Treatment For Fatty Liver Disease In Birds

Fatty liver syndrome is a condition that affects only hens primarily caged layers.

Treatment for fatty liver disease in birds. Also juvenile birds may be diagnosed with this disease. Fatty liver disease often referred to fld that is found in birds is an illness that causes excessive amounts of fat to be deposited into the liver. This is a very serious condition that if not treated can be fatal. Most birds with fatty liver disease show all or most of the above clinical signs.

C 2004 elsevier inc. Regular physical examinations with blood and chemistry testing are very important to detect this disease before it gets to a crisis state. This may be linked to the hormonal activities in the reproductive hen. What causes fatty liver.

Birds should be switched to a low fat diet because a seed only diet does not provide adequate nutrition. It is a metabolic or nutritional disease and is characterised by general obesity with an enlarged fatty liver that becomes soft and easily damaged. It s a build up of harmful fat around the liver compromising the detoxification process and causing the bird to feel extremely sick. It is most prevalent in quaker parrots cockatoos cockatiels budgies and amazon parrots.

Our findings reaffirm that the liver of birds is an. The veterinarian will want to stabilize hepatocyte cell membranes and minimize fibrosis in order to have a positive effect on the liver. Many times blood tests will show lipemia fat in the blood anemia low number of rbcs and icterus jaundice or yellowing. In the worst cases fatty liver disease can be fatal.

Avian liver disease can be treated with exercise correct nutritional support and appropriate medications it is possible to reverse the affects of hepatic lipidosis. Fatty liver treatment in birds if a bird is diagnosed with fatty liver disease the treatment will probably involve a diet and lifestyle change. Treatment of liver disease in birds since the liver is able to regenerate itself when the structure is intact treatment will involve keeping the liver stable and strong. Autopsy id so important after death in an aviary.

Treatment of liver disease then is discussed using the aims described above. Fatty liver can occur in any bird but it is most common in lovebirds cockatiels cockatoos amazon parrots quaker parrots and budgies. Mortality rates vary and death is often caused by internal haemorrhage due to rupture of the liver. Females appear to be more affected than males.

Some birds with fatty liver disease may die and the remaining flock are all affected. If your bird is showing symptoms of fatty liver hepatic lipidosis he should be seen by an avian veterinarian. Because a bird s liver literally replaces itself with fat the liver usually becomes enlarged. Liver disease is a slow on going progressive disease where the liver tissue is replaced with fat.