Jump to content

  • You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

Is Cc A Danger From "bird Seed"?

toomuchagony

Recommended Posts

toomuchagony Apprentice
toomuchagony
Posted

Hi Gang!

Okay so now I am wondering about "bird seed" and it's danger of CC. I have 2 Zebra Finch caged birds, AND as an obvious part of our Canadian Wildlife Certified Backyard Habitat Gardens we feed da birds! Is there a danger of CC from handling the "grain laden" mixed bird seeds, suets, etc? :blink:

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Nancym Enthusiast
Nancym
Posted

I ran into someone who had elevated IgA and she couldn't figure out why because she had been gluten free a long time. She now thinks it was due to the bird seed she was using. I suppose that some of the wheat gets turned into dusty stuff and gets in the air, onto food, breathed in, etc.

kbtoyssni Contributor
kbtoyssni
Posted

I would get gluten-free food for the caged birds. The outdoor ones it depends. Maybe you could wear a mask while filling feeders or get another family member to do it?

YoloGx Rookie
YoloGx
Posted
I would get gluten-free food for the caged birds. The outdoor ones it depends. Maybe you could wear a mask while filling feeders or get another family member to do it?

Is there gluten free bird feed?

toomuchagony Apprentice
toomuchagony
Posted
  • Author
I ran into someone who had elevated IgA and she couldn't figure out why because she had been gluten free a long time. She now thinks it was due to the bird seed she was using. I suppose that some of the wheat gets turned into dusty stuff and gets in the air, onto food, breathed in, etc.

I would get gluten-free food for the caged birds. The outdoor ones it depends. Maybe you could wear a mask while filling feeders or get another family member to do it?

Is there gluten free bird feed?

Nancym... oh my oh my oh my... the bird seed, feathers, etc goes everywhere in the "little" suite I live in I'm afraid eh! I do "wash after handling seeds/suets", and I store them "in sealed containers apart as much as possible from my kitchen area" BUT my suite is sortta "1 big (wee) room" :( Sheeeeesh, I do hope it will NOT now prove necessary for me to not only go gluten-free, but also "Finch-Free"!!! :o

kbtoyssni... I don't think there is such a thing as "gluten-free Bird Food" for the Finches, they eat "grain" :ph34r: Dang eh... may be a dilemna I'll need to confront yet, but fer now I'll see "how/if" I can "minimize" within the environment to enuf degree. Lord willing I won't have to part with "Da-Guys" I truly adore their "chatter & cooing" in my daily HECTIC existing. :blink:

yolo... As I said above... I think that would be NO. Finches eat "a grains mix" that does contain "highly likely contaminated Oats" within it fer sure. The other "seeds" in it are "millet & niger" I think, but it may even contain "wheat" or "rye" as well. Incredibly, I have to admit thus far I actually have NOT read the "label" of the 2 seeds I feed, as when I bought it I had no idea I needed to and disposed of the box when I put the seeds into at first "a big plastic bag" so I could "mix the 2 up". Now I have it in an airtight container and not a bag, but have to recall to "read the boxes at the store" when I'm there, assuming that my combo "Brain Fog & Early Onset Alzheimers" permits me to remember it that is! :unsure:

Glutenfreefamily Enthusiast
Glutenfreefamily
Posted

I think you could get glutened :( I did from our guinea pig and had a horrible rash on my hands especially with cleaning the cages.

YoloGx Rookie
YoloGx
Posted
Nancym... oh my oh my oh my... the bird seed, feathers, etc goes everywhere in the "little" suite I live in I'm afraid eh! I do "wash after handling seeds/suets", and I store them "in sealed containers apart as much as possible from my kitchen area" BUT my suite is sortta "1 big (wee) room" :( Sheeeeesh, I do hope it will NOT now prove necessary for me to not only go gluten-free, but also "Finch-Free"!!! :o

kbtoyssni... I don't think there is such a thing as "gluten-free Bird Food" for the Finches, they eat "grain" :ph34r: Dang eh... may be a dilemna I'll need to confront yet, but fer now I'll see "how/if" I can "minimize" within the environment to enuf degree. Lord willing I won't have to part with "Da-Guys" I truly adore their "chatter & cooing" in my daily HECTIC existing. :blink:

yolo... As I said above... I think that would be NO. Finches eat "a grains mix" that does contain "highly likely contaminated Oats" within it fer sure. The other "seeds" in it are "millet & niger" I think, but it may even contain "wheat" or "rye" as well. Incredibly, I have to admit thus far I actually have NOT read the "label" of the 2 seeds I feed, as when I bought it I had no idea I needed to and disposed of the box when I put the seeds into at first "a big plastic bag" so I could "mix the 2 up". Now I have it in an airtight container and not a bag, but have to recall to "read the boxes at the store" when I'm there, assuming that my combo "Brain Fog & Early Onset Alzheimers" permits me to remember it that is! :unsure:

