Please read, many birds dead at rehab

[Inger]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

LOL.

I wondered why I had not heard about Nitro Berries.
Maybe loaded with caffeine to really rev up your bird.
Just what every Parrant needs.

Maybe nitro berries are for the parront, so we can keep up with our fids.


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[ParrotLover2001]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

LOL.

I wondered why I had not heard about Nitro Berries.
Maybe loaded with caffeine to really rev up your bird.
Just what every Parrant needs.

My birds are hyper enough, thank you.

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[Kiwibird]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

Have there been any updates from the university lab?

 

[reeb]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

Their last update was in the comment section on Saturday.

“Looks like we won’t have anything back until Monday evening to share. In the meantime, love yourselves, love your birds and do something fun together!”

That’s all though I think, sadly.


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[reeb]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

Newest update...
“I know so many of you are looking for results. Currently we are faced with more testing that is necessary. The results that have come back thus far are basically inconclusive.

We know based on histology the deaths are consistent with acute intoxication but are otherwise non-specific.

What this means is we still don't know. But we will keep digging and literally bankrupt ourselves trying to find the answers.

The food samples tested came back with no poisons. What we still don't know are the testing sample size and the baseline nutrients for companion parrots in captivity. This requires more testing still. It could be a while until we have real results on this.

We still believe this is food related. Our circumstantial case for it NOT being an aerosolized toxin (something in the air) is very strong - and that only leaves food. We are looking towards some of the most brilliant avian minds in the country to help us solve this.

I believe that we were faced with this problem because birds are dying, for unknown reasons across the country. That needs to be solved, and we believe the answer lays somewhere in our tragedy.

We will keep digging. We will keep at it. "I don't know" is not an answer.



We appreciate you. So very much.

To answer your question - currently, I don't know if it's safe to feed that food. Personally, I will not be feeding it until we get some answers.

Let's keep comments related to results on this thread.”


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[frankie13]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

hi, so sorry for your loss,I know how painful it must be ,lost one of my babies a few years ago and still miss him terribly.I have an Congo grey and a cockastiel, feed my Congo Zupreem fruit blend and both nutiberries,have you heard anything back about cause of death.Again very sorry

 

[Terry57]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

Zupreem posted an update on their page today:

ZuPreem Customers,

On January 15th, Birds and Beaks Rescue and Rehab in Michigan posted an update on their Facebook page.

ZuPreem reiterates that all our products are safe to feed, including the batches fed in Michigan, as we stated on January 4th. We continue to feed our own precious birds ZuPreem food, including the Michigan batches, knowing they are getting highly nutritious and safe food.

Why are we so confident our food, including the Michigan batches, are safe to feed?

ZuPreem uses industry-best food safety and quality processes that ensure that when products leave our facilities, they are safe to feed. We have conducted numerous research studies to identify the critical points of food safety in our process and have strict protocols in place to manage these critical points to ensure we deliver the safe food you have come to expect from ZuPreem.

ZuPreem has not historically disclosed our food safety processes publicly, given they are highly technical and could easily be misunderstood or misrepresented by the public or by our competitors. However, given the nature of this situation and the massive spread of misinformation about ZuPreem products, as a result of the Michigan incident, we have decided to change our policy and disclose our quality management process with the hope that you, our customers, will remain confident in feeding ZuPreem foods to your birds.

ZuPreem utilizes a “hold, test, and confirm” food safety process to ensure our foods are safe for birds to eat. Every batch of ZuPreem pelleted avian diets, including the product fed in Michigan, must be declared safe during three separate food safety holding periods in our process, before it is approved for shipment to a customer. More specifically, our food safety process is conducted as follows:

