Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!metro!grivel!gara!rjacobs
From: rjacobs@gara.une.oz.au ( ABRI)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: INDOOR - Novice questions about pet birds
Message-ID: <5131@gara.une.oz.au>
Date: 4 Jan 91 01:22:07 GMT
References: <5120@gara.une.oz.au> <2783609A.4D73@intercon.com>
Organization: University of New England, Armidale, Australia
Lines: 31

In article <2783609A.4D73@intercon.com>, ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry) writes:
> In article <5120@gara.une.oz.au>, rjacobs@gara.une.oz.au ( ABRI) writes:
> > So I can't still can't pass an opinion whether the vet was right or wrong.
> > A 15% loss in body weight by the cockatoo that was ill would be worrying,
> > but since the bird was ill the loss in weight was much higher than you'd
> > expect in a healthy sedentry cockatoo.
> 
> That doesn't really follow.  Illness shouldn't have anything to do with the
> amount of weight lost.  Food intake is the only reason a bird would lose
> weight unless he has a condition that robs the bird of nutrition.  The cockatoo
> had a bacterial infection that had no relation to the amount of weight lost.
> 
> Mikki Barry
> --
A bacterial infection will increase metabolic rate as the bird attempts
to put its immune response into high gear. The increase in metabolic rate
will lead to an increase in the consumption of metabolic substrates such as
carbohydrates, fats and proteins. If the bird has stopped eating, then these
substrates are supplied by the stores within the birds body rather than
its daily food. In this case, the bird will lose weight faster than if
it
did not suffer an infection. A similar effect is seen in birds during
cold weather. They increase their metabolic rate to maintain body
temperature and therefore need more food to provide the metabolic substrates.
If food is limiting they lose body weight. A bird that is fasted and lives
in a cold climate will lose weight faster than if it lived in a warm climate.

I hope this clears up the matter of the cockatoo.

Ross Jacobs