understanding the masking phenomenon

[timotian]

 

a common misconception held by many bird owners and veterinarian is that birds are not very resistant to illness. to the novice it often appears that birds show signs of illness one day, are at the bottom of their cage the next, and dead the day after.misconception has stemmed from two sources.

 

firstly,many of the birds seen in practice are only a few genertions descended from wild birds. as such , they retain many of the protective instincts inherited from their forebears.many avian species kept as companions are relatively low on the food chain. these protective instincts have been developed to avoid drawing the attention of predators.one such instinct is often known as the "Masking Phenomenon".predators are naturally drawn tp prey that look or behave differently from others.

 

unusual coloring, weakness , lameness, etc. can all single out a bird and make it attractive to a predator. a natural instinct is therefore to avoid appearing "different". a sick bird will make a determined effort to look healthy, even in the absence of predators, the classical "sick bird look" we usually associate with illness fluffed feathers, closed eyes, lethargy only develops when the bird is incapable of masking these signs. therefore , many of the patient presented to veterinarians are past the initial stages of their illness, and are now decompensating rapidly.

 

secondly, due to lack of experience, most owners and veterinarians may miss subtle changes in a bird`s behavior or appearance that are indications of a health problem. overlooking these early signs, combined with the bird`s efforts to mask obvious clinical signs, invariably lead to the delayed detection of illness and the presentation of the bird in extremis. it is important that veterinarians learn to recognize early sign of illness, and educate their clients, so that illnesses can be detected before becoming too advanced.

www.persianpet.org

[Greywings]

Yes that is true.

[CLB]

Great post! Reminds those of us that are owned by our avian friends that we need to be vigilant in observing changes in behavior....sooner rather than later.

[judygram]

Sadly this is so true which makes it ever so important to observe your parrot closely for any kind of changes, thanks for the reminder for our avian friends.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

If I ever found Sophie on the bottom of the cage, even just her checking it out... I would be freaking out! NOT her norm. Nancy