jmfleish
01-13-2008, 12:07 AM
Hi, I'm new to this forum and was invited over from The Perch by Jill W. Last week I finally got a diagnosis on my six year old male Ducorps' Cockatoo, Reggie, of chronic zinc toxicosis. My vet, one of two I generally see at the University of Wisconsin vet school, feels that we should take a wait and see attitude and not treat with chelation but I feel helpless by just doing nothing. I have gone through Reggie's cage and removed anything that was suspect but most of his toys are SS. He's not a big chewer and mostly chewed up Birdie Bagels, which I have since been told from several sources are safe, plastics, and just a little bit of safe wood from Mother Pluckin'. About a year or so ago, I left his feeder door open a couple of times and when he went on his "fun run" he chewed up a lot of the baseboard in my bird room which is varnished. Since that time, I will occasionally see him trying to sneak in there to do more damage but usually catch him right away. I'm obviously going to have his cage tested as I see Jill did but he doesn't chew on the powder coating at all. After three years, it's still in pristine condition. It's an HQ and I have heard that some people have had problems with this cage brand. Reggie does move around in his cage a lot and uses his beak a lot on the bars, but just to get around, no chewing.
Other than that, I have the Birdie Butlers for drinking for all five of my birds, two SIEs, a Patagonian Conure, and a TAG. The younger SIE isn't looking the greatest right now, but I thought it was diet related until I got the results back on Reggie. I will be taking Taco SIE in on Monday for a full physical and blood tests as well as the zinc test. My grey will also go in just for the zinc test but he looks incredibly healthy and happy. As for the water bottles, they all have valves that are all stainless steel with the exception of outer part which is a copper colored metal that isn't soft...maybe it's brass? I contacted the company right away and asked and he is absolutely certain that they are completely safe, but I ordered two new bottles for now that have a completely SS valve.
I'm at a loss as to where the zinc is coming from but have removed anything that I think might be causing it. My vet told me to have my water tested too and I suppose I'll have to do that as well. Until then I've decided to go with bottled water for Reggie but I can't get him to go back to drinking from a bowl. He refuses to drink without his bottle...
Other than that, the only physical symptom that Reggie seems to have is the feather picking and possibly neurological signs? He shakes his head a lot more than he ever used to, almost like he's a wind up toy that's stuck. He will also run from being in a still and comfortable position, almost like he's got bugs crawling on him. His weight has gone up, not down over the last couple of months and his appetite is still very good.
So, is there anyone else who's been through this that can give some good advice? My Ekkies' breeder had a situation with zinc toxicosis three years ago in one of her Black Palm pair and she's been very, very helpful. Her pair had an acute case though, they got it from a SS shelf rest that probably had non-SS welds, or so we think. I don't know if I should go with chelation or if I should just wait like my vet had initially suggested and I have no idea if I've removed the zinc from his environment because I honestly don't know what it could have been in...any help at this point would be fantastic!
Thanks,
Jen
Other than that, I have the Birdie Butlers for drinking for all five of my birds, two SIEs, a Patagonian Conure, and a TAG. The younger SIE isn't looking the greatest right now, but I thought it was diet related until I got the results back on Reggie. I will be taking Taco SIE in on Monday for a full physical and blood tests as well as the zinc test. My grey will also go in just for the zinc test but he looks incredibly healthy and happy. As for the water bottles, they all have valves that are all stainless steel with the exception of outer part which is a copper colored metal that isn't soft...maybe it's brass? I contacted the company right away and asked and he is absolutely certain that they are completely safe, but I ordered two new bottles for now that have a completely SS valve.
I'm at a loss as to where the zinc is coming from but have removed anything that I think might be causing it. My vet told me to have my water tested too and I suppose I'll have to do that as well. Until then I've decided to go with bottled water for Reggie but I can't get him to go back to drinking from a bowl. He refuses to drink without his bottle...
Other than that, the only physical symptom that Reggie seems to have is the feather picking and possibly neurological signs? He shakes his head a lot more than he ever used to, almost like he's a wind up toy that's stuck. He will also run from being in a still and comfortable position, almost like he's got bugs crawling on him. His weight has gone up, not down over the last couple of months and his appetite is still very good.
So, is there anyone else who's been through this that can give some good advice? My Ekkies' breeder had a situation with zinc toxicosis three years ago in one of her Black Palm pair and she's been very, very helpful. Her pair had an acute case though, they got it from a SS shelf rest that probably had non-SS welds, or so we think. I don't know if I should go with chelation or if I should just wait like my vet had initially suggested and I have no idea if I've removed the zinc from his environment because I honestly don't know what it could have been in...any help at this point would be fantastic!
Thanks,
Jen