Dear Parrots magazine,
Zinc toxicity
I notice on the Parrots website Forum, that there is a post about zinc poisoning. I have seen much published about zinc toxicity over the years and am totally confused as to what is the best practice to avoid harm to my birds.
It was at a US convention some years ago when I attended a presentation about the hazards of zinc and how harmful it would be to our birds. I got into a bit of a heated debate with the presenter afterwards and still have not come to a firm conclusion.
The presentation was about the real hazards of zinc and that it should be avoided at all costs, but found it odd as just about everything I use in my aviaries contains zinc. The weldmesh on aviaries is zinc coated and I have many accessories and toys that contain zinc plate in one form or another. If what the presenter said was in fact true, most of my birds should be dead.
I think there is a lot of misconception about zinc and hope there is more research done as, I am sure, there must be many others owners who are as confused as I am.
Tony Beardsley, Warrington