Fatty liver disease

Fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis) develops when too much fat builds up in the liver cells and the liver can no longer work properly. It most often affects overweight birds that eat too many seeds and get too little exercise. It develops slowly, but in its late stages it can be life-threatening.

The liver processes fat from food. If a bird takes in more fat and energy than it uses over a long period, the excess is stored in the liver. The liver becomes enlarged, yellowish and fragile, and gets worse and worse at its jobs: making proteins, blood clotting, clearing toxins from the body and renewing the beak and feathers.

The most common causes and risk factors:

• too many seeds and too much fatty food – unlimited sunflower seeds, hemp, peanuts and millet
• too little exercise – a bird that doesn’t fly and sits in a small cage all the time
• obesity
• susceptibility of certain species: budgerigars, cockatiels, lovebirds, galahs and Amazon parrots
• in poultry: laying hens fed too much high-energy feed, with little exercise and in high temperatures
• mouldy food, especially peanuts, which can contain mould toxins
• thyroid disorders and other diseases

Beak and claws:

• an overgrown beak that peels, flakes or breaks easily
• tiny dark spots or bleeding in the beak
• overlong claws

Feathers and skin:

• changes in feather colour – e.g. yellow feathers where they should be green, dark stripes or patches
• untidy, greasy or ruffled feathers, increased feather loss
• dry, flaky skin, itching, scratching and feather plucking
• fatty lumps (lipomas) under the skin in overweight birds

Digestion and general condition:

• obesity, and in later stages loss of appetite and weight loss
• a swollen abdomen
• diarrhoea, yellow or bright green droppings (even the part of the droppings that is normally white is coloured)
• drinking more water than usual
• lethargy, apathy, sometimes irritability

Late and serious signs: laboured breathing due to pressure from the enlarged liver, trembling, loss of balance, seizures, prolonged bleeding even from a small wound.

• the bird is struggling to breathe or breathing with its beak open
• it has seizures, trembles or loses its balance
• it is bleeding and the bleeding won’t stop
• the abdomen is visibly swollen
• the droppings are bright green or yellow and the bird isn’t eating
• a laying hen is suddenly weak, with a pale comb

The vet makes the diagnosis based on an examination, blood tests (liver values, bile acids), X-ray or ultrasound, and sometimes a liver biopsy is needed as well.

Treatment:

• fluids and tube feeding for birds that aren’t eating, carried out by a vet
• medicines and liver-support supplements that the vet prescribes according to the bird’s condition
• treating any accompanying diseases
• a gradual change of diet and more exercise

Important: never suddenly withhold food from an overweight bird. Starvation puts extra strain on the liver and can make the disease worse. Any change of diet must be gradual and supervised by a vet. Do not trim an overgrown beak yourself, as it bleeds easily – that is a job for the vet.

• Keep a sick bird in a warm, quiet and dimly lit place.
• Keep track of how much it eats and drinks and what its droppings look like.
• Do not force-feed it or pour water into its beak.
• Once its condition has stabilised, increase exercise step by step: more time out of the cage, climbing, toys.
• Weigh the bird regularly, e.g. once a week, and record its weight.

• Base the diet on good-quality pellets and fresh vegetables, with seeds making up only a small part of each meal.
• Give sunflower seeds, hemp and nuts only as treats.
• Allow flying and exercise every day in a safe space.
• Encourage natural foraging – hide food in paper or toys.
• For poultry: a diet suited to laying hens, enough room to move around and shade in summer.
• Regular check-ups with an avian vet help to detect the disease in time.

In laying hens, a particular form of the disease is called fatty liver haemorrhagic syndrome. It most often affects hens at peak production that receive a lot of high-energy feed and get little exercise, especially during hot weather.

• the hen is heavier than usual, and her abdomen is full and soft
• egg production drops sharply
• the comb and wattles turn pale
• often there are no signs at all – the hen is simply found dead from bleeding in the liver

If your hens are dying suddenly, ask a vet to examine them to find the cause, as infectious diseases that threaten the whole flock can produce similar signs. Prevention means a properly balanced layer feed without too much maize and bread, plus enough room to move around and scratch.

Fatty liver disease is the result of too much fatty food and too little exercise, and the first signs often show on the beak and feathers. If it is caught in time, a bird can make a good recovery with a vet’s help and a gradual change of diet.