Iodine Deficiency in Budgies (Thyroid Dysplasia)
Aug 25, 2016 8:21:21 GMT
sweetpea, milliej, and 4 more like this
Post by samwiseg on Aug 25, 2016 8:21:21 GMT
Recently a couple of members were having issues with their birds having an iodine deficiency. So I thought I would check out some of this information to see if I could post a thread that would provide useful information should you think your budgie(s) are suffering from this condition and the treatment available.
Avian Iodine Deficiency
If pet birds are not given a proper diet, they can suffer from nutritional disorders. One such nutritional disorder is iodine deficiency, which is common in budgerigars.
Iodine deficiency affects a bird's thyroid gland -- enlarging it from its usual size of three millimetres, to about one centimetre, or more. (The swelling of thyroid gland, due to iodine deficiency, is called Goitre.) For birds, the thyroid gland is located in the neck and is one of the glands that maintain proper function for various bodily organs.
Symptoms and Types
Birds deficient in iodine usually will have a lump on its neck; this is due to the enlarged thyroid gland. The animal will also have difficulty breathing, usually recognized as loud and harsh breaths, wheezing, and clicking. Some birds will have difficulty eating or regurgitate food, while others will less tolerant to stress and express behavioural problem.
Marianne Marlow reported that her hen bird JoJo symptoms were: tail bobbing, clicking when she breathed, a distressed squeak that at first, was only when she exerted herself and then it happened all the time. So it seems that the lump wasn't apparent and doesn't always show as it could be because it wasn't that advanced yet.
Treatment
As always, follow your veterinarian's advice to reverse the iodine deficiency. Lugol’s iodine at 2.5% add three drops into 100mls of water. In Marianne's experience she administered 3 drops of 2.5% iodine (mine was not lugols) for 8 days by syringing as JoJo was unable to drink for herself (at first syringed 0.1ml to her 3 times a day and then when she could drink, I used a medicine cup to give her a sip).
However, it has proven difficult to find out how long to treat your bird(s) with iodine for. (I might actually email my avian vet if I can to see if I can get a definitive answer for this). Furthermore, in my limited experience I suffer from Hypothyroidism and know I need treatment for the rest of my life. So, could this be the same for birds? Even if it meant supplementing their diet with seaweed added to their food?
Information sourced from PetMD
PLEASE NOTE: Despite us doing all we can for our budgies sometimes these conditions can occur, but remember we are not avian vets and should a health issue be apparent then it would be advisable to consult an avian vet.
If there is any supportive information you wish to add here then please do!
Avian Iodine Deficiency
If pet birds are not given a proper diet, they can suffer from nutritional disorders. One such nutritional disorder is iodine deficiency, which is common in budgerigars.
Iodine deficiency affects a bird's thyroid gland -- enlarging it from its usual size of three millimetres, to about one centimetre, or more. (The swelling of thyroid gland, due to iodine deficiency, is called Goitre.) For birds, the thyroid gland is located in the neck and is one of the glands that maintain proper function for various bodily organs.
Symptoms and Types
Birds deficient in iodine usually will have a lump on its neck; this is due to the enlarged thyroid gland. The animal will also have difficulty breathing, usually recognized as loud and harsh breaths, wheezing, and clicking. Some birds will have difficulty eating or regurgitate food, while others will less tolerant to stress and express behavioural problem.
Marianne Marlow reported that her hen bird JoJo symptoms were: tail bobbing, clicking when she breathed, a distressed squeak that at first, was only when she exerted herself and then it happened all the time. So it seems that the lump wasn't apparent and doesn't always show as it could be because it wasn't that advanced yet.
Treatment
As always, follow your veterinarian's advice to reverse the iodine deficiency. Lugol’s iodine at 2.5% add three drops into 100mls of water. In Marianne's experience she administered 3 drops of 2.5% iodine (mine was not lugols) for 8 days by syringing as JoJo was unable to drink for herself (at first syringed 0.1ml to her 3 times a day and then when she could drink, I used a medicine cup to give her a sip).
However, it has proven difficult to find out how long to treat your bird(s) with iodine for. (I might actually email my avian vet if I can to see if I can get a definitive answer for this). Furthermore, in my limited experience I suffer from Hypothyroidism and know I need treatment for the rest of my life. So, could this be the same for birds? Even if it meant supplementing their diet with seaweed added to their food?
Information sourced from PetMD
PLEASE NOTE: Despite us doing all we can for our budgies sometimes these conditions can occur, but remember we are not avian vets and should a health issue be apparent then it would be advisable to consult an avian vet.
If there is any supportive information you wish to add here then please do!