Here's some action!

[msmelissa]

Hello everyone! I'm Melissa. I read this stuff all the time but haven't spent time writing any information...so here is some info about me and mine.
I have 3 dogs and 5 birds.
1 Whippet (5 yrs)
2 Beagles (3 yrs)
1 green and yellow parakeet (Paco, 3 yrs)
1 white parakeet (Sprite, unknown age, rescued feather picker)
2-5 month old cockatiels (Momo and Precious, Momo is a white faced grey and Precious is a yellow pearl).
1 Sulphur Crested Cockatoo (Pancho, 30 years)
1 husband and 3 kids.

An interesting piece of information for all you birdy people...which I suppose you won't believe...my 30 year old Cockatoo, whose name is Pancho, has PBFD (Psitticine Beak and Feather Disease). He was one of the last wild caught Cockatoos before it became illegal. He has had PBFD since he was brought to the States as a very young bird. Since birds who contract the disease usually die within 14 days, he is a very special bird! He has been studied by an aviary in Tallahassee, FL as well as my vet's blood testing company. His PBFD has been confirmed 4 times and each time, the company has referred poor Pancho to another "higher up" company until he ended up getting blood sent to the aviary in Tallahassee. They didn't even charge me for any of the samples or blood tests that they have done on him! Pancho has been congratulated by the aviary for still being alive and happy and they said that he has lived longer than any other bird with PBFD. The longest they've kept one alive is 18 months.

I do have to be careful that my birds don't come in direct contact with his feces but signs indicate that he may not even be CONTAGIOUS! If you'd like a picture of my ugly beauty, let me know!
I am not the most computor literate person so I only know how to email a picture...how do you guys post them on this site???

Well, now you have some info. for your board!!!

Melissa

[claire22]

i bet kerry knows how to post pics, but I WANNA SEE I WANNA SEE!! welcome to the board

[Michael B]

I think you can post pictures by pressing "reply" (as opposed to the quick response on the bottom of the message). Then press the image button above the message. It will add two image commands in brackets on your message. Between these you paste the web address of where your image is posted. You must first have your image uploaded onto the web; there are commercial websites like Photobucket where you can do this for free, and it's not too difficult.

I didn't know what a whippet was before. It sounds more like a frisbee than a dog. It's very interesting about Pancho and PBFD. I wonder if the virus is weak, or if Pancho is the next step in the evolution of life on this planet. You think?
I just looked it up here:
www.avianbiotech.com/Diseases/PBFD.htm
It says:
"Causes fatal infections, primarily in young birds. Older birds may overcome the disease with few lasting affects. Some believe that these surviving birds become carriers able to shed the disease at a later date. Others believe that a percentage of birds are able to eradicate the disease from their system leaving them with a natural immunity that can be passed on to their offspring."
So what do they mean about him being so unusual? Is it unusual because he got it young when it's more likely to be lethal, or perhaps the strain of PBFD he has is more lethal than other strains of the disease? ...Or perhaps it's worse in Cockatoos than in other parrots?
I just checked another web site, and found:
"Although birds showing signs of disease usually die, it is common for birds to be exposed to the virus, develop a mild infection, and recover." Both mention cockatoos as the most susceptible. So, perhaps what's unusual is that Pancho is a cockatoo and shows symptoms, yet survives?

It's nice to meet you and hear about your pets.
I'm Michael and have just one grey rescued Cockatiel, and previously had a rescued budgie, who unfortunately after about 7 years unrescued herself. (I hope she rerescued herself).

[Sivin]

Hi Melissa,

Your post was so interesting! Is Pancho more apt to pick up infections than the other birds? I wonder what happened to the other birds owned by the establishment you bought him from. Do you have him on any special meds? Please try to post a pic. Michael's instructions sound good.

