TBD Cause of 11 Bird Deaths

[Birdspeaker]

omg, so sad Is this isolated or have there been other places affected?

 

[Hjarta5]

omg, so sad Is this isolated or have there been other places affected?

The rescue rep said another Michigan rescue on the east side of the State also had something similar happen and that they also feed Higgins and Zupreem -- but I don't think there's been a direct cause and effect identified and both these brands are pretty popular so I imagine a lot of ppl feed their companions the same.

 

[Animallover03]

On Facebook the person who posted this also said a few other things.
-The bag was opened 4 days before the birds' deaths
-All dead birds had rock hard livers
-They all died within 30 minutes of each other

Here is more she added:
"Symptoms:

As digestion happens, about 4 hours in, the birds become wobbly, disoriented, weak, unable to stand up and still. Droopy wings. Vomiting a copper reddish substance, seizures begin and then death. The 3 remaining birds are still very wobbly and weak."

 

[Just-passn-thru]

On Facebook the person who posted this also said a few other things.
-The bag was opened 4 days before the birds' deaths
-All dead birds had rock hard livers
-They all died within 30 minutes of each other

Here is more she added:
"Symptoms:

As digestion happens, about 4 hours in, the birds become wobbly, disoriented, weak, unable to stand up and still. Droopy wings. Vomiting a copper reddish substance, seizures begin and then death. The 3 remaining birds are still very wobbly and weak."

Resembles antifreeze poisoning

 

[Animallover03]

Resembles antifreeze poisoning

That is what someone suggested.
They thought maybe something was sprayed into the bag, or something in the ingredients was contaminated. There was a seed company apparently years ago that was sued for having seeds contaminated with rat poison in their mix.

Here is more info, from a mod on that page: It is now being stated that as near as I can tell, the birds were eating the higgins and lafeber for four days, then the zupreem was added, then they died.

 

[Mizzely]

Also: "Zupreem and Nutriberries were opened and fed Fri, Sat, Sun. Seed was added Sun, and then mixed really well Mon, and fed. All new. Stored in a sealed, air tight container." Deaths happened Monday.

 

[Mizzely]

The thread is so confusing. Lots of birds dying recently it looks like, but some are on Zupreem, some are on Vitaseeds. They do mention another rescue across the state that also had die offs but I don't have details. And again, we don't 100% know it was food. It just seems the most likely

 

[Animallover03]

The thread is so confusing. Lots of birds dying recently it looks like, but some are on Zupreem, some are on Vitaseeds. They do mention another rescue across the state that also had die offs but I don't have details. And again, we don't 100% know it was food. It just seems the most likely

A lot of people in the group I am part of think it could have been an airborne toxin. They said that there really wasn't any way to test for them, and there are thousands.
I'm not sure what it is. Rock hard livers seems like the food. and them all dying within 30 mins of each other seems like a toxin of some sort.

 

[Mizzely]

A lot of people in the group I am part of think it could have been an airborne toxin. They said that there really wasn't any way to test for them, and there are thousands.
I'm not sure what it is. Rock hard livers seems like the food. and them all dying within 30 mins of each other seems like a toxin of some sort.

Here are the issues with the airborne toxin theory:

The affected birds were not in the same room as each other, and not all birds were affected.
Only the birds fed the mix died. Any that didn't eat it, didn't have any symptoms.
The only affected tissues were GI, stomach, and liver.
The lungs were cleared by U of M as having inhaled anything

 

[Mizzely]

Zupreem's most current response to a comment:



Lafeber's status posted less than an hour ago:



Nothing on Higgins'

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

Thanks guys for updates. It's such a tragic situation. I hope they will be able to determine cause.

It's horrible how there is so little accountability there is with pet products. Every once and in a while you'll hear about a product that should be recalled or something suspicious with brand X (mainly with cat or dog products). And sometimes it's takes a lot of public outcry for the company to do anything about it. It's nice to see at least two companies are responding. Thou I thought they gave very standard answers. But at least that's something.

I know the rescue is taking some heat but Personally I think they did the right thing with informing the public.

 

[Mizzely]

Thanks guys for updates. It's such a tragic situation. I hope they will be able to determine cause.