1. Grains used to make flour are tested for specific toxins, including aflatoxins, before being milled.
2. The milled flour is then blended with other ingredients, including 18 essential vitamins and minerals.
3. This blend is then formed into the finished pellet shape and cooked to temperatures greater than 185 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure harmful bacteria are killed.
4. The finished batch of pellets is then air-dried to reduce moisture levels to prevent the growth of mold.
5. The batch is then put on the first hold and tested by two laboratories.
6. The first laboratory is an independent facility testing for specific harmful bacteria, including Salmonella.
7. The second laboratory is an internal facility testing levels of key nutrients and moisture levels.
8. Once all tests from the first hold come back safe, the batch is then held a second time
9. During the second hold, another independent laboratory tests levels of 18 different nutrients, including vitamins A and D. Many batches are tested more than once, as were the batches fed in Michigan.
10. Once all tests from the second hold come back safe, the batch is packaged and then held for the third time.
11. During this third hold, ZuPreem conducts environmental testing for harmful bacteria in the packaging equipment area, on the packaging equipment, on the food-handling equipment, and in the finished product warehouse.
12. Once tests from the third hold come back safe, the batch is declared safe, and products from the batch are made available for shipment to customers.
13. Representative samples of the thoroughly-tested batch are then retained at ZuPreem.
14. If credible information is presented that suggests a specific contaminant may be present in a batch of ZuPreem food at levels that could be harmful, we will then test our retained samples in search for that specific contaminant.

Additionally, each step of the manufacturing process occurs in a facility subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the Food and Drug Administration. The last inspection occurred in July 2017, a short time before packaging of the batches of concern in Michigan. ZuPreem passed that very thorough FDA inspection.

ZuPreem pelleted products only leave our facility and ship to pet stores if they pass each and every one of these tests. If a batch fails our strict pathogen testing or falls outside our nutritionally acceptable range, it never ever leaves our facility. These are very expensive testing protocols, but nothing is more important to us than the safety of our products and the health of your birds.

Our process has the support of independent food safety experts. One such expert is Dr. Edward Richter, PhD, President of Richter International (one of the independent ISO Accredited Laboratories used by ZuPreem) and recognized human food and pet food safety expert and process authority. Dr. Richter supports the Food Quality & Safety practices of ZuPreem. Here is what Dr. Richter has to say about ZuPreem food safety processes: “ZuPreem takes the necessary steps to validate their pet food products are free from bacterial contamination. ZuPreem pet food products are safe based on the results from analyses conducted by our laboratory.”

And while we do our utmost with food safety best practices and processes, we know that no process is perfect. When cases like the one in Michigan arise, we do not just dismiss them. Our protocol is to reach out to bird owners and dig as deeply as we can into each case to determine if our food contributed in any way to the issue. If we believe it did, we will state it publicly and work to fix our process to prevent it from happening again (as was the case with our self-reported calcium incident in 2012). If we believe our food was not a cause, we will also state it publicly (as is the case in the Michigan incident).

The unfortunate deaths in Michigan sadden all of us. Any reported bird death saddens us. That’s why we sought advice from one of the most world-renowned avian pathologists, Dr. Drury Reavill, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Avian Practice), Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists, to help us understand the role our food may have played in these very difficult cases.

This is what Dr. Reavill had to say about the case in Michigan, based on the public statements made by the Birds and Beaks Rescue and Rehab and on information gleaned from their Facebook videos describing the case: “I have been reading through the postings about this very tragic event. To have multiple parrots die within such a small period of time (30 minutes) must be devastating and frightening. As both a board-certified avian practitioner and pathologist focused only on exotic animals, I believe that the clinical presentation, the fact that multiple species (cockatoos, macaws, Amazons, and conure) were involved, and the lack of significant post-mortem lesions, makes a food-borne and/or water-borne toxin/nutrient imbalance very unlikely. As these birds of different species and ages all have different physiologies, toxin ingestion/nutrient imbalances would not have resulted in such an explosive loss of life over such a short time period.”

Please know that ZuPreem is doing everything possible to provide safe and nutritious food for your precious birds. Also know that we are confident that all our food is safe for you to continue to feed. And finally, know that if it’s not, we will publicly and proactively tell you that it’s not and what ZuPreem will be doing to resolve the issue.

Thank you so much for your faith in us and your continued support.

