Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Racoon Fecies Roundworm (Baylisascaris) is Deadly to Birds! Beware of natural tree limbs.
I recieved a call from a friend. She was very distraught and rightly so! Two of her birds, an african grey and an umbrella cockatoo that she adopted from PASO had started to develop some strange symptoms about two months ago. She described them as wobbly and off balance. The african grey exhibited the behaviours about two weeks prior to the umbrella. Of course panic ensues as you are unsure if you have a contagion in your aviary.
Unsure as what might be the cause, they removed the bedding from the bird room and changed their diets etc and immediately had the birds vet checked.
The symptoms only got worse with time. The vet was unsure but guessed Racoon fecies Roundworm (Baylisascaris)as the culprit. Slowly and agonizingly she watched as the two birds got worse and worse over time. There is no cure or treatment for this condition and all other options were exhausted.
They have created a beautiful bird room for their dozen or so birds and fearing that others would get sick was always on their minds, specially because they were unsure of the cause and now having two sick birds! It must have been a horrible feeling that few of us have had to experience.
Eventually the African Grey got worse and started to vomit and could no longer perch. The umbrella developed the same symptoms two weeks behind.
Eventually they had to make that horrible choice in having to put down the african grey to end his suffering. A necropsy was performed in hopes that they would be able to save the umbrella from the same fate.
It was determined that it was infact Racoon Fecies Roundworm (Baylisascaris)that was killing the birds.
The family blamed themselves and looked back at how these events could have been caused. They did bring some natural perches from outside into their bird room for the birds to enjoy but felt they had taken the proper precautions in preparing the wood.
They used a pressure washer to clean the limbs and left them out to bake in the sun for a few days, believing this would make the wood safe for the birds.
Sadly, that was not the case. As it is believed that this was the only way for the racoon round worm to have permeated the bird room.
If you plan on using natural branches for your birds, please make sure to follow all the steps listed below:
- Make sure that the wood is on the safe woods to use list as posted on this website
- Do not use wood that is picked up from the side of the road as it could have herbicides are traffic residue on it
- Do not use woods that have been sprayed with a herbicide or pesticide
- Thoroughly clean the limbs with a brush or pressure washer to remove debris, dirt and bugs
- Soak in a 10% bleach solution over night then allow to dry completely which will disinfect the wood
- Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hr which should kill any remaining bacteria or bugs
- Do not keep the wood outside after these steps as further contamination can occur
Our hearts go out to the family for their loss and we thank them for allowing us to post this information in hopes of averting another tradegy.
Nancy Daniels and Family
Unsure as what might be the cause, they removed the bedding from the bird room and changed their diets etc and immediately had the birds vet checked.
The symptoms only got worse with time. The vet was unsure but guessed Racoon fecies Roundworm (Baylisascaris)as the culprit. Slowly and agonizingly she watched as the two birds got worse and worse over time. There is no cure or treatment for this condition and all other options were exhausted.
They have created a beautiful bird room for their dozen or so birds and fearing that others would get sick was always on their minds, specially because they were unsure of the cause and now having two sick birds! It must have been a horrible feeling that few of us have had to experience.
Eventually the African Grey got worse and started to vomit and could no longer perch. The umbrella developed the same symptoms two weeks behind.
Eventually they had to make that horrible choice in having to put down the african grey to end his suffering. A necropsy was performed in hopes that they would be able to save the umbrella from the same fate.
It was determined that it was infact Racoon Fecies Roundworm (Baylisascaris)that was killing the birds.
The family blamed themselves and looked back at how these events could have been caused. They did bring some natural perches from outside into their bird room for the birds to enjoy but felt they had taken the proper precautions in preparing the wood.
They used a pressure washer to clean the limbs and left them out to bake in the sun for a few days, believing this would make the wood safe for the birds.
Sadly, that was not the case. As it is believed that this was the only way for the racoon round worm to have permeated the bird room.
If you plan on using natural branches for your birds, please make sure to follow all the steps listed below:
- Make sure that the wood is on the safe woods to use list as posted on this website
- Do not use wood that is picked up from the side of the road as it could have herbicides are traffic residue on it
- Do not use woods that have been sprayed with a herbicide or pesticide
- Thoroughly clean the limbs with a brush or pressure washer to remove debris, dirt and bugs
- Soak in a 10% bleach solution over night then allow to dry completely which will disinfect the wood
- Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hr which should kill any remaining bacteria or bugs
- Do not keep the wood outside after these steps as further contamination can occur
Our hearts go out to the family for their loss and we thank them for allowing us to post this information in hopes of averting another tradegy.
Nancy Daniels and Family
Labels: behaviour, parrot rescue, racoon feces, safe parrot toys, safe woods for parrots
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]