Friday, March 26, 2004
We received this email message regarding Convection Ovens
This message was passed along to me through another list, so this is not a friend of mine. I would suspect that the convection portion of this oven might have had PTFEs, so we want to take caution with any brand similar to this.
Joe Arbogast
www.birdsafe.com
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
I got a call from a friend a few days ago, asking for help. Another friend
of hers, Cindy, had three birds, a Moluccan cockatoo, a Noble macaw, and a
cockatiel. On Sunday night the Moluccan suddenly dropped dead, of no
apparent cause. He was playing and acting normal, and dead 20 minutes later.
Monday morning the Noble macaw was found dead when his cage was uncovered.
The cockatiel was fine.
Cindy was out of town, and her husband called her to tell her what had
happened. Cindy called my friend, who in turn called several other people to
pick our brains. The first theory was something in the air. But none of the
usual suspects was present--no candles or perfumes, no household cleaners,
no overheated Teflon, no neighbors spraying chemicals. The next theory was
either something in the water, or bad food, both of which would require
testing.
On Tuesday morning I e-mailed my friend suggesting that they get the
cockatiel out of the house until they could figure this out. Tuesday
afternoon I received the following e-mail from her:
"I called Cindy this morning to tell her what you said about getting Viva
out of the house but they lost her last night. But they think they know the
source. Steve bought Cindy a magic chef convection microwave for Christmas.
They had used the microwave but not the convection feature very often.
Sunday night Steve BBQ'd but it got dark before he finished cooking so he
brought the chicken in and put it into the oven. When it started smoking he
pulled it out and opened the windows. (Now, I set off the smoke alarm half
the time i make popcorn, so this was obviously not ordinary smoke, but they
didn't know that at the time). Viva's (cockatiel) cage was higher up than
Kermit's so it didn't affect her. Yesterday afternoon Steve tore down Kermit
(the Noble) cage and put Viva's cage on that stand. Last night after Steve
left for work Preston (their son) started to heat a burrito in the microwave
and it started smoking. He freaked out and called Cindy. she said to grab
Viva and Phoebe (the dog) and go to the neighbors, but before he hung up the
phone Viva dropped dead.
Needless to say the microwave is now outside the house. but she is going to
pursue it with the company, and Phoebe has an appointment at the vets
tonight.
Steve and Cindy lost all three of their beloved pets to this tragedy. Viva
the cockatiel was 15 years old. The microwave was 6 months old when it
malfunctioned. There is something in this microwave that produces toxic
fumes that are fatal to parrots when it malfunctions. The humans didn't
smell anything unusual, but it killed three birds in a very short time.
If you know someone who owns birds and has one of these ovens, warn them
that it could kill their birds too.
This message was passed along to me through another list, so this is not a friend of mine. I would suspect that the convection portion of this oven might have had PTFEs, so we want to take caution with any brand similar to this.
Joe Arbogast
www.birdsafe.com
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
I got a call from a friend a few days ago, asking for help. Another friend
of hers, Cindy, had three birds, a Moluccan cockatoo, a Noble macaw, and a
cockatiel. On Sunday night the Moluccan suddenly dropped dead, of no
apparent cause. He was playing and acting normal, and dead 20 minutes later.
Monday morning the Noble macaw was found dead when his cage was uncovered.
The cockatiel was fine.
Cindy was out of town, and her husband called her to tell her what had
happened. Cindy called my friend, who in turn called several other people to
pick our brains. The first theory was something in the air. But none of the
usual suspects was present--no candles or perfumes, no household cleaners,
no overheated Teflon, no neighbors spraying chemicals. The next theory was
either something in the water, or bad food, both of which would require
testing.
On Tuesday morning I e-mailed my friend suggesting that they get the
cockatiel out of the house until they could figure this out. Tuesday
afternoon I received the following e-mail from her:
"I called Cindy this morning to tell her what you said about getting Viva
out of the house but they lost her last night. But they think they know the
source. Steve bought Cindy a magic chef convection microwave for Christmas.
They had used the microwave but not the convection feature very often.
Sunday night Steve BBQ'd but it got dark before he finished cooking so he
brought the chicken in and put it into the oven. When it started smoking he
pulled it out and opened the windows. (Now, I set off the smoke alarm half
the time i make popcorn, so this was obviously not ordinary smoke, but they
didn't know that at the time). Viva's (cockatiel) cage was higher up than
Kermit's so it didn't affect her. Yesterday afternoon Steve tore down Kermit
(the Noble) cage and put Viva's cage on that stand. Last night after Steve
left for work Preston (their son) started to heat a burrito in the microwave
and it started smoking. He freaked out and called Cindy. she said to grab
Viva and Phoebe (the dog) and go to the neighbors, but before he hung up the
phone Viva dropped dead.