It's horrible how there is so little accountability there is with pet products. Every once and in a while you'll hear about a product that should be recalled or something suspicious with brand X (mainly with cat or dog products). And sometimes it's takes a lot of public outcry for the company to do anything about it. It's nice to see at least two companies are responding. Thou I thought they gave very standard answers. But at least that's something.

I know the rescue is taking some heat but Personally I think they did the right thing with informing the public.

Lafeber at least posted it as a status that broadcasts it to all their Facebook followers, and they told us what they were doing. They are sending in the test batch for another test JUST to be safe.

Zupreem's is definitely a lot of nothing. Are they doing the independent testing or are they relying on the rescue's already initiated toxicology report? It's unclear.

 

[XstatyK]

If it does turn out to be the food:
It is scary that we trust name brand foods, reputable vendors to buy foods for our little feathered bundles, then find out one random day that they released a bad batch that ends up killing your companions!
As a company selling foods for pets, they really need to step up their controls around their Quality Assurance.
How could this batch just be released without some checks in place and doing a proper job of making sure the batch meets the company standards and is available for release?

I've heard of similar stories in the past where this has happened with dog food.
So sad for those little birds and that it happened at a rescue no less.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

Lafeber at least posted it as a status that broadcasts it to all their Facebook followers, and they told us what they were doing. They are sending in the test batch for another test JUST to be safe.

Zupreem's is definitely a lot of nothing. Are they doing the independent testing or are they relying on the rescue's already initiated toxicology report? It's unclear.

Yeah after rereading both responses I definitely like Lafeber's better. I really like they are being really upfront about it and retesting their product

 

[Mizzely]

If it does turn out to be the food:
It is scary that we trust name brand foods, reputable vendors to buy foods for our little feathered bundles, then find out one random day that they released a bad batch that ends up killing your companions!
As a company selling foods for pets, they really need to step up their controls around their Quality Assurance.
How could this batch just be released without some checks in place and doing a proper job of making sure the batch meets the company standards and is available for release?

I've heard of similar stories in the past where this has happened with dog food.
So sad for those little birds and that it happened at a rescue no less.

They do test, for sure. None of them WANT to kill their customers. It's heartbreaking, it's loss of sales, it's terrible advertising. One incident and they will feel the waves for YEARS. Some companies never recover.

Unfortunately other stuff can come into play. Such as something in transit, or storage. Something that happens AFTER it leaves the plant. That's why it's important to save the suspect food for testing. Their sample that they keep from every batch COULD be 100% safe, with no reason NOT to release it. :/

 

[Mizzely]

Yeah after rereading both responses I definitely like Lafeber's better. I really like they are being really upfront about it and retesting their product

Yes, and the simple addition of "Our hearts are with...." really helps. It's small, but it helps.

Zupreem it was like, "yeah we know, our food is safe." No, "we are sorry and taking this seriously."

I'll be watching. My boys eat the Zupreem naturals right now but depending on how they handle this situation, I may switch. REGARDLESS if it is their food or not, they need to let us know they are taking it VERY seriously, and HOW.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

Yes, and the simple addition of "Our hearts are with...." really helps. It's small, but it helps.

Zupreem it was like, "yeah we know, our food is safe." No, "we are sorry and taking this seriously."

Yes that's very true

I'm also a big believer in voting with your pocket book too. So I really appreciate your approach on things

 

[nu2birds]

With dog foods..........the manufacture can be American, but often, one small component of their dog food is sourced in China, and then the next thing you know our dogs are dying from melamine poisoning. There is no way for a consumer to know that a particular ingredient comes from another country which probably has totally different safety standards than we do. Anyway, I hope we find out soon I feed my birds Zupreem, but I am half way into a bag and they are acting just fine.

 

[rocky'smom]

this is so dang SCARY, my birds get Higgins, Lafebers , I wish I knew what size bags they were talking about.

 

[Mizzely]

this is so dang SCARY, my birds get Higgins, Lafebers , I wish I knew what size bags they were talking about.

The current speculation was that it is not the Lafeber's. It was a 3lb bag mixed into 50 lbs of the other food per the rescue.