{"id":9525,"date":"2017-09-05T21:04:19","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T21:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbirdfoodever.com\/?p=92"},"modified":"2017-09-05T21:04:19","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T21:04:19","slug":"avian-stress-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/margolincom.com\/bbfe\/avian-stress-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing Bird Feeding Customs: Understanding the Avian Stress-Response"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parrot Food and Behavior<\/h1>\n

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Did you know that companion and aviary birds are subjected to more stresses than any other animals maintained in captivity? According to information in the avian veterinary text, Avian Medicine: Principles and Application<\/em>, for birds, stresses tend to be accumulative. This means each new stressful experience is added to all the earlier ones. The problem in this is that with each new stressful experience the bird may become weakened to the point of clinical illness (where symptoms are present) or one too many stresses could result in death.<\/p>\n

What Causes Stress?<\/h3>\n
\"Corbyhealthysm\"
A healthy, symptom free, Blue and Gold macaw. Who LOVES to show his \u2018pretty wings!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Everyone who cares for more than one bird knows that behind each inquisitive face is a unique individual with a distinctive personality, even among birds of the same species. And, along with these recognizable temperaments comes each bird\u2019s particular way of interpreting what is stressful to them.<\/p>\n

For one parrot having a \u2018new\u2019 person come into your home may be a fun filled, even exciting experience, a time to show off and make a spectacle of \u2018pretty wings\u2019 or \u2018big eagle\u2019. While for another parrot, this situation, may make them feel threatened. You\u2019ll see this when they freeze, mid-movement, as if just having been spotted by a hungry predator.<\/p>\n

There are nearly an endless number of variables that can contribute to how a parrot or finch interprets changes in their environment. Previous experiences they\u2019ve had, level of socialization \u2013 or lack of interaction with people. Were they plucked from the wild as a nestling, or captive raised as a hand fed baby? Or have they lived as a \u2018feathered ornament\u2019, destined to be cage bound without any hope of having fun time on a playpen or an entertaining outing to a bird club meeting.<\/p>\n

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Take Notice<\/h3>\n

In your role as caretaker, it\u2019s important to pay attention to, and make a mental note of, how each of your birds reacts to anything new in their environment. Because what may indicate fun and games to one bird, could be the \u2018innocent\u2019 misunderstanding that starts your bird down the long road of feather destruction behavior, repetitive loud screaming or another unwanted stress related behavior. Some caretakers have even witnessed a formerly gentle and loving bird become aggressive by flailing an open beak at them, in a threatening manner, while some of these birds even start biting.<\/p>\n

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Consider a Bird\u2019s Environment<\/h3>\n

Some factors known to stress birds include shipping, overcrowded living conditions, unclean living conditions, malnutrition, poor ventilation, those of a very young or very old age, antibiotic therapy (particularly tetracyclines), corticosteriod administration, respiratory irritants such as disinfectant fumes, cigarette smoke, and ammonia, or concomitant disease \u2013 an underlying condition, not showing symptoms, that may adversely effect the proper and healthy functioning of the body\u2019s metabolism. Many of the factors described here could be grouped into a larger category described as environmental stressors.(1)<\/p>\n

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Stress-Responses Shared Between Species<\/h3>\n
\"Elvis\"
When Elvis first met me, he appeared enamored.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In birds, other animals and people the automatic, physiological, responses to stressful situations are very similar. Let\u2019s examine this relationship more closely.<\/p>\n

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Stress in People<\/h3>\n

Our muscles get tense, our heart races (starts beats faster and pounding harder), our breathing speeds up as we take in more oxygen. This is how our body prepares us to either fight or run, known as the \u201cfight or flight\u201d syndrome.<\/p>\n

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Stress in Birds<\/h3>\n

Avian physiology closely resembles ours, making their response to stress much like our own. Muscles become tense, while both their breathing and heart rate increases. But what takes place in the body to prepare an individual to take on a perceived life or death situation? The body\u2019s natural hormones jump into action.<\/p>\n

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The Natural Response<\/h3>\n

Hormones are the chemicals that command certain parts of the body to take action. In birds the adrenal glands produce corticosterone, their most important corticoid hormone.(1)<\/p>\n

Corticosterone regulates nutritional metabolism and the flow of blood throughout the body. It is essential during times of stress and regulates the production and balance of other biologically active substance produced during the stress response.(1)<\/p>\n

In people if this stress-response takes place too often, or even daily, doctors call it \u2018chronic stress\u2019. However, in birds if the stress-response is left unchecked and continues repeatedly, the stress related release of corticosterone, and the other biologically active stress induced substances would cause the animal to go into shock.(1)<\/p>\n

During the stress-response, a bird\u2019s body immediately starts producing higher amounts of glucose for the increased energy needs of fighting or fleeing. To fuel these accelerated energy needs, after the carbohydrates stored in the body have been depleted \u2013 this depletion occurs in about 24 hours<\/strong> \u2013 the body next starts breaking down its protein and fats. This is an alarming fact.<\/strong> It\u2019s alarming because the way the body breaks down these proteins and fats is to start consuming the amino acids in its own skeletal muscles. This process is called gluconeogenesis.(1)<\/p>\n

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