Lynne
Strolling the yard
- Joined
- 10/16/09
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- 120
- Real Name
- Lynne
Giardia web sites for more information.
Symptoms vary bird to bird and your bird might not exhibit every symptom. Birds may not even pluck, they can be carriers (just as with other diseases) so when adding a new flock member you may want to have the bird tested.
Giardia robs birds system of nutrition since they reside in the upper GI tract so they may have poor feathering. That is why I feel this maybe overlooked in so many cases, there are a lot of variables.
http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/giardia.html
http://naturalbird.com/mcwatters/giardiasis.htm
http://www.avianweb.com/giardia.html
http://www.cockatiel.org/articles/giardia.html
I wanted to add this information taken from the web site John posted since I spoke to Debbie (several times and at great length) over at Bird Safe about Giardia. This was one of the reasons I decided to run my own test after 5 vets.
In some cases, a bird’s behavior when picking and the areas of the body upon which he feather picks will suggest further testing. For example, a bird that acts “itchy” and “agitated,” who interrupts eating and playing with toys to pull out feathers, or who vocalizes when removing feathers, should have a Giardia test. Giardia is an intestinal parasite that appears to be more common among parrots than has been thought in the past.
(Not all birds will vocalize and nor will all birds start off agitated and itchy)
Joe and Debbie Arbogast have, in cooperation with their veterinarian and a reputable laboratory, been offering a Giardia screening clinic at their website, www.birdsafe.com, now for over a year. Their motivation for doing so has come from their own experiences with feather picking birds that suffered from giardiasis. Mr. Arbogast, having recently compiled the figures from the last year, has found that approximately 18% of feather picking birds tested through this clinic had positive test results. This figure is even higher for conures. Further, since false negative results are common, it would appear that the incidence might be even higher than these figures reflect.
It has long been believed within the veterinary community that larger parrots rarely have Giardia, although it has been acknowledged for some time now that approximately 75% of cockatiels carry this parasite. It is also quite common in budgerigars, lovebirds and Grey-cheeked Parakeets. Because of Mr. Arbogast’s work, I have become convinced that any feather picking bird should have a fecal trichrome test, wherein the owner collects the samples over the course of three consecutive days.
Feather Abuse in Parrots: Causes and Approaches to Resolution
Symptoms vary bird to bird and your bird might not exhibit every symptom. Birds may not even pluck, they can be carriers (just as with other diseases) so when adding a new flock member you may want to have the bird tested.
Giardia robs birds system of nutrition since they reside in the upper GI tract so they may have poor feathering. That is why I feel this maybe overlooked in so many cases, there are a lot of variables.
http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/giardia.html
http://naturalbird.com/mcwatters/giardiasis.htm
http://www.avianweb.com/giardia.html
http://www.cockatiel.org/articles/giardia.html
I wanted to add this information taken from the web site John posted since I spoke to Debbie (several times and at great length) over at Bird Safe about Giardia. This was one of the reasons I decided to run my own test after 5 vets.
In some cases, a bird’s behavior when picking and the areas of the body upon which he feather picks will suggest further testing. For example, a bird that acts “itchy” and “agitated,” who interrupts eating and playing with toys to pull out feathers, or who vocalizes when removing feathers, should have a Giardia test. Giardia is an intestinal parasite that appears to be more common among parrots than has been thought in the past.
(Not all birds will vocalize and nor will all birds start off agitated and itchy)
Joe and Debbie Arbogast have, in cooperation with their veterinarian and a reputable laboratory, been offering a Giardia screening clinic at their website, www.birdsafe.com, now for over a year. Their motivation for doing so has come from their own experiences with feather picking birds that suffered from giardiasis. Mr. Arbogast, having recently compiled the figures from the last year, has found that approximately 18% of feather picking birds tested through this clinic had positive test results. This figure is even higher for conures. Further, since false negative results are common, it would appear that the incidence might be even higher than these figures reflect.
It has long been believed within the veterinary community that larger parrots rarely have Giardia, although it has been acknowledged for some time now that approximately 75% of cockatiels carry this parasite. It is also quite common in budgerigars, lovebirds and Grey-cheeked Parakeets. Because of Mr. Arbogast’s work, I have become convinced that any feather picking bird should have a fecal trichrome test, wherein the owner collects the samples over the course of three consecutive days.
Feather Abuse in Parrots: Causes and Approaches to Resolution
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