So I am wondering if somehow one could mix one's own. I mean, do they have to have oats? Or is making one's own gluten free mix just too expensive?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I do feed the outside birds but am very careful with the seed. Unfortunately I did end up having to find a home for my inside bird. I tried for a couple of years but the constant CC was just too much for me. My guy was really messy though, if your finches don't toss seed much you might be able to get away with keeping the area around the cage really clean and wearing gloves and a mask when you clean the cage.

You might be able to make your own gluten-free birdseed mix but I would contact an avian specialist before doing so to make sure you little friends have the nutrition they need. If you don't have a bird vet handy the DEC could get you in touch with a wildlife rehab person in your area. They would know what would work.

Del Rookie
Del
Posted

Sure am glad someone started this thread.....reminded me to post something I definitely found out by accident.....I have a beautiful teeny, tiny Goldies Lorikeet.....she loves to give kisses!!! Gidget, my GL, gave me kisses one night and I ended up being glutened....sure enough looked on the ingredients and there was WHEAT!!!! GL's only eat a powdered nectar.....which contain wheat....I can no longer feed her, wash her dishes or enjoy her kisses....but she can still "arrange" my hair!!!! Meant to warm everybody about it....thanks for reminding me!

Del :(

toomuchagony Apprentice
toomuchagony
Posted
  • Author

Hi Folks :D

A brief update on the situation here with Da'Guys... Well the BAD news was/is that I did confirm that in one of the "Vitamin Fortified Finch Seeds" (Hartz), there is GROUND WHEAT :ph34r: Fortunately, I was able to find an available "Finch Seed Mix", (Wetern Family) which contains NO WHEAT & NO OATS either, it is just a "millet & niger" mx, so at least that will be safe... never the less, a'course this still means that now I need to REPLACE THE DANG HUGE CAGE & EVERYTHING THAT WAS IN IT, <_< e'cept Da'Guys! AND as it happens, I can't get to do that for another week or so as am swamped, so am dreading lightly around the cage etc in the interim, and otherwise trusting by faith the Lord will grant me needed grace.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
so am dreading lightly around the cage etc in the interim,

I love the way you put that!

I am glad you were able to find a suitable seed. You might want to just take the cage out in the yard and give it a good go with a scrub brush instead of buying a new one. As long as you get it really clean you should be able to keep it.

DMS Newbie
DMS
Posted

Help! I am newly diagosed... we have two parakeets and a guniea pig (the piggie lives in my kitchen) I am reading a lot about finches.... is it just the food that I need to worry about?? what about parakeets???

DMS

5 years of lupus diagnosis (hopefully now it is celiac)

toomuchagony Apprentice
toomuchagony
Posted
  • Author
I love the way you put that!

I am glad you were able to find a suitable seed. You might want to just take the cage out in the yard and give it a good go with a scrub brush instead of buying a new one. As long as you get it really clean you should be able to keep it.

Help! I am newly diagosed... we have two parakeets and a guniea pig (the piggie lives in my kitchen) I am reading a lot about finches.... is it just the food that I need to worry about?? what about parakeets???

DMS

5 years of lupus diagnosis (hopefully now it is celiac)

Hi ravenwoodglass & DMS :D

Firstly, regards my Finches current cage... it is a BIG (3 ft high x 1 1/2 ft square) and VERY old cage, which has NO floor actually... it is simply "set into" a just slightly larger "corrigated cardboard box with about 5 in. high walls", wherein I place an "aluminum foil oven guard tray" as a "floor" lined with those "pregraveled cage liner papers", there is also a "homemade seed shield" of sorts, I have surrounded the lower 10 inches of the cage itself with more "corrigated cardboard box" by simply "twist-tying the corners together". Thus really, the truth is it is in fact long overdue for replacement, and so in this instance "making a lifestyle change for Celiac" has actually turned out to be a blessing which I feel certain shall prove to be beneficial "health wise" for both myself and also for my 2 sweet little feathered friends, as I am SURE that "cardboard" is always a convenient desirable place for all sorts of "undesirable organisims" to reside, from germs, to parasites, to wheat /grain dusts and/or molds, fungus, or.... ya git da idea eh, da cage is jis a scary place! :ph34r:

