Ask Lafeber

allergy’s

I have a 20 year old male Eclectus. He has had every test available, my question is do you know of any studies being done for skin allergy’s , inflammation ,or auto immune diseases in parrots ? Thank you Nancy

Hi Nancy,

I have an additional response from Dr. Susan Orosz that you may want to discuss with your Avian Vet:

Dear Nancy:

I am not aware of a current study regarding allergies in parrots. I am assuming that your male Eclectus is plucking his feathers based on your question. One area that we are looking at is the effect of avian bornavirus and other agents to produce avian ganglioneuritis. These agents can attack the nerves that travel to the skin and it may be one reason for the cause. Some of these birds will be negative for the virus but be positive for the antibodies produced from the myelin wrapping of the nerves and often can make the bird appear to be itchy. The type of testing for this is important to determine if this might be one of the reasons for plucking. I hope that this helps.

Susan Orosz PhD, DVM, Dipl ABVP (Avian), Dipl ECZM (Avian)

Bird and Exotic Pet Wellness Center, Toledo, Ohio

Ask Lafeber response:

Are you asking because your bird is plucking his feathers? This behavior is still a mystery and often has several causes, but sometimes there seems to be no cause. Allergies are suspected and it is generally recommended that you feed a natural diet without artificial colors. Some owners say their birds pluck when fed too much citrus. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence out there, but not much science to date. I can only suggest that you check out some of the bird forums or pages on Facebook, but be careful with the information you find. If a number of sources have the same theory, it may be worth trying. But do not follow any radical advice about diets unless you consult with your Avian Vet. There are a lot of Eclectus owners and breeders who have misguided theories about certain things they should and should not have in their diet. As far as medications, I have known some vet prescribing Benadryl. But I am not aware of any active studies or findings on this subject, just different individual vets who have done case studies.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda