Here are some common health care concerns that every companion should know and understand. Your parrot is very dependant on you for care and life's essentials. The more you know, the better (and safer) your parrot will be.

Vitamin A deficiency

The most common preventable avian disease is hypovitaminosis A, or vitamin A deficiency, with or without accompanying secondary infections. Pet birds that eat only seeds (especially sunflower seeds and peanuts) are most prone to this problem because an all-seed diet is low in vitamin A.

When vitamin A deficiency occurs, the cells that line the respiratory, reproductive and digestive tracts undergo structural change, making them unable to secrete mucous. Since mucous acts as a protective blanket to prevent invasion from pathogens (disease- causing agents), vitamin A deficiency allows environmental bacteria and other microorganisms to penetrate the mucous membrane barrier and set up "housekeeping" within these tissues.

To ensure your bird against a vitamin A deficiency, offer it foods such as cantaloupe, papaya, chili peppers, broccoli leaves and flowers, carrots, sweet potatoes, turnip leaves, collards, endive, butter, liver, egg yolks, beets, dandelion greens and spinach (see chart for relative vitamin A content). The daily use of one of the many good quality powdered vitamins will also help keep this common, preventable disease from afflicting your birds.

Aspergillosis

Aspergillosis is the most common fungal infection in birds caused by aspergella fumigates. Although birds are commonly exposed to the spores of this fungus, they develop the disease only under certain conditions. If a bird's immune system is suppressed by a concurrent illness, malnutrition or stress, it may become sick after exposure. Stress-induced Aspergillosis is frequently seen in birds subjected to surgery, reproduction, environmental changes, capture, confinement or shipping.

Aspergella, as well as other fungi, grows readily in damp, dark conditions with poor ventilation. Encrusted fecal matter, damp feed, dirty feeding utensils and food that falls through cage grates all encourage mold growth. Interestingly, we see a high incidence of Aspergillosis in birds in the southwest where the environment is dry and not conducive to fungal replication. The speculation is the low humidity, coupled with the dusty environment, interferes with the normal mucous secretion in the birds' respiratory tracts and predisposes them to mycoses.

Two forms of Aspergillosis are commonly seen in Amazons. The first is an acute generalized form characterized by the fungus in the lower respiratory tree as well as in the intestinal tract and other organs. Patients with this form of Aspergillosis exhibit labored respiration, severe depression and extreme emaciation, and are generally very ill. Unfortunately, the mortality rate is exceptionally high in this form. The second form is called a chronic localized form. This is the most common type of infection seen in Amazons. This chronic Aspergillosis tends to develop localized aspergellomas (pockets of fungal infection). The location will determine the clinical signs. A common place for aspergellomas to localize in Amazons is in the sinus cavity, characterized by intermittent mucoid exudation.