To DMS... well gee, I have to admit I am ignorant as to what exactly yer Guinea Pig "eats" :blink: Thus whether or not its presenting any dangers to yer "kitchen area" by "sharing the environmet" would seem to me dependant upon "whether or not wheat/rye/barley/oats are within any of its life requirements". As regards yer "budgies"... certainly step one for me here was "finding out what the ingredients of the seed I was feeding were, and whether wheat was present in it". In my case one turned out to be AFFIRMATIVE unfortunately, which meant a "change of seed product" was definetly necessary, but I was very pleasantly surprised that I was actually able to find a "Finch Seed Mix" which is completely safe having no wheat and no oats included in it, and amazingly "right in the same store I bought the other one at". In fact another added blessing I rather appreciate is this new "safe seed" is considerably "cheaper" too, as it happens to be the store's "house brand" (a'course not sure where ya live DMS, but I shopped at a store called "Price Smart" and the store brand is "Western Family", and I live in British Columbia Canada) Never the less though, where ever ya live. I think that if ya discover the seed/treats yer feeding to the budgies now DOES have wheat :ph34r: then ya will at the very least I'd say have to take a lesson from ravenwoodglass in the suggestion that you "scrub clean the cage/toys/etc", and then start a new utilizing ONLY foods and treats which contain NO "Celiac Grains" (or derivatives) wheat,rye,barley, and in the case of "lower pet grade products" I'd suggest staying clear of "oats" as well which can be also "contaminated by other lethal grains" :ph34r: However, the good news is, I do think it is possible that ya could just as I did, find a "suitable safe seed mix" for yer parakeets to live with ya long & happy! I do hope this is helpful to ya... sorry I can't assist ya much wit yer wee "piggie" but perhaps someone else will be able to provide ya wit information regards them yet. Meanwhile, shall pray it ALL works out :)

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Mihai's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      33

      Pain in the right side of abdomen

      @Heatherisle, I would feel much less worried if you would insist that the doctors administer high dose thiamine hydrochloride (500mg x 3 daily) for several days, with a banana bag (all eight B vitamins, riboflavin makes it yellow like bananas). Electrolytes may become unbalanced, so monitoring is needed as well. Just to rule out Thiamine deficiency...
    2. Aretaeus Cappadocia
      - Aretaeus Cappadocia replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      7

      1 Year Elimination Diet journey

      I don't know about this. Here's how I make kasha: boil water in a pot add the kasha, stir to mix, turn heat down to a gentle simmer for ~10 min, maybe 15, until tender remove from heat and serve There are lots of variations if you wish, like adding salt and butter. One variation that is really tasty, but kind of a pain, is to mix...
    3. xxnonamexx
      - xxnonamexx replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      7

      1 Year Elimination Diet journey

      What's the reasoning of washing and rinsing kasha buckwheat for 12 hrs
    4. Aretaeus Cappadocia
      - Aretaeus Cappadocia replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      7

      1 Year Elimination Diet journey

      I don't clean the kasha. It does take more than a minute but less than half an hour. However I understand the need for efficiency in the morning routine. I am not familiar with the lemon thing. Another one to consider is quinoa (I buy Kirkland, labeled gluten free). It is probably better to rinse the quinoa before cooking. I don't notice it myself but...
    5. Aretaeus Cappadocia
      - Aretaeus Cappadocia replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      7

      1 Year Elimination Diet journey

      I like the Wolff's brand coarse kasha in the grocery store, but I also like the Azure Standard products (AzureStandard.com) for buckwheat, amaranth and other ingredients. The Wolff's package in my pantry is labeled "gluten free". Azure says that their packaging plant has an allergen control program but almost none of their products are labeled gluten...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      134,052
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      10,442
    Les0924
    Newest Member
    Les0924
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.7k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Pain in the right side of abdomen

