A Testimonial - Kitty's Story of Overcoming Food Allergies

Hi. My name is Kitwana but everyone calls me Kitty. My story starts when I turned 2 years old. I was a big boyd and ready to spread my wings and explore the world, well at least my apartment.

For some reason, I started to get itchy. At first, it was just a little bit, but over time, it got worse and worse. It was so bad that I had to pluck out some of my feathers. Then when that didn't work, I would just scratch and scratch until I started to bleed.

My parronts were very upset. I could tell. Whenever I would scratch, they would come over and pet me and hold me and tried to make me feel better. I know I wasn't supposed to do it and when I was able to stop, I trembled from frustration and ITCHINESS.

I had to go to see the doctor many times and she did all sorts of tests. She even took a piece of my skin to see if they could determine what was wrong. None of the tests showed anything unusual. Because I broke my skin and started to bleed, my parronts had the doctor fit me with a collar. That was horrible. I had to relearn how to get around my cage and how to get to the food and water. Worse than that, I couldn't get at the itches!

My Mommy was talking with a friend who also had a Senegal. She mentioned that her bird had food allergies, specifically to corn. So I found that day that my diet had changed drastically. I got fruit and veggies in the morning and evening. There was no more of the pellets that I liked and no more of my favourite treats. I really miss my treats.

Through trial and error, we found that I was allergic to corn, apple and safflower.

It seems like everything Mommy & Daddy looked at for prepared food for me had corn and/or safflower. I could tell that they were frustrated. They were worried about providing me with a balanced diet. I really like my fresh fruit and veggies but it wasn't enough.

Guess what, Oh Boy! has none of these ingredients. Everything is organic so they don't have to worry about added chemicals and I LOVE IT!

Today, I'm a big boyd of 7 years. I still pluck a bit under my pits. I just can't seem to stop that bad habit, but I'm feeling good and don't have to scratch anymore. The collar came off shortly after the elimination diet started and I've been going strong ever since.

My big sister, Cody (the big red Eclectus) really likes Oh Boy! too. Mommy & Daddy mix calcium in her share because of the soft eggs she had in the past. This is the only way they have been able to get Cody to eat the calcium supplement. I know better and that she is just being tricked into eating her medicine! She's not as smart as I am!!

-- Sharon T., Vancouver, B.C.