Diet & treatment in older cockatiel with kidney issues

I recently adopted a 24-year old male cockatiel who has a kidney problem an must have Allopurinol (Zyloprim) mixed into his water dish every day. I don't know if he has gout, etc., since I wasn't told so. What are the diet recommendations?



A) There are very few cockatiels older than yours. A diet change is often very helpful in managing all diseases of birds but your bird may be the exception.
A bird of this advanced age needs very special monitoring to avoid the stress of diet change pushing the kidney disorder to a more advanced stage.

I would put such a bird on HEALx Builder (http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/rc/builder.pdf ), lactulose and some herbs like milk thistle and SAMe for several weeks.

Then introduce Harrison’s Bird Bread (http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/Harrisons-Bird-Bread-Mix/products/38/ ) and subsequently try High Potency Fine.
At the first sign of excess urine or drinking cut back and offer organic grey millet.
Ideally following uric acid levels is recommended but repeatedly taking blood from such a small – older bird may be too stressful.

Please work closely with your veterinarian. If they are not experienced with such delicate cases please ask for a referral.