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Heatherisle, I would feel much less worried if you would insist that the doctors administer high dose thiamine hydrochloride (500mg x 3 daily) for several days, with a banana bag (all eight B vitamins, riboflavin makes it yellow like bananas).  Electrolytes may become unbalanced, so monitoring is needed as well.  Just to rule out Thiamine deficiency, high dose thiamine should be administered for several days.  If no health improvement, look for something else. The symptoms your daughter is showing are seen in Wernickes Encephalopathy caused by Thiamine deficiency.  White spots in the brain including on the frontal lobe are seen in Wernickes Encephalopathy.  Blurred vision, balance problems, changed gait (wider stance to compensate for imbalance), tingling in hands and feet, ascending neuropathy, lower back pain, kidney pain, abdominal pain are all symptoms I have experienced when I had Wernickes.  The damage becomes permanent if not corrected quickly.  Korsakoff Syndrome follows with brain damage that cannot be reversed, and death following.   Doctors are not trained in Nutrition.  Doctors are taught Wernickes Encephalopathy only happens in Alcoholism.  My doctors did not recognize Wernickes Encephalopathy because I did not drink alcohol.  If it walks like a duck... Doctors do not realize that Malabsorption from Celiac Disease can result in severe nutritional deficiency diseases, including Wernickes.  Malabsorption of Celiac Disease affects all the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals, our bodies need to function properly.  It's rare to have a deficiency in just one vitamin.  B12 Deficiency and Thiamine deficiency go hand in hand.   I had symptoms of deficiencies in many vitamins and minerals because my Celiac Disease was still undiagnosed at that time.  They laughed when I asked to be checked for Celiac Disease.  I was overweight (high calorie malnutrition).  I didn't match their " in the box" thinking.  I didn't match their concept of the wasting away, skin and bones stereotype of Celiac Disease.  My doctors wrote me off as "depressed".  I could feel myself dying.  I trusted what I learned at university about how vitamins work inside the body.  I recognized the symptoms of Wernickes and other nutritional deficiency diseases.  At home, I took 500 mg over the counter thiamine hydrochloride and had health improvement within twenty minutes.  I continued supplementing for months, with thiamine and B vitamins and electrolytes.  I continued to have health improvements.  I did suffer some permanent brain damage.  I have permanent vision problems and optic nerve damage.  Computer screens cause migraines.  I struggle through them to help others.   Ask for Thiamine and an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity Assay.  This test is more accurate than a blood test for Thiamine level, but both tests take time, during which time permanent damage can be done.  The World Health Organization recommends thiamine administration before test results come back in order to prevent permanent damage.   Trying thiamine hydrochloride is simple and cheap and safe and nontoxic.  If high dose thiamine doesn't work, there's no harm done.  Try thiamine supplementation if only to rule out Thiamine deficiency....while there's still time. References: Thiamine Deficiency and Brain Injury: Neuroanatomical Changes in the Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12535404/ Concomitant Vitamin B1 and Vitamin B12 Deficiency Mimicking Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9887457/ Please have ears to hear.
    • Aretaeus Cappadocia
      1 Year Elimination Diet journey

      By Aretaeus Cappadocia · Posted

      I don't know about this. Here's how I make kasha: boil water in a pot add the kasha, stir to mix, turn heat down to a gentle simmer for ~10 min, maybe 15, until tender remove from heat and serve There are lots of variations if you wish, like adding salt and butter. One variation that is really tasty, but kind of a pain, is to mix the dry kasha with a beaten raw egg, heat the dry kasha/egg mixture in the pot for a couple of minutes (to coat the kasha and cook the egg), then add boiling water and finish like the "basic" recipe above. I seldom have the patience to do all of that, though.
    • xxnonamexx
      1 Year Elimination Diet journey

      By xxnonamexx · Posted

      What's the reasoning of washing and rinsing kasha buckwheat for 12 hrs
    • Aretaeus Cappadocia
      1 Year Elimination Diet journey

      By Aretaeus Cappadocia · Posted

      I don't clean the kasha. It does take more than a minute but less than half an hour. However I understand the need for efficiency in the morning routine. I am not familiar with the lemon thing. Another one to consider is quinoa (I buy Kirkland, labeled gluten free). It is probably better to rinse the quinoa before cooking. I don't notice it myself but a lot of people don't like unwashed quinoa because of saponins that are removed by a rinse. All of these are reheatable if you want to make a larger amount ahead of time. Also, it may be possible to use the "overnight oats" strategy with some or all of these, but I have to say I never even thought about it until writing this response.
    • Aretaeus Cappadocia
      1 Year Elimination Diet journey

      By Aretaeus Cappadocia · Posted

      I like the Wolff's brand coarse kasha in the grocery store, but I also like the Azure Standard products (AzureStandard.com) for buckwheat, amaranth and other ingredients. The Wolff's package in my pantry is labeled "gluten free". Azure says that their packaging plant has an allergen control program but almost none of their products are labeled gluten free. I have been relying on Azure a lot for my gluten-free diet and the global outcome has been good but I never know for sure for any given product. I eat something I bought from them pretty much every day. (wish I could tell you something more definitive) Full transparency: I was diagnosed with celiac by antibody test (10x the threshold) and by biopsy, and now my antibody levels are 1/10 of the threshold, so my diet appears to be very gluten safe. However, I never had any clear acute symptoms so I never know for sure when I'm consuming gluten.
×
×
  • Create New...