ZuPreem

P.S. Keep a watch out for two more Facebook posts from ZuPreem, including a message from our president and owner, David R. Morris, who will share more about ZuPreem’s animal health heritage.
__________________

 

[reeb]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

Next update, have included the results images that she attached to the post:

“Well, someone has gotten her hands on all of our information and is spreading it. So, I too shall publish it. This was not her information to share, and we don't have all the testing complete. She's kind of an awful human being, in my opinion, but who am I to judge?

I STILL BELIEVE IT IS THE FOOD. The testing done has only tested for one thing. Metal toxicity, Fungal Toxicity and Additive Toxicity.

If you want me to go one step further, I'm going to say I believe it's the Zupreem for several reasons. We will continue more testing.

If you want to see all the deaths racking up across the country with unsolved parrot deaths see: https://www.facebook.com/birdsandbeaks/posts/1397242957050979

If you have a way with what is detailed below to be an indoor toxin - please let me know.

Judith is so hellbent on being "right" she's lost touch with what this is about. There are deaths. A lot of them. Without answers. She wants you to draw conclusions on partial information, which is what this is.

I wanted to let the scientists figure this out. But she and her merry band of thugs from Parrot Poop and Parrot Posse are bent on making sure you have partial information and try to draw conclusions. Share them with me if you have them. Maybe this is the best thing that could've happened. We'll just pound them out until we get answers right? If you're going to read this - read it all.

This is what we have so far. What you'll see below are all of the answers we have, a full detailed checklist of events from that night, a short 2 minute video showing location of where birds were who lived and died, histology and food results.

**********************************************************

Attached is a histo and a video [ame="https://youtu.be/AMd8k3X9Jtw"]Walkthrough For MSU - YouTube[/ame] to support my case that the deaths of 11 birds (10 in under an hour, an 11th five hours later.) is not an aerosolized toxin. We are looking for more avenues to pursue to discover what happened that night. We do have an additional bird preserved in formalin with Dr. Derek Nolan at Cedar Creek Veterinary to run another histo on. If there is something we can test in the home to swab for toxins, sort of like the food broad spectrum tests — please advise.

History:

We run a parrot rescue in our home. On the evening of Jan 1, 2018 we fed a mix of zupreem fruit flavored pellets, lefeber’s nutriberries and Higgin’s Vitaseed Parrot to all birds in the rescue with the exception of 5 birds. Oki (Hyacinth Macaw) eats Macadamia Nuts, Flipp (Rainbow Lorikeet) eats nectar mixed with water, Chicken (Moluccan Cockatoo) and Sweetie (Military Macaw) got last batch food. All 4 of those birds survived.

Air:
The fire department came immediately and tested the air — no carbon monoxide or air toxins were determined. All birds were offered the same water, including the Lorikeet who’s food was mixed with the water.

We were not running any new heating, no new lightbulbs, no cleaning agents — the only thing we clean with and only if necessary is white vinegar. Otherwise we use water only and steam to clean. There were no new devices or machinery to emit toxic fumes. We have a radiant heat system that does not include vents throughout the entire house — read — there’s no air being pushed from one room to another. A new boiler system with a new ventilation system was installed over one month prior with no issues. Water runs through the radiators. We keep the home at a solid 70 degrees. We run Austin Air Pet model Air Purifiers.

Food:
The Zupreem and Nutriberries were purchased as two 12lb bags from Pet Supplies Plus in Kalamazoo on Friday. I removed the remaining food in our plastic, Rubbermaid bin and set it aside for use in quarantine. I do not mix batches of food. I added the Zupreem and Nutriberries on Friday and that was fed Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

On Sunday, my Amazon order of Higgins Vitaseed Parrot arrived, and I dumped that on top of the food in the bin. It was NOT mixed well, and I fed off the top of the seed Sunday.

On Monday, just before feeding, my husband picked the bin up and mixed it very well for me (it’s too heavy for me to pick up) and then we transferred the days ration to a large stainless steel bowl for distribution.

Due to a busy holiday schedule, no fresh fruits or vegetables had been given from Christmas Day to New Years Day.

We fed between 5-6pm on the evening of the 1st. Each bird got the above listed mix of food. We had mixed it really well prior to feeding.

