lead, for example fishing sinkers, curtain weights, batteries, air rifle pellets, solder or lead flashing. They only need to swallow a small amount to make themselves sick, a little more is fatal.
Zinc poisoning comes mainly from galvanised wire. The galvanising process uses a combination of zinc ( 98% - 99.9 % ) and lead ( up to 1 % ). The newer the wire the more toxic it generally is. Bright shiny wire is more toxic than dull wire but the white rust on galvanised wire is also toxic. Birds do not have to chew great holes in the wire to get poisoned, just drinking dew from the wire can be enough to kill a small bird.
What symptoms? The symptoms of heavy metal poisoning are grouped together so that we discuss metal poisoning as one entity. However my experience is that poisoning with lead is always more acute and more severe than zinc poisoning.
General signs such as lethargy, depression, weakness, anorexia, regurgitation and diarrhoea can occur with both metals. What you see is related to the amount taken, the size of the bird and how long it has been eating the metal. In some cases of low level intake you may see nothing spectacular, just birds that are a bit “ off “.
With the swallowing of a lump of lead the bird will become critically ill. They stop eating, their crops fail to empty, they get wobbly on their feet, they may have convulsions or they may just die without warning.
Zinc poisonings tend to be more subtle, the birds develop very slight nervous symptoms, become depressed and have difficulty flying. By the time you notice the bird is ill it is probably severely poisoned.
I also wonder what low level poisonings do to fertility. If the bird is taking in small amounts of metal, not enough to make it sick, will this affect the fertility of the bird - my guess is yes!
How do I get a diagnosis? This is a tough question. If you have the money to spend there are a series of laboratory tests that can be done. For lead, a simple x-ray is often the quick answer as you can see the lead particles in the gizzard. Zinc is more difficult because we are talking about minute particles that don’t show up well on x-ray.
Often I will make a tentative diagnosis based on the absence of any other
disease and begin treatment to see what happens.
Is there a treatment ? Heavy metal poisonings can be treated if you get to them soon enough. With lead poisoning in cockatoos you really need to get the lead out of the gizzard. This means surgery. On a bird that is critically ill we always give a guarded prognosis. The better they are before surgery the more chance they have of surviving. Following surgery they are given a drug called Calcium EDTA. This drug latches on to the lead molecules and allows the body to get rid of them. Unfortunately it must be given by injection twice daily ( normally done in hospital ).
Zinc poisonings are also treated by Calcium EDTA, surgery is generally not done as we can’t see the particles. What we do is to give the bird something to try and push the zinc through the gut. I use either peanut butter or Metamucil, given by crop needle.
Once the metal is removed from the body the birds should begin to recover. They need nursing and extra care because their organs may have been severely damaged. I always use Poly Aid and supplementary feed with either Hand rearing food or Eureka.
The secret to treatment is early detection - you have heard that before!
Prevention - can I do it? Preventing your pet cockatoo from getting access to anything containing lead is difficult but not impossible. Probably restricting his/her area is the best bet. Have an area that you know has no lead in it is the best bet. Keeping them out of garages and storage sheds is a must.
Zinc poisoning is from your aviary wire. New wire is the worst but I have seen several cases where the wire was several years old. Imported wire
( Chinese ) appears to be the most toxic. Batches of wire can vary in their toxicity level so it is difficult to guess which wire is the safest.
Aging the wire is recommended, leave the roll out in the weather for at least 12 months before using it. Washing the wire in an acidic solution ( 10 % vinegar solution ) is also recommended but is not 100 % effective. Painting the wire with a plastic paint might work if the species is not a great chewer.
I have a couple of clients that have the antidote injection on hand, they inject any bird that looks suspicious. This is after they have scrubbed the wire several times without elimination of the problem.