Regards,
Sivin

[msmelissa]

Thanks for your interest and help with the pics...I'll do my best to post some!
Here is what I understand about PBFD, it is a very contagious virus that has a number of different strains. It is not the "disease" itself that usually kills the bird but a secondary infection that the bird's weakened immune system cannot fight. Any bird in the parrot family can catch the virus but Cockatoos are most susceptible. Any bird that shows symptoms (ie: feather loss, breaking beak) is usually dead within 14 days, no matter the prior condition of the bird. If the bird is exposed but does not show these symptoms, it usually will not die. We do not know why some birds do not succumb to PBFD exposure.
To answer your question about why Pancho is special, he contracted PBFD as a young bird less than 1 yr old, he shows symptoms of the disease and he's lived with it for 30 years.
He cannot grow feathers fully as the blood is cut off from each forming feather before it grows out (therefore he's ugly as sin!) he also does not have a full beak...it is broken about halfway up and we take him to the vet about every other month to have him put under so we can work on his beak with a dremmel bit to even it out so he can eat. Birds with PBFD will starve to death once their beak becomes too bad, we fight that pretty hard with Pancho.
Avian biotech is the company that took the blood samples of Pancho and they said he is also unusual because he is a carrier of PBFD (per the numerous blood samples) but when they tested swabs from Pancho, his cage, his feathers, and his fecal matter, none of them came up as a true positive for PBFD, which is very strange. They have never had a bird that showed the physical symptoms of PBFD, tested positive in the blood tests, but didn't test positive when swab samples were taken.
I hope this answers some of your questions. There are also multiple websites that have information on PBFD. These are where I learned the most about it (although it sounded to me like some of them contradicted each other a bit, which tells me there probably aren't too many experts on the subject).
I'll work on the picture thing too!
Melissa

[Sivin]

Interesting stuff, Melissa...

I was aware of the disease but only in a passive sense since we never had to deal with it. Has anything else in Pancho's chemistry ever suggested a mutation (of Pancho) to the vets? This is an interesting thing.

Thanks,
Sivin

[msmelissa]

I had to laugh when you asked about the "mutation" possibility...wait until you see a picture of him!!!
Realistically though, I've wondered that myself and asked Avian Biotech whether Pancho could help provide a vaccine against PBFD. They said it isn't something they are working on...so, no. It's likely better that way (for Pancho anyway).
Also, to answer your question, the blood samples and whatnot that he's given don't suggest that he is anything but very very lucky!
Still working on the pics...he posed very nicely for me (meaning I bribed him with a tortilla and he stood still for more than a millisecond).
Melissa

[msmelissa]

Michael,
I see that you know what you're doing here...I have pics uploaded onto photo bucket...how do I get the link to display here?

I tried the image thing that you mentioned, and I guess that's too far beyond my expertice (my dog could do better) so could you give me a little help?

Melissa

[msmelissa]

Michael,

That post was a little confusing...it is simple enough to paste the link. My problem is that I don't have a link to paste!!! I guess my real question is where do I find the link ON the other site so I can paste it FROM the other site?

(This is sounding a bit odd about now)

Melissa

[msmelissa]

Hello!

You know what everyone??!!!
I figured it out! (I think )
Here are some pictures of Pancho...maybe.

[http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s283/msmelissabreun/]

Let's see if that works!

Melissa

[Michael B]

It's very interesting.
My guess is that it is something about Pancho's biology that keeps him alive, and not spreading the disease. It sounds too atypical to me to just be luck (but what do I know?). I'm thinking of the way some people have a mutation that prevents expression of a certain receptor (CCR5) on their blood cells, so they can be very heavily exposed and never get AIDS. HIV requiers CCR5 to get into the cells. Pancho could also have a mutant gene that stops or mutates some protein in him that the PBFD virus requires for it's life cycle. If there are people studying it they could be really interested in studying him. I'm thinking it would just require old feathers to check out his DNA and see what's different.

You're really special (oh, well, I kind of don't like that overused word but can't think of another one now) to be giving Pancho such care. How long have you had him? Are you the original owner?

[msmelissa]

A bit more,

Here's a bit more of Pancho's story.

