| Photo 1 | Photo 2 |
|---|
A nutritionally correct diet is just as important to avian and other animals as it is to humans. This article will refer to a case study regarding the observable effects of vitamin supplement overdose in the avian species (in particular Psittacine's). The vitamin and mineral supplement business is a multi-million dollar industry, which growth in this sector continues because of the humans desire to over compensate their diets with additional vitamin and mineral supplements. Over supplementing diets is a very common practice in humans who tend to frequent nutrition shops or chemists to buy additional supplements with the belief more is better. The average person tends not to recognise that it's possible to overdose with vitamin and mineral supplements. However herein I will provide some images which depict our case study bird who was likely a victim of being overdosed with excessive vitamin mixture in the water. The owner had confirmed they had provided unmeasured vitamin and mineral supplement on a daily basis. The reason I say that overdose is the likely cause of the beak malformation is because the beak had returned to normal over the following months after ceasing the vitamin and mineral mixture.
Lets start with a basic understanding of the two types of vitamin groups, fat soluble and water soluble. The main difference between these two groups of vitamins are that water soluble is excreted from the body rapidly, where the fat soluble remain in the layers of fat and are metabolised at a slower rate. We can easily observe this when we take a vitamin B tablet or even if you take a “Berocca” which consists of an amalgamation of vitamins, one of such is vitamin B. In a short period of time, the person will urinate a brighter colour of yellow after consuming this vitamin supplement. This colour is the excess water soluble vitamin no longer needed by the body. Hence, we can apply the analogy of filling a bucket with water and the excess will spill over preventing any further water being accumulated. Thus the water in this analogy is representing the water soluble vitamin being readily excreted after the body has been toped up with the required B or C vitamin.
For clarity sake, water soluble vitamins are readily excreted through urine and consist of Vitamin C and B, while fat soluble vitamins consist of A D E K and permeate fat layers of the body. Vitamin overdose occurs when a person or animal is consuming more of a vitamin than necessary, thus the build up of that fat soluble vitamin or mineral eventually affects other body organs because they metabolise slower. A classic example is vitamin 'A' toxicity due to overdose, where the persons sole of their feet may start to turn yellowish/orange colour. If the person ceases to consume Vitamin A rich foods e.g carrots etc normal coloration will return. The important factor to consider regarding the decision when to take vitamins is are you actually vitamin deficient in the first place. The same is true for animals. If you are not vitamin deficient, then to be honest you are literally tipping your money down the toilet because the vitamins will not have any net positive effect to the already optimal levels within the body of a healthy person. However excessive intake of vitamins have the potential to cause issues overtime.Vitamins and minerals interact with each other in the body, an example is the connection between calcium and vitamin D for strong bone maintenance. Therefore given the importance of the right quantity of vitamin and minerals in the body, so is the case that we do not unbalance healthy levels by over supplementation. To put it in another way, it is important that if you do choose to use a vitamin and mineral supplement for your bird, make sure it is suitable for that bird and as per instructions.
Now lets continue with our case study. The birds owner had purchased a normal healthy young hand raised Alexandrine Parrot from a pet store. The owner was feeding the bird a seed diet, a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables and at the time of purchase their were no observable signs of any malnutrition. The owner had also purchased a vitamin supplement and was providing this on a daily basis because the owner wanted to keep the bird healthy and thought they were doing the right thing. I have had birds since I was a teenager, and the pro-tip regarding vitamin deficiency in adult birds is often seen in feather quality, hence discolouration, lack of colour or poor feather quality all lead the typical agriculturalist to initially suspecting a vitamin or mineral deficiency. Another example of a mineral deficiency would be seen in soft shelled eggs being laid caused by calcium deficiency.
During the initial conversation with the bird owner, photos were shared to show me the lovely bird. Curious with the beak discoloration, I had asked if the bird was sick. The owner had replied the bird was fine. I wondered if the bird was being fed too many sunflower seeds, because sometimes liver problems from too many fatty seeds such as sunflower seeds can affect the beak formation. However it appeared the bird was being fed the correct seed mixture. I had then queried the possibility of the bird showing early signs of beak and feather disease. Because in cases such as beak and feather disease or liver problems beak malformations can be a secondary symptom.
