Milo's story.... wing flipping and toe tapping

[MoreGooder]

I am a frequent poster over at LandOfVos, but I thought it would be nice to post my recent discovery here about the wing flipping and toe tapping my male Vos has been dealing with for quite some time.

I discovered that Milo is allergic to corn! As it turns out, corn is not only one of the Eclectus Parrots favorite food, it is also a food source that has a high occurance of allergic reaction. Unfortunately, it is really hard to find food that doesn't have corn in it unless its simply fresh fruits and veggies.

Here's how I discovered the allergy:

I had transitioned Milo off of a colored pellet onto fresh veggies, and almost every day there was corn in his bowl since I read that it is an Ekky's favorite food. He was fed boiled corn on the cob, canned corn, even dehydrated organic corn. Milo started wing flipping and toe tapping soon thereafter, and I couldn't figure out why. He chewed the stem of every wing feather and back feather until they were barely hanging on by threads. He looks like a mess now. Milo had spasms in his right leg. He would even fall over if he had a wing flip while trying to roost on one foot. I believe the wing chewing was a response to his wing flipping. I've read stories where birds chew their toes and feet when toe tapping. He's only 6 months old, so hormones certainly aren't the cause.

At one point I ran out of corn and didn't feel like I needed to rush to the store to get more corn for him because I had introduced him to Avarian Miracle Diet and it had a small amount of corn in it amongst the other ingredients. The toe tapping and wing flipping stopped. I thought it was due to the AMD alone. Later that same week I put some dehydrated corn ("Just Corn" brand) in the bottom of the bowl with the AMD on top because I knew corn was a favorite. 24 hours later and he was toe tapping again, 48 hours later wing flipping and toe tapping both. I noticed the trend, but didn't have proof so I had to do a test. I put Milo on a diet of brown rice (fully cooked) and dehydrated peas. 4 days later, no wing flipping and toe tapping. First sympton to disappear was the wing flipping, the toe tappign frequency came down until none occured. His poops even changed color during this phase, from green to brown and back to green.

Next, I had to do the heartbreaking thing and put him back on corn to check for toe tapping. Only brown rice and dehydrated corn was fed. 24 hours later the toe tapping returned . Now, he's been off of corn for another three days and the symptoms are completely gone.

So, no more corn for Milo. If you have a bird that is having trouble with wing flipping and toe tapping, the problem may very well be diet related.

Also, I should point out that when he was on the corn and rice diet I could actually hear noises from his digestive system similar to an upset stomach. He now no longer makes any such noises, and his poops are completely normal looking.

Today I've started to reintroduce some other favorite foods such as apple, sweet potato and various seeds. I'll be watching carefully for wf/tt while these other foods pass through his system.

He's a much happier bird when he's not eating corn. He's more vocal, more active and wants to cuddle more. I think it's due a more restful sleep, no more indigestion and no more stress from involuntary muscle contractions.

[RingneckedPrincess]

What an ekkie parront's worst nightmare is...dreaded toetapping and wingflipping. Man that is hard but atleast you found what was causing it! Good on you for keeping that close an eye on the fid.

Dani

[MoreGooder]

Also, when I took Milo to the vet, I had a full work-up done on him. Blood work and stool test were perfect, but the x-rays showed a swollen spleen. A quick google check indicates that the two organs most affected by a food allergy are the lungs and the spleen.

If you're bird is wing flipping and toe tapping, have an x-ray done and check for a swollen spleen. Although a swollen spleen can be caused by numerous problems, this would be a clue to a food allergy.

[felisdomesticus]

thank you for sharing your experience. I often feed my girl corn because she loves it so much. We haven't had any wing flapping or toe-tapping but I will definitely keep this information in my mind!

[jimpierce7]

so far I really don't know what toe tapping or wing flipping actually looks like and I pray it stays that way! Thank you for this post. Sophie is almost 11 months old and so far seems to have no sensitivities or alergies to anything.

[tiny_teesha]

look, this is just my theory.....i dont have an eccie
VitA is fat soluble....you can O.D. on VitA....i think wing flipping and toe taping is caused by an overdose on VitA.....corn is high in vit A. Try giving him something else high in vitamin A, and lots of it. See if that causes it. I think tappign and flipping occurs when the body has too much vitamins and gets toxicity responses....when ekkies are fed diets too high in vitamins or supplements this occurs....i'm just joining the dots... i could be wrong. What makes us thing these bird need so much vitmains anyway? They would need lots of energy and fibre, but why vitmains? They are no more special than any bird that produces green feathers.....why do we think they need so much??? Excessive amounts?
from what ive read from web sites its mainly a lack of calcium and/or excersise (perhaps lack of vit D) as well as over nutrition or supplements or heavy metal poisoning.

[MoreGooder]

I understand what you're saying, tiny_teesha. I noticed very mild toe-tapping a day after I fed Milo some sweet potato this week, which is extremely rich in vit a. 48 hours after no sweet potato and the toe tapping was gone.

I will do another experiment starting Monday. sweet potato, brown rice and peas. If I notice tt'ing, then I'll know it's vit-a induced.

Actually, this would be great news because then I might not need to pick the corn pieces out of his Avarian Miracle Diet.

[CALVINS MOM]

Strange - I have heard that toe tapping and wing flipping can be caused by a lack of Calcium. Has anyone heard that one? Also, Spirulina. This is the first I have heard about corn. Although it makes sense - I used to feed Harrison's along with the blend we prepare at the store where I work (the first ingredient in Harrison's is corn). One of mine started toe tapping (I have six but only one started). I cut out the Harrison's and it went away. I wonder if it was the corn.... I often give mine sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, etc. - all the Vitamin A veggies... so far no problems. I wonder if we will ever know.

[MoreGooder]

Well, I'm not sure sure that its just corn anymore. tiny_teesha's theory that too much vit-a could is the cause might be true. I've noticed tting and wfing after feeding sweet potato as well.

We know that the Eclectus subsists on a nutrient sparce diet in the wild. I think it stands to reason that their little bodies aren't capable of handling an influx of nutrients that they cant use fast enough, resulting in a toxicity issue. I'm doing more online research now on this. But, I'm tired of using my bird as a test subject. He's generally pretty miserable when he's toe tapping, and he chews his feathers. He's not plucking, just chewing. His wings are a complete mess. I can't put him through any more experiments.

[jimpierce7]

I have seen links to alergy type foods on other forums I read. Sophie tears up sweet potatoe, squash of all kinds and most beta-caratine foods. Storys I have read about others seeking out alergies is really hard. I will see what I can find if any will help the poor guy. He must be itchin something fearse.