Pancho was seen in an aviary about 30 years ago by a very sweet woman who took pity on

his terrible state and purchased him. She brought him home to her husband (Aldi) and they

happily owned him for many years. Eventually the sweet lady died of cancer and Aldi

remarried an even lovlier woman (Mary) and they lived happily with Pancho for many more

years. Well, about 4 years ago Aldi suffered a stroke and he also died. Mary was now the

only one left for Pancho. They lived just a short time together before Mary was diagnosed

with leukemia. (Enter my husband and I.) Now when we went to visit Mary in the hospital

she was concerned for Pancho and told us that he wasn't very nice to strangers and that all

of her 8 grown children were in and out of her house taking care of "things", including Pancho.

Nick(my husband) and I went home and spent many days talking about Pancho, we already

have 3 kids and plenty of pets...let alone the lifespan of a Cockatoo and the medical

difficulties of Pancho in particular. We decided to tell Mary that we would give Pancho a new

home. He came home to us in 2005. In late 2005 Mary died. At her funeral Pancho was

among those pictured as her family. So were Nick and I, for Mary and Aldi were my husband's

grandparents! Nick has known Pancho since he was a child and I've known Pancho since I

married Nick 10 years ago.

To anyone who thinks getting a Cockatoo is a great idea:

Remember that these birds can live 80 years in captivity!!!!!

Sorry, I don't mean to preach, but I'm sure you all understand exactly what I mean!!!

Most of my critters have an interesting story, if you want to read another one, let me know.

Regards,

Melissa

[claire22]

aww, hes soo cute!! maybe only bird-lovers would say that, but i think hes just adorable!!

that part where Mary an Aldi were your husband's grandparents took me by surprise!! but thats such a good story, though so sad!

well, i lil info on me and my critters:
Spunky: male blue parakeet, about 2 and 1/4 years old. i got him from PetSmart, he was my first bird, and always seems to stick out =D!

Smokey: male grey parakeet, also about 2 and 1/4 years old. also from PetSmart, i got him 6 days after Spunky, thinking Spunky was lonely (pssh!). he's the most..independent one, yeah there ya go.

Sweetie: female American Yellow Pacific Parrotlet, about 1 and 1/4 years old. i got her from a breeder thats in my bird club, and have
never regretted it =D

Sarah (see the 'S' pattern here?): my female border collie, shes..7 and 1/2 (?? wow, shes getting old!!) i love her to death, in fact, shes sleeping right next to me, as my arm-rest!

i used to have two cats, Dusty and Perdy, they were both put to sleep in (Dusty) 2004 and (Perdy) 2006. Dusty ha artheritis in her two back legs, and her quality of life was fading =(. Perdy was just old and coulnt get around as easily. i miss them both so much!

ive had lizards, toads, frogs, a tortoise, and..a turtle back when i was 2.

[Sivin]

Melissa,

That's a touching story. I've heard these birds can also be very tempermental. You might want to mention that to this crew! We're just suckers for birds.

Regards,
Sivin

[Michael B]

My birds might have interesting stories, but I don't know them.
My budgie was found at my parents bird feeder. My mother caught her with seeds, stick, string, and a laundry basket. She flew out he door with the recycle and some bad timing 7 or 8 years later, so I only know some of her story.
Cockatiel was found while searching for Jingles, the budgie. I saw someone's "found bird" sign with a sketch of a cockatiel while I was putting up my "lost bird" signs. A couple of weeks later the 'finder' called me from the number she's seen on my signs, hadn't found the owner and asked if I'd take her. They were taking good care of her in a sideways rabbit cage -they're rabbit people. Cockatiel was found on the street with her tail feathers cut off, and had little flight experience I noticed.
So, I don't know their stories.

About Pancho's medical condition, it's possible I had it backwards. Instead of having some mutation that enables him to escape PBFD, maybe he has an immune disfunction that causes the disease to lag on, instead of being one of those cases of a carrier with no visible disease. ? I suppose getting it young makes it more likely to be a miracle survivor, as you say it's more lethal to the young. Perhaps he caught it on the day he was becoming old enough to resist it, and was caught between??