| Photo 1 | Photo 2 |
|---|
In the above two photos, we see both parts of the beak which are named the mandible (Lower) and maxilla (Upper) have been eroded. In the first photo we see signs of discolouration of the maxilla. However in photo two which is a closer photograph of the beak, we can see in addition to the beak discoloration, the erosion of the different keratin layers of the beak. The bird beak is living tissue and is made from keratin, which is exactly the same as our hair and finger nails. Thus it is suspected the continued used of unmeasured high mineral and vitamin density supplement in the water may have been causing damage to the living keratin tissue layers. This is similar to soft drinks like coke-a-cola eating away at the enamel of our teeth. The only difference in this example is as far as I understand, human teeth enamel does not replace itself after the enamel has been removed. Recently I had talked with the birds owner and was able to obtain several other photos listed below which display the progressive destruction to the birds beak.
| Photo 3 | Photo 4 | Photo 5 |
|---|
| Photo 6 | Photo 7 | Photo 8 |
|---|
Photo 3 through to 6 demonstrate the progressive degradation to the beak keratin layers. While photos 7 and 8 are showing the reversal of the beak damage. Photos 1 and 2 actually fit in between photos 5 and 6 on the time line.
| Photo 9 | Photo 10 |
|---|
Looking at the photos provided above, we can use a typical non tactile distant examination to confirm the bird is otherwise in good health and that it is unlikely anything else that caused keratin layers to become affected.
Therefore, given the bird appears to be in normal good health excluding the issue with the beak, we have been able systematically narrow the issue down, and confidently assume the repeated unmeasured high vitamin supplement dose placed in the water is the issue. We know this because we can see the beak has a certain marking across its maxilla. If we observe closely we can see the beak which should be red in full, has the sharper end of the maxilla is a grayish almost ivory colour. This ivory colour is the beak being damaged. Despite popular opinion, not all birds will dip their full beak into the water just to get a drink. Psittacines AKA parrots will typically dip part of the beak into water and then make a scoping up gesture which allows the water to trickle down the neck. Birds with longer and thinner beaks will tend to suck at the water in order to draw the water into the beak.
After consulting with the bird owner, I had suggested to cease providing the bird with vitamin and nutrient supplement for two reasons. Firstly because the bird is unlikely needing the nutritional supplement in the first place. Secondly to test the theory the nutrient supplement in the water was causing the beak erosion. By ceasing the vitamin and mineral supplement the owner should instead focus on seed, fresh fruit and veg, water and optional parrot pellets. Over the course of two months, the birds beak had significantly improved. Now six months after the cessation of the vitamin and mineral supplement, the beak has fully returned back to normal.
Luckily the Alexandrine Parrot is a relatively easy bird to care for and they are quite hardy birds. A diet which consists of the obvious ad-lib water and shell grit, Additionally a variety of seed (medium parrot) with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables are easy to provide the bird and really is all that is necessary with the option of parrot pellets as a side dish. Unless the bird has a nutrient deficiency or a veterinarian has specified to provide vitamins, their really should be no need to provide such supplement products.
The point of this article is to highlight we do not need to supplement a well balanced diet. Animal nutrition is just as important as it is in humans, and like humans vitamin and mineral overdoes can occur. However in the case of animals vitamin and mineral overdose is due to owners providing to much of a vitamin supplement than necessary. Similarities can also be drawn in cases of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, whereby insignificant nutrient content is being provided. One can usually observe the bird for signs of nutritional deficiency e.g poor feather quality, feather colour changing etc. When in doubt take your bird to a vet. Taking matters into your own hands is likely to inflict more harm than good, which is the case of this bird. However, prior to owning a bird it is really essential that you do your research regarding the correct diets, methods of housing, is this bird actually the right pet for you to have, can you look after the bird correctly? etc. Too many people have told me over the years a bird just dropped dead. I can honestly say, birds never just drop dead unless it is of old age. However the bird is usually sick a day or two prior to dying. The prior illness promotes a drop in body temperature and this is where the bird become very ill and gave the appearance of dropping dead.
Another very interesting factor to understand regarding birds and their health, actually its not as interesting as it is crucial to understand. Birds are very prone to fake good as an autonomic defense system. This means, when the bird is in the presence of other birds the bird will not show it is sick, instead it will act as if nothing is wrong to deceive other birds in an attempt not being singled out as weak and / or being attacked. If you are looking at a bird and it appears sick, magnify that by 10 and that is how really sick it is. The bird will only show being sick when it has absolutely no strength to hold a fake appearance. As owners if we remain quiet long enough in front of a sick bird, it will eventually let its guard down and it is easier then to identify an ill bird. We may observe it's breathing is more labored, feathers may appear more fluffed than usual, eyes are not wide open and alert, rocking on the perch, sleeping on two legs or even feaces blocking the vent etc. On my website there various bird articles which may be of assistance, please feel free to read them.
Until next time...
Darren Hamburger
Page Last update:19/06/2017
Return to Author Return to Main Page
Copyright © 2017 Darren Hamburger. All rights reserved.