ISSN 1492-8132
Issue 67, © 2003
No reprints without permission

This webpage focuses on the dangers to parrots, of cages coated in zinc. What is not mentioned, is that this is not just a problem for the larger pet birds - the dangers mentioned here are just as pronounced for smaller birds!

This webpage outlines symptoms and information that every bird owner should know like the back of their hand, if they care about keeping their birds happy and healthy in a safe and non-toxic environment. You owe it to yourself - and your birds! - not to miss this one.

When you need help with housing, feeding, care or behavioral questions, you can get a personal answer from Robirda. Even avian vets sometimes consult with Robirda on small-bird behaviour and other such issues!

They, and her other customers, have found her answers to be detailed and reliable, caring and supportive. Robirda can help you learn to understand your birds better. Learn more here

This issue's question;

"I would like to see your answer to one question - why should anybody pay you for an answer to their bird question, when they can get an opinion from all sorts of other people on the Internet for free? You have some nerve!"

Robirda's answer;

"Hello! Please be careful if you take 'free' advice!

"Sometimes you will get excellent, accurate answers - but sometimes you will not. I know of too many situations where people were given inappropriate or downright wrong advice, some of it so poor that following it resulted in the death of the bird(s) in question.

"Due in part to being a source of reliable information that really works, and in part to being willing to stand behind advice I offer, I was becoming so buried in email that it was beginning to have a huge and negative impact on the rest of my life.

"On the advice of my veterinarian and friends, I began to charge a minimal amount to cover the time I spend answering bird care questions personally. Many advised me to charge more, saying that the quality of the answers I offer and the time I spend producing them is well worth it.

"So far, I have resisted the notion of increasing my fees, wishing to keep my services as available as possible for people in all walks of life.

"Do please note, that I do not answer medical questions, and neither should anybody else, online - it is impossible to properly diagnose medical conditions in this way, for that you need to consult a good, qualified, avian vet."

Meant as a display cage for groups of budgies or other small social birds, this cage is one of the better small flight cages fairly easily available these days, and it makes a great canary cage.

Although it has its faults, among them the poorly designed paper trays, and the dark, closed-in, difficult-to-clean feed cups (which I usually throw out, wiring over the holes where they were), it is still a better design overall than many other small-bird cages currently sold.

Unlike so many so-called 'flight' cages, this one has enough room to allow a fair bit of flying space for a canary or finch. Even though only 32 inches in width, the overall design allows for full and easy use of the entire space by small birds. Just don't expect competitive species like canaries or some of the waxbills to share a cage like this in peace year round - especially during the spring and early summer! - and you should be fine.

Welcome to Robirda's Companion Birds eZine

For breeder or pet bird owners who care.

We rely on our readers and sponsors to help keep this publication and its associated websites in existence. If you find help you need here, please consider joining our sponsors.

For all those who've helped out, thank you for your continued support! Our next issue is due March 30th - we hope you enjoy this issue's feature article, and we will look forward to seeing you all then!

Robirda
Mar 16, 2003

Feature Article

The feature story in this issue was first planned to be a continuation of our ongoing fictional story, based on actual occurrances, about a lost little bird.

But then something came up that was just too important to let wait. This is the story of one bird owner's struggle to find the source of the problem killing her pet birds.

All bird owners should pay heed to the lessons she learned the hard way, so as to be sure we and our birds don't wind up paying a similar price to...

by Sharon Klueber
Copyright © March 2003

I've been trying to solve a long and very frustrating mystery regarding my canaries for a couple of years now. It’s involved lots of detective work and much agonizing over what could possibly be causing the mysterious deaths of five of my birds as well as many visits to a total of four different veterinarians.

While I will never know if I have succeeded in figuring out the reason for the deaths of all of my birds, I believe that at last, with the help of a new vet (number four) , I have figured out that in this particular who-done-it, metal toxicity is the killer.

Metal toxicity was not one of my original suspects. I had questioned everything else, from where I bought my birds to fumes from my gas kitchen stove to dirty air vents - all were looked at as being possible reasons my birds kept getting sick and dying.

I thought I had taken all the necessary precautions to prevent my birds being exposed to any heavy metals - but I was wrong.

Two and a half years ago, when I finally got it into my hard head that you can’t house male canaries together in one cage all year round, no matter how large or well appointed the cage, I set about to find the best cages I could for my birds.

Galvanized after weld (GAW) cages looked to be the perfect solution. They were affordable, easy to clean, and I could get them in a size large enough to allow my canaries lots of flying space.

Best of all, they were touted as being safe for birds like canaries and finches that don’t chew on their cage wire. They were not recommended for parrots, but as I was looking to house my canaries it sounded like the perfect solution.

So I ordered three nice large GAW cages, specifically made for birds, from a reputable business on the internet.

The cages arrived and before assembling them I scrubbed them down with cider vinegar and a metal brush. It was a time-consuming and back-breaking process but it was my understanding this would remove any traces of heavy metal that might be on the wire, help to speed along the oxidation of the zinc coating used in GAW wire and would make the cages totally safe for my canaries.

As it turned out, this widely-held belief is wrong.

According to Ritchie, Harrison and Harrison, in their publication 'Avian Medicine: Principles and Application', birds can ingest zinc from cages and clips made of galvanized wire.

Toxicity can be reduced (but not eliminated) by scrubbing the wire with a brush and vinegar or a mild acidic solution. This removes any loose pieces and the white rust (zinc oxide) which forms on the wire.

Over time more white rust (which is also poisonous) will form, so enclosures must be re-treated periodically.

In their information pages regarding Proper Avian Care, Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue says: "If you have a galvanized cage make sure it is electroplated not dipped. (90% of all galvanized cages are dipped). Birds can get zinc poisoning from living in such a cage even if they don’t chew on the bars."