Symptoms:
Symptoms were birds looked drunk, were wobbling, vomiting, seizures and then death. The surviving Nanday conure, Male eclectus from the aviary, and Blue Front Amazon from the aviary took about 48 hours to recover from the symptoms.

Birds fed between 5-6, first bird dies at approximately 10:10pm. Nine more pass by 11pm. The final, the nanday conure passed around 3:50am.

We have the rescue set up in 4 rooms. (See video)

In the aviary with closed doors and no vents/air return — we lost 7, 3 survived.

In that room:

Lived:
Blue Front Amazon (Symptoms)
Male Eclectus (Symptoms)
Lilac Crowned Amazon (Symptoms)

Died: (all these birds died within about 10 minutes)
Blue and Gold Macaw
Catalina Macaw
Miligold Macaw
Lesser Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Moluccan Cockatoo
Yellow Nape Amazon
Yellow Nape Amazon

In the next room over — the Living Room, through closed doors 5 birds were housed, 2 died:

Lived:
Blue and Gold Macaw - No Symptoms(caged with Greenwing Macaw who died — Always eats after the Greenwing has his fill)
Hyacinth Macaw- No Sumptoms (Didn’t eat this food.)
Scarlet Macaw- No Symptoms(Picky Eater)

Died:
Greenwing Macaw — Died first
Harlequin Macaw (caged between two who lived) — Died after the aviary birds, exhibited symptoms longer. Is known to gobble his food.

Through the foyer and into the Dining room and through closed French doors, 10 birds were housed, 2 died, some of the living showed symptoms.

Caged Independently:
Lived:
Male Eclectus- Symptoms
Congo African Grey-No Symptoms
Jardine’s Parrot -No Symptoms
White Bellied Caique — No Symptoms — didn’t eat that food, was offered but had filled up from human food off my plate
Rainbow Lorikeet - No Symptoms (Didn’t eat this food. Ate nectar that night)

Caged together in 6x6x4 Large Oak Aviary surrounded in glass
Lived:
Quaker Parrot — No Symptoms
Blue Crown Conure — No Symptoms
Black Cap Conure — No Symptoms
Sunday Conure — No Symptoms
Nanday Conure — Most seriously ill of all birds — survived.

Died:
White Eyed Conure - Died second
Nanday Conure

Through the kitchen to the back of the house, there were an additional 2 birds housed in our Quarantine area. Neither were offered this food, and both survived.

Moluccan Cockatoo (No Symptoms)
Military Macaw (No Symptoms)


HISTO ON BIRD:



Case No.: G18-0045 Obtained: NA, rec'd 01/04/18
Reported: 01/09/18

Dr. Derek Nolan Patient ID: Umbrella Cockatoo
(“Rosie” Birds & Beak Rescue & Rehab)
Cedar Creek Veterinary Clinic Account #: MI 422G

HISTORY: This male umbrella cockatoo is from a bird rescue facility. Approximately five hours after evening feeding, birds became ill, and eleven birds died within an 11-hour timeframe. Not all of the birds were housed together. Air and water quality testing was within normal limits. Food was new, some of which was donated.

CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS: Open.

GROSS: Received in formalin are 19 tissues to 8 cm. in greatest dimension that are processed in seven blocks.

MICROSCOPIC: Lung: The parenchyma has congestion, marked hemorrhage, some edema, and varying degrees of atelectasis. Hemorrhage extends into the air sacs and between the fascial planes of the syringeal muscles. Blood vessels: Mural vessels of the heart have mild arteriosclerosis. Heart: The heart has numerous petechiae throughout the myocardium. Kidney: Mild tubular necrosis is noted. Brain: The white matter tracts of the cerebellum have mild perivascular hemorrhage and myelinic edema. Skeletal muscle: Acute moderate rhabdomyolysis is noted. The following tissues are histologically within normal limits: intestine, pancreas, liver, proventriculus, ventriculus, ganglia, great vessels, and adipose.

HISTOPATHOLOGIC DIAGNOSIS: 1. Acute pulmonary congestion, hemorrhage, edema, and atelectasis.
2. Petechiae, heart.
3. Acute renal tubular necrosis.
4. Acute rhabdomyolysis.
5. Mild perivascular hemorrhage and myelinic edema, white matter tracts of cerebellum.

