Birds with Arthritis

In the last year our family rescued a white headed paonus. She is 20 years, and has a very severe arthritis. Since she's been with us i have her on my bird diet, so it slightly helped her with this crippling disease. This is the first time i have ran in to this problem, besides dogs and cats so i have done some research on herbal remedies that will work on birds.

First off all these are the signs to look for:
- toes show dis-figuration, point in unnatural direction, you can see red swollen feet.
- When you look at the bottom off their feet you will find pressure sores
- have a hard time gripping on the perch, as well will have problems maneuvering around the cage.
- clumsy, easily lose their balance, some will spend most off their time at the bottom off the cage.

These are the few things i have found work:

Aloe Vera plant - massage joints with Aloe Vera juice,
                          - cut a small section on plant and feed to your bird as well you can take the gel and                                massage their feet. I have done both she seems to enjoy the plant.
*note some birds may be allergic to Aloe Vera so spray some on your finger touch your birds foot, wait 24 hours to see if reaction occurs. *

Raw Honey and Cinnamon - i add to the mixture off seeds raw honey and cinnamon, i have noticed very speedy recovery. Here are some other anti-inflammatory foods which are given to my birds on daily basis, grape seed extract (which is added to their drinking water you can use apple cider vinegar as well) Pumpkin seeds, yogurt, dandelion.
-Apple cider vinegar: helps maintain the optimum ph balance, so minerals do not crystallize, very effective on cats with stones.

Heat - you can use a heat light or obtain a heated perch. Works great for those colder night or winters.

You can use Aspirin for your birds, which i did use from time to time. For the use off aspirin please consult your veterinarian as well for any open sores you can use Hibitane Cream - "Antibacterial and anti-fungal.  Can be obtained though your vet. I prefer Coconut oil which works wonders on birds. ( I will do a post just on Coconut oil and its uses)

So here it is few simple things i have learned over the last year working with Taz and her arthritis, even though she's 20 i hope to have her for few more years to come. And this is the first time in months her sleeping on her perch.