Needless to say the microwave is now outside the house. but she is going to
pursue it with the company, and Phoebe has an appointment at the vets
tonight.
Steve and Cindy lost all three of their beloved pets to this tragedy. Viva
the cockatiel was 15 years old. The microwave was 6 months old when it
malfunctioned. There is something in this microwave that produces toxic
fumes that are fatal to parrots when it malfunctions. The humans didn't
smell anything unusual, but it killed three birds in a very short time.
If you know someone who owns birds and has one of these ovens, warn them
that it could kill their birds too.
Sunday, March 14, 2004
A Note on Handfeeding and Selling Unweaned Baby Birds
By the staff of BirdHobbyist.com
There are few subjects that generate as much controversy as the issue of selling unweaned baby birds. Some believe that it produces a more intense bond between the bird and the owner, while others believe just the opposite, holding that it needlessly traumatizes the young bird, and birds who are weaned by their knowledgeable breeders are more emotionally healthy and will therefore bond better with their new human family. In addition, inexperienced or incorrect handfeeding can harm a young bird, physically as well as emotionally, and can lead to lifelong health and behavior problems.
The average pet bird buyer should only consider purchasing a bird who is already fully weaned. If the breeder has done his or her job correctly, both in raising the bird and in educating and screening you as a prospective bird buyer, your bird should bond fully with you. If the breeder does not do a good job raising their birds and educating and screening their buyers, you should look for a breeder with better practices.
BirdHobbyist.com believes that handfeeding and weaning are best done by people who are very knowledgeable about what they are doing, whether they are experienced bird owners or breeders. If a breeder sells a bird who is being handfed, we recommend that they have the future owner visit their aviary several times for instruction and supervision in handfeeding their new bird. Breeders should not release the baby to the person until they are comfortable with the ability of the person to hand feed, and should remain available by telephone to answer questions.
Saturday, March 13, 2004
MOSQUITO SEASON IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!
Yes, my favorite season of the year is upon us! Flowers are blooming, buds are popping open and the Kentucky Derby is soon to be run. Along with this renewal of life’s forces by nature come some of those little critters we would rather not have.
West Nile Virus, as you all know, is transmitted by mosquitoes. Heartworms are also transmitted by them and this disease can affect dogs, cats and ferrets. West Nile can also affect any warm-blooded mammal, and we have a lot more to learn about this disease in dogs and cats. One of my dogs, CoCo a Yorkie-Poo, tested positive for West Nile with a screaming high titer done by Cornell University. While CoCo showed no clinical signs, I tested all my dogs to see where they were with respect to exposure. We have seen a few patients the last two summers who were non-descript neurologic diseases and we were not able to diagnose. We have a feeling they were West Nile, and they were all dogs. They all recovered with supportive care.
CoCo and Reese, (my Boxer) are outside more than my other four dogs. Coco and Reese call the garage home and sleeping quarters as their behavior does not fit in with the other four dogs inside. We are in a highly mosquito laden area, a pond across the road, and ponds all around us. Personally I have vaccinated Coco and Reese against West Nile using the equine vaccine by Fort Dodge. Do I recommend you do this? No, not necessarily! First and very important is that this is an OFF-LABEL use of the vaccine, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tends to frown on this, and there of course is always legal liability. Clients who I have used this vaccine in their animals must sign a release form, releasing us and Fort Dodge from liability.
I also vaccinated my per birds for West Nile last year, Stevie, an Umbrella Cockatoo, Rupert a Spectacled Amazon, and Ramón a Double Yellow Headed Amazon Parrot. I love for the birds to get to go outside in the spring and summer, in their cages, supervised! They love it and they often get a spray bath with the water hose while outside. For the last two years I had stopped this due solely to the threat of West Nile.
We now have a little more data that say as a GROUP Psittacoses are much less susceptible that the Corvidae (Crows and Jays) and Raptors (birds of prey). My problem is that I have read several reports, particularly out of Louisiana, that documents Psittacine deaths from West Nile. Therefore I really do not care what research says about a GROUP, these are my pets and I do not want to roll the dice betting on a GROUP response. We have probably had deaths in Kentucky in Psittacines from West Nile, but I have yet to document one. Many times owners choose no to spend the money necessary on autopsy and diagnostics. Although remember you can take a deceased bird to the University of Kentucky Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory on Newtown Pike, and get testing done for West Nile relatively cheaply. At least you could last year! Why did I wait two years before vaccinating my birds with the equine product? I wanted to wait and see what happened at the zoos around the country, I knew they were vaccinating and I wanted to see if they had complications or reactions before I vaccinated my babies. Reportedly they have had no major problems with the vaccine and the zoos who have vaccinated have had less West Nile deaths than zoos who did not vaccinate.
