Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Juvenile macaw treated for swallowing lead weights
By Archambault, A L & Timm, K I·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1994·Oregon Exotics Clinic·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Treatment of acute lead ingestion in a juvenile macaw.
- Species:
- bird
Plain-English summary
A juvenile green-winged macaw was brought to the vet after it swallowed lead weights from drapery. The vet found lead pieces in the bird's stomach and performed a procedure to flush them out. However, some lead remained, so they started a treatment to help remove it from the macaw's system. Over the next two weeks, the vet monitored the bird with X-rays, and by day 14, all lead fragments were gone. Thankfully, the macaw showed no signs of illness from the lead or the treatments.
People also search for: macaw lead ingestion treatment · bird swallowing foreign objects · juvenile macaw health issues
Abstract
A juvenile domestic green-winged macaw was admitted to the veterinary clinic within an hour of ingestion of lead drapery weights. Radiopaque objects were evident in the crop and ventriculus. The bird was anesthetized, and the crop was lavaged to remove lead fragments. Because lead fragments remained in the ventriculus after lavage, chelation treatment was instituted. Serial radiography was done on days 2, 5, 9, and 14 to determine passage of the lead. By day 14, lead fragments were not visible radiographically. The macaw did not have ill effects from the lead ingestion or from medical treatments. Because this bird had been observed ingesting the lead weights, treatment was for foreign body ingestion initially and for lead ingestion secondarily.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7829380/