COMMENT: Histologic findings are consistent with acute intoxication but are otherwise not particularly specific. Principal differentials include exposure to an aerosolized toxin or possible exposure to an ingested toxin, such as an organophosphate or organochlorine. Some mild arteriosclerosis was the only underlying chronic lesion and was considered incidental. This bird was in excellent nutritional status at the time of death.”

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[reeb]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

Hmmm... it’s very complicated I think, there’s now tons of people accusing them of poisoning their birds with pesticides and stuff, as well as a very evil person commenting that they should just feed some of the food to one of their other birds and “see what happens” as an “experimental text subject”. People are so awful. I hope they find answers soon.


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[Aquila]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

I'm wondering if something got contaminated during shipping. Something in the packaging that got into the food. I've never personally had a problem with Zupreem and I think the cause would have been apparent if it was something directly related to the food's manufacture. I really hope they can find answers and that this doesn't happen to anyone else.

 

[reeb]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

It’s just such a pity what an internet uproar this has caused. I guess that’s the risk you take when you choose to publicly share something though.


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[LordTriggs]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

some people out there look to blame for anything, normally voicing tactics they would be able to stoop to

one of the first comments I saw was someone accusing them of poisoning the birds to get money from a gofundme page. Note the original post asked not to make a donation page

 

[Billdore]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

I’m sorry guys I’m a little confused. We are still awaiting more test results right? Sorry for being a little slow on the uptake. Beautiful home full of pretty birds. I can’t even imagine all the work needed.

 

[LordTriggs]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

yeah they've got results for basic level stuff and the short version is nothing conclusive.

The only thing I can see happening is they get so focused on the food that they won't be able to tell if it was anything else. Food seems to be the easiest culprit right now because of the different rooms but to be frank I would be surprised food would kill that fast. Note it wasn't days it took for them to die but merely hours meaning something fast acting, not sure if a food can do that outside of the known toxic foods.

All that can be done is sit and wait

 

[Billdore]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

Bummer thank you. On the plus side Timneh ate a single Harrison’s pellet. It’s a start baby. Good luck everyone.

 

[dhraiden]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

Wanted to add this, as that statement from Zupreem prompted me to poke around the Kaytee site and see if I could find a similar disclosure.

I'm still feeding Mango & Mochi a mix of Zupreem fruit pellets (having been fed to them with no issues for months now), Goldenfeast CA/SA Preserve blend, and Kaytee's Gourmet Big Bites Fiesta blend for Small Parrots and Conures, the last of which I started blending in shortly after all this came out.

A2LA Certification - Kaytee Products

 

[Mindy]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

I just read through all of this, what a terrible thing.
I'm in Michigan and do feed Zupreem (I buy a bunch of different bulk foods from my local pet store and mix them) and my two are thankfully fine.
I'm going to reach out to the breeder and see if he's had problems, he feeds Zupreem.

 

[Kentuckienne]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

I'm wondering also about the chance of something odd entering the food chain. Castor beans are a source of ricin, a nearly undetectable poison, and the castor plant has become a weed in parts of the south. Also the pressed castor bean cake (left over from making castor oil) is heat treated to destroy the ricin and made into feed for cows, sheep and poultry and used for fertilizer. I found a record of a whole bunch of ducks, like hundreds, dying in Texas from eating castor seeds. Mostly it doesn't kill if eaten, but birds have gizzards and strong stomach muscles which can grind the hulls and release the toxin.

If I were really paranoid, there are paramilitary style groups in Michigan that were buster with instructions/equipment to make ricin, but they didn't catch them actually making it. Testing your new poison on animal feed before putting it to use? X-files worthy speculation. But the stuff could conceivably enter the food chain naturally.

 

[reeb]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

Very interesting idea and information to consider.


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[texsize]

Re: Please read, many birds dead at rehab, food to blame?

What stands out to me in the latest information is this.

Some of the food was donated.

I should think that the food was sealed when it was received but I would be looking closely at that angle.

Texsize