Lead Poisoning in Birds

If you suspect your bird has a dose of lead poisoning, take your feathered friend along to the veterinarian to be assessed. Your avian specialist will discuss the symptoms that have raised your concerns, and whether anything has changed in your bird’s environment such as a new cage, toys or other things that may show how your bird got poisoned. The clinical symptoms include altered behavior, depression and severe weakness, droopy posture, excessive thirst, and blood in the droppings and more.

Your veterinarian will examine your bird physically and combined with the symptoms will make a tentative diagnosis.  Using X-rays and radiographs to see if there are any heavy metal particles in the crop, gizzard or within the gastrointestinal tract will assist with diagnosis. A very small amount of lead can produce toxicity in your pet. Tests on blood drawn for diagnosing work will show the level of lead in the bloodstream. These tests will be done regularly during treatment to monitor the recovery.

Caught early enough, this condition can be treated successfully. There are many steps to the treatment depending on the severity of the poisoning. Fluid therapy will be used to protect the vital internal organs from further damage, then to help flush the toxin out of the body. Your veterinarian will then use a metal chelating agent calcium EDTA to surround and trap the lead which will result in it being filtered it out through the kidneys or intestines. This drug is often injected twice per day until your bird shows signs of improvement. Oral D -penicillamine is also used as an oral medication. Moreover, antibiotics will need to be administered to prevent infection setting in, and crop feeding is essential to add fluids and calories to aid recovery. 

It has been shown that Vitamin B complex and Thiamine is useful in preventing the deposit of the metal into tissues, and it also helps nerve repair. Your specialist may keep your bid in an incubator in a quiet low stress environment to allow him to recover. If your bird is having seizures, an anticonvulsant will need to be given to aid your pet. Larger pieces of metal may be removed surgically if they are not passing through your bird’s system while smaller pieces can be assisted to travel through by flushing warm fluids under general anesthetic. Bulking agents added to the diet or crop fed will speed up the removal of the metal particles through the gastrointestinal system.

Understandably your bird will have been through a lot, and may take several weeks or so before it recovers its health fully. Your veterinarian will advise you of the recovery process, and discuss diet and environment with you. Allowing your bird to recover without any stress, and feeding a high-quality diet will ensure his health will return. Prevention is always best, and supervising your bird when he is out roaming about to ensure he is not exploring things he shouldn’t be is a priority.

Birds are like little children, they are fascinated by new things, wanting to explore and touch and often chew. For this reason, they are their own worst enemy. Because of the small size of birds in relation to their owners, it doesn’t take much of any toxic material to cause an effect on them. They have amazing eyesight and can see small shiny things that you would not normally notice. Vigilance is always needed to keep your friend healthy and happy.