It seems that a lot of the cages on the market today are not safe. If you are buying a cage, make sure you ask questions like "Can you certify in writing that the cage is lead-free and zinc-safe?" BEFORE you buy it.

If the seller cannot answer this question to your satisfaction, don’t waste your money, just go somewhere else to buy your cage. There are several cage companies that will certify, in writing, that their cages are lead-free and zinc-safe.

In the two and a half years since I started housing my canaries in the GAW cages, I have had five birds get sick and die. I consulted three avian veterinarians during my attempts to find help for them, and I currently have one canary, a German Roller, being treated for zinc toxicity - I’ll explain a little more about that in a minute.

Alicia McWatters, in her article, "What You Should Know About Zinc," lists the following as common symptoms of zinc intoxication:

• gastrointestinal disturbances
• polyuria or polydipsia
• weight loss
• weakness
• sleepiness
• loss of balance
• seizures
• anemia
• damage to pancreas, liver and kidneys

In retrospect I can now say that four of my five birds exhibited loss of balance and seizures.

At least one of them was diagnosed with liver disease which was treated, improved and then regressed - twice - before finally he finally died.

All of them exhibited some weakness and depression, and while I had the feeling something wasn’t quite right with them there was nothing definite I could put my finger on.

Of the five birds that died, three were necropsied. (editor's note; a 'necropsy' is the term for an animal autopsy)

One necropsy was inconclusive, while another supported a diagnosis of heavy metal poisoning, and the final one indicated liver disease. (This was not the bird who had been diagnosed and treated for liver disease.)

Then when Blitz, my German Roller, started having coordination problems and then seizures, in desperation I contacted a new vet, one who does house calls.

She walked into the room, watched the bird for a couple of minutes, asked some questions about the bird and the cage, caught him and examined him, and told me she thought he was suffering from metal toxicity.

Because canaries have such a small volume of blood, she said that it was not possible to get enough blood to run the test for metal toxicity without killing the bird.

She suggested treating him with a medication - Calcium EDTA - that would bind to any heavy metals in his system and flush them out.

If he was suffering from metal toxicity he would get better and we would see some improvement within seven days. If it was something else causing his coordination problems the treatment wouldn’t hurt him. I felt we had nothing to lose by trying the treatments.

Seven days after starting the treatment I have seen some improvement in Blitz’s condition. He seems to be regaining a bit of his balance and coordination and was even singing a little bit the other day.

No matter how things work out with him, in the long run I have learned some important lessons. I wish, though, that I had known before what I know now! That is one of the reasons I felt it important to share my trials with you.

I can't help wondering how many undiagnosed (or perhaps misdiagnosed) small pet bird deaths there have been due to similar circumstances, over the years? Many small-bird owners never consult a vet, but instead prefer to try to treat their birds themselves, in the case of illness.

My experience shows that even for those who do consult a vet, a clear diagnosis still may not be reached.

One of my new vet's biggest beefs is seeing birds that have been seen and treated by vets trying to cash in on the exotics corner of the market without knowing beans about it. She said frequently it is too late to do much to help because the birds have been treated by someone who tells their owner he knows about treating their pet when really he doesn't!

Blitz has continued to improve but is still not 100%. Next I aim to find out if there is a possibility he may never be 100% (I can live with that) or if he will continue to get better as time goes on. We see him every day so we may not be as aware of changes as someone who hasn't seen him since he was at his worst.

Either way, as the old saying goes, knowledge is power - and the more people are aware that toxic metals are too often and too freely used in the making of our birds' cages, the better.

I hope each one of you will look closely at the homes your avian friends live in, and make certain that such problems as those I have been living with, cannot happen to you! I can assure you, you will rest easier for it, in the end.

by Sharon Klueber
Copyright © March 2003

If you are buying cage wire with an eye to building a bigger and better bird cage without having to shell out hundreds of dollars, be sure to be very careful just exactly what you are buying and how it was made.

Most wire is treated with zinc, to delay rust. It is not true that all of this coating can be removed by scrubbing! Some of the looser, more dangerous bits can be removed this way, but not the entire coating, nor all its dangers.

Cages or wire galvanized through an electro-plate process are safer than the more common galvanized-after-welding, or 'hot-dipped' wire or cages, so be careful! Cheaper powder-coated cages may sometimes contain high lead content, so even powder-coating may not always be safe.

If your bird likes to chew on his cage, or spends a fair amount of time clinging to the wire of his cage, then you will probably be safest to go with the more expensive but far safer stainless steel.

If you keep only smaller birds who can't chew through a coat of paint, a cheaper alternative is to consider painting both sides of the wire with a safe, non-toxic paint (most easily done before assembling the cage).

Just be aware that if you choose this method the paint will need to be renewed every year or so - and be sure to never do any painting anywhere near your birds!

Our CD of Robirda's canaries singing is proving to be a popular choice for Flock Talk readers as well as visitors to our website. In the months since we first offered this CD for sale, dozens of orders have been filled, and many customers sent glowing praise a few days later.

Here's just a few of the comments we've received:

"THANKS FOR A GREAT, SMOOTH & SPEEDY TRANSACTION"

"Quick delivery, Awesome CD, even better than I expected! Super transaction!"

"Very nice, with great service. Super fast and easy!"

"The cd is so lovely, cute, uplifting... I could go on and on! Just listening to your little critters makes me smile... one little guy makes a squeak... then another a gurgle, then one by one they start warbling until it's a symphony of sweet, varied songs."

"Just received the Songs from the Birdroom CD - the birds are enjoying it tremendously - our cockatiel is telling them to 'be quiet'!"

"Wonderful!! Professional, shipped with lightning speed. GREAT CD... RECCOMMEND!"

Learn more about our CD at robirda.com/songs.html