lead/zinc in water

[ElliesMom]

Every year, our neighborhood gets a report from the board of health telling us how our water tested for minerals and whatnot. Ours came in June and I have misplaced it, so I cannot quote the levels, but I know that (for humans) the lead level was ok. The large city near us has areas where the lead in the water is very high and has caused birth defects and even death in children. I've never considered this before until I was reading over some of the posts on toxicity in bird cages. We've had Ellie since June 2, 2009 and never had any problems yet, but should the zinc and lead in the water be a concern? What other chemicals/minerals should I be concerned about? We do have a water filter that we use for our drinking water as our water does have quite a bit of calcium and my roommate gets kidney stones quite often. Would this take out the yucky stuff for her, too?

[Mama2ManyMouths]

I did some research, but have been unable to discover what (if any) household filter systems are effective against zinc. Some even use copper and zinc to remove other minerals including: "chlorine, chloramines, iron, lead, bacteria, hydrogen sulfide, and hundreds of other problem contaminants from the water supply."

from this site: http://www.inspiredliving.com/cuzn-water-filtration/how-cuzn-works.htm

We have a whole house filter that removes particulate matter (mostly organics) and a secondary filter containing activated carbon that reduces/removes chlorine. One tap in the kitchen has two filter cartridges on it. One carbon filter, and the other is a porous ceramic impregnated with silver to fine filter the water even further and the silver kills bacteria and doesn't allow bacteria to grow inside the filter when it's not in use. We've had this second filter for nearly twenty years and the cartridges need replacing every few year (the ceramic one is scrubbable), but the whole house filter cartridges are immense and only need changing once every 15 to 20 years or so as they are self maintaining (reverse flushing - every so many hundred gallons or thereabouts.)

Our water is primarily soft rain water, but supplemented with well water by the township, as needed to keep up the volume and pressure. The whole house filter does help cut back on the scaling of appliances considerably, and keeps the water "sweet" with no metallic taste.

Here's the website for the whole house filter system:

Canadian site: http://thinkclearblue.ca/home.php

American site: http://www.kinetico.com/KineticoDifference/ContactUs.aspx

[StephGee]

That's a really, really good question that I do not know the answer to. (I know that's not helpful)

[ElliesMom]

Well, I looked up that Larry guy who talks on here about having cages tested, and here is his response:

Hi Ariel,

That is an excellent question. Most people don't even think about their drinking water as a potential hazard to birds.

At our home, we have a well with heavy concentrations of lime. So, I give my Umbrella only bottled water.

Heavy metals behave in strange ways. They cannot be easily removed from water by filtration or boiling. And the worst part about them, they are cummulative in the system, whether human or bird. Lead is the worst of the bunch, followed by mercury. Lead collects in fatty tissues, bones and brain. Unfortunately, it is not flushed out of the body like minerals are through normal digestion and elimination. So, over a period of time even low doses of heavy metals can cause permanant nuerological damages. The effects might not be noticed for years, but it could certainly shorten a bird's life.

Bird's physilogical system, inluding: lungs, digestive processes, and brain functions are so much different and so much more delicate than those of mamals. We humans can take a lot more body abuse than birds. Birds are easily affected by things such as teflon gas poisoning, scented candles, air fresheners, arisols and cleaning agents. I only use vinegar-water solutions for cleaning. And birds are most affected by heavy metals. Just do a Google on "heavy metal poisoning in birds" and what you will find is not pretty.

So -- if it were my bird in your situation, I would be using bottled water only.

If you have any further questions, please email me and I will be happy to help.

Larry

I thought I'd share because I'm sure we're not the only people with less than perfect water!

[Parrotdise]

This is good information. I've only been concerned about parasites in water. I realize not everyone feeds their Parrotlets pellets however, Harrisons Bird Food includes clay which draws heavy metals out of the body.

When choosing bottled water be sure it isn't city water that's being bottled.

Kathleen, Lola & Remy

[Mama2ManyMouths]

The clay in Harrison's is the same as the clay that macaws consume in the wild. I know it has been shown to help to bind the toxins in some of the foods they eat to prevent those toxins from entering the blood stream, but I've never heard of it chelating heavy metals from their bodies.