Zinc Toxicosis: Separating Fact from Fiction

Continually evolving changes and advances in avian veterinary medicine have lead to changing and evolving diagnostic approaches towards laboratory testing the clinically normal as well as the obviously ill avian patient. These advances have come from controlled scientific studies, primarily from universities and from careful data collection and assessment by astute clinicians. Zinc toxicosis testing and diagnosis is included in this continually changing arena in avian medicine. As a general rule, avian practitioners must be particularly careful when using diagnostic tests, which are based primarily on testimonials rather than reproducible or validated data. Care is also needed when clinically interpreting laboratory test results. This discussion is focused on blood testing for zinc content and the interpretation and clinical application of those results.