by Dr Phil Sacks - Bird Veterinarian
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Lead or zinc toxicity in Birds
- Heavy metal toxicity in birds is common. Bird vet Melbourne sees many cases of lead toxicity.
- We measure Blood lead levels during the vet visit on our blood lead tester.
- Zinc toxicity in birds is the next most common toxicity in pet birds.
The birds may present with one or more of the following symptoms to Bird Vet Melbourne:
- Weakness
- Lethargic and fluffed
- Red blood in the droppings
- Vomiting or regurgitation
- Sometimes they will seizure
- Pass watery green droppings
- Severely affected birds may die suddenly
- A more common syndrome is that of low level poisoning with vague clinical signs and pet birds that are just “not well”.
Heavy metal toxicity causes Vomiting in Birds - Avian Veterinarian
A vomiting Budgergar
The four most common causes of HMT in pet birds that we see in our bird vet clinic are:
- Soil and environmental contamination in backyard chickens. (Pet chicken Vet)
- Another common house hold lead and Zinc, eg paints
- Heavy metal poisoning associated with the ingestion of lead and or Zinc from cage wire
- Coins, toys, paints