“Bird diets – Is there a need for quality control?”

Professor John Cooper

Professor John Cooper, a long-standing adviser to Haith’s, will be giving a lecture at the Spring Meeting of the British Veterinary Zoological Society (BVZS) in April. In his lecture, entitled  “Bird diets – Is there a need for quality control?”, Prof Cooper/John Cooper will point out that food is a vital part of a bird’s biological needs and contributes much to its health and welfare.  A diet that is inadequate or unsatisfactory in quantity or quality, or both, may cause a bird to become ill and its welfare will be compromised. Food items that are dusty or contain sharp, abrasive, material may damage a bird’s respiratory or alimentary tract.  In addition, poor quality diets can be a source of bacteria and of toxins (poisons) from fungi that can cause ill-health in the birds themselves or, in the case of food provided to wild birds, possibly affect other animals and, occasionally, humans.

Despite these concerns, most proprietary bird diets in the United Kingdom are not subject to screening or health monitoring analysis other than visual and manual checks for apparent quality and consistency. Preliminary studies carried out on samples of diets kindly provided by Haith’s suggest that relatively basic laboratory tests could help to ensure that products intended for captive and wild birds do not pose significant health risks. Prof Cooper/John Cooper will be discussing how examination of bird food can be carried out relatively recently easily in a laboratory and suggesting that, yes, there IS a need for quality control.

Saturday 21^st April 2012

 “Bird diets – Is there a need for quality control?”

BVZS SPRING CONFERENCE 2012 – 21 & 22 April 2012, Holiday Inn, Gloucester – WWT Slimbridge –  DISEASE MANAGEMENT AND EPIDEMIOLOGY / AVIAN MEDICINE AND SURGERY

Please note: This meeting is not open to the public. For more information about the spring conference click here.