Probiotics

[Tiaris]

Who uses probiotics? What are the main benefits? Any risks or precautions which should be taken if using them? I assume their main usefulness is immediately following extensive medication - Is there any benefit apart from this?

[iaos]

I previously used a probiotic after I wormed some of my gouldians and one of them had the scours after that. I didn't really notice and improvements in its droppings in the time (about 2 weeks) that I was giving the probiotic.

I have been advised by my bird vet and also from reading that finches have very little gut flora and that the use of a probiotic is not beneficial to finches.

http://www.birdhealth.com.au/bird/finch ... bowel.html

Cheers
Ian

[Tiaris]

Interesting link, Thanks.

[jusdeb]

Only use them after a bird had had prescribed antibiotics ( vet will insist on probiotics anyway ) and if a baby comes out of the nest before 3 weeks ...after that they should have been dosed up with the parents gut flora .

[wagga]

Sounds like a Dr Danny type question.

[Myzomela]

Just to put a spanner in the works, I spoke to a specialist avian pathologist (cage birds, not poultry) who told me that he doesn't believe in the "sterile gut" theory when it comes to finches.

He said the duodenum (upper small intestine) most probably is sterile but the colon (large bowel) is not and he has frequently grown bacteria and seen bacteria in the colon in otherwise healthy birds immediately after euthanasia.

Personally, I have some doubts about the efficacy of most probiotics in birds. Most of the bacteria used are not avian-specific and the actual species probably varies anyway. Added to this they have to survive passage through the highly acidic environment of the proventriculus (stomach) before reaching the intestines.
However, there is certainly no harm in using them so if there is a chance that they may help then why not use them eg after illness or after using antibiotics.

My personal preference is to go for organic apple cider vinegar, which just acidifies the gut and discourages pathogenic bacteria from colonising.
Whether it encourages beneficial bacteria I guess is still up for debate.

[jusdeb]

From my research into ACVinegar I gather that it creates a correct PH level which allows good bacteria to grow .

One of the things that baffles me is the inclusion of probiotics into bird formulas ...how does it survive the processing and storage ? I dont believe it does .

[Myzomela]

If I was cynical I would say "marketing gimmick"- but I could be wrong!!

[jusdeb]

Well it has worked with humans so I guess the pet market would be silly not to jump in for the consumer $ as well ...

I noticed the poochies dog food has a probiotic also which is suppose to help with bad breath ...well they still have maggot breath so there goes that theory .

[VR1Ton]

The free maggots were for the birds Deb, not the dogs