There is a product on the market reported to reduce the number of mosquitoes in your immediate area. I found this reading the Avian Examiner #26, a publication by Harrison’s Bird Diets (www.harrisonbirdfoods.com). The product is to be sprayed in the yard and is advertised as being “all natural and not harmful to children, pets or plants”! This is a garlic based formula and supposedly mosquitoes do not like garlic. Perhaps this would be a safe way to decrease the exposure of your loved ones this spring and summer to West Nile Virus, the Encephalomyelitis viruses and Heartworm disease. I think I will order some and give it a try!
Talk to you soon!
Sammy Vaughn
Thursday, March 04, 2004
March 2, 2004
RANTING AND RAVING ABOUT THE SALE OF UNWEANED BABY BIRDS!!!
Yes, this is still happening. For those of you who would like the opinion of the Association of Avian Veterinarians please go to their website, at www.aav.org.
Personally I think this should be a felony offense! Handfeeding a baby bird is old hat to breeders and many of them think that anyone should be able to learn all the things that can go wrong in say 5- 10 minutes of instruction. NOT breeders beware, any self respecting avian veterinarian is going to speak badly of you if you continue to sell unweaned babies.
What prompted my rant today? A sweet precious African Grey baby who presented for swallowing the tip off of the syringe the new uneducated owner was feeding with! First, why do people use these tips? It is so unnecessary and useless to use them. They more often than no get pulled off, and the baby swallows them in the hands of the unsuspecting first time bird owner. This poor lady was beating herself up so bad, because she thought it was all her fault, it was not her fault, and it is the fault of the jerk who sold her this bird unearned!
Unweaned babies are subject to a myriad of problems. Aspiration from sucking some food down the windpipe. Yeast and bacterial infections from improper disinfection. Starvation because folks are not feeding enough. Obesity, especially in baby cockatoos because they are over fed. One of the most incredulous things is that most of these breeder’s do not even tell people to buy a scale and monitor the baby’s weight!!
The good news is a little high tech endoscopy, a grasping forcep and a great team in my hospital and we had the foreign body out of the gizzard in no time. Little guy is awake, walking around and eating all ready. But all this could have been avoided just by waiting until the bird was weaned. Wish I had the breeder’s name, I would publish it here, so that you do not go there and get the same disaster waiting to happen sold to you!
Ranting Sammy!
RANTING AND RAVING ABOUT THE SALE OF UNWEANED BABY BIRDS!!!
Yes, this is still happening. For those of you who would like the opinion of the Association of Avian Veterinarians please go to their website, at www.aav.org.
Personally I think this should be a felony offense! Handfeeding a baby bird is old hat to breeders and many of them think that anyone should be able to learn all the things that can go wrong in say 5- 10 minutes of instruction. NOT breeders beware, any self respecting avian veterinarian is going to speak badly of you if you continue to sell unweaned babies.
What prompted my rant today? A sweet precious African Grey baby who presented for swallowing the tip off of the syringe the new uneducated owner was feeding with! First, why do people use these tips? It is so unnecessary and useless to use them. They more often than no get pulled off, and the baby swallows them in the hands of the unsuspecting first time bird owner. This poor lady was beating herself up so bad, because she thought it was all her fault, it was not her fault, and it is the fault of the jerk who sold her this bird unearned!
Unweaned babies are subject to a myriad of problems. Aspiration from sucking some food down the windpipe. Yeast and bacterial infections from improper disinfection. Starvation because folks are not feeding enough. Obesity, especially in baby cockatoos because they are over fed. One of the most incredulous things is that most of these breeder’s do not even tell people to buy a scale and monitor the baby’s weight!!
The good news is a little high tech endoscopy, a grasping forcep and a great team in my hospital and we had the foreign body out of the gizzard in no time. Little guy is awake, walking around and eating all ready. But all this could have been avoided just by waiting until the bird was weaned. Wish I had the breeder’s name, I would publish it here, so that you do not go there and get the same disaster waiting to happen sold to you!
Ranting Sammy!
