09/19/2026
If you missed yesterday’s Avian Medicine & Nutrition Symposium… WOW, you missed an incredible day!
We were thrilled to welcome 138 paid registrants from 17 countries for a full day devoted to one shared goal: raising the standard of knowledge, nutrition, medicine, and care for birds.
And what a lineup of experts we had.
🎤 Dr. Donald Brightsmith served as our MC and did an amazing job guiding us through the day, connecting the presentations, and helping bring together perspectives from veterinary medicine, nutrition, research, conservation, and the wild.
🩺 Dr. Stephen Fronefield kicked things off with What Every Avian Veterinarian Should Know About Avian Patients.
Dr. Fronefield combined decades of practical avian experience with his incredible sense of humor, making a highly educational presentation both engaging and memorable. Even more impressive, he stayed with us throughout the entire day, answering questions in the chat and sharing his knowledge with attendees.
That kind of commitment to education and improving the standard of avian care deserves recognition. Thank you, Dr. Fronefield!
🔬 Dr. Liz Koutsos followed with a fascinating discussion about what we know about avian nutrition and, just as importantly, what we still don't know.
She reviewed peer-reviewed research and highlighted an important reality in avian nutrition: obtaining definitive nutritional answers for every species is extraordinarily difficult.
Some of the most comprehensive nutritional studies require researchers to evaluate internal organs and tissues, which can require sacrificing study animals. Understandably, there are significant ethical considerations surrounding this type of research.
So why don't we already know the exact nutritional requirements of every avian species?
Because responsible science takes time, resources, careful study, and ethical consideration.
We are all working with the best knowledge available today while continuing to ask better questions and support responsible research that moves avian nutrition forward.
This is also why Harrison’s provides up to $250,000 annually in avian wellness, conservation, and nutrition grants. We believe advancing avian health requires more than talking about research it requires helping fund it.
🌎 Then Dr. Brightsmith had the unfortunate pleasure of introducing himself!
Of course, for anyone familiar with parrot conservation and field research, Dr. Donald Brightsmith hardly needs an introduction.
His presentation gave us remarkable insight into what wild parrots actually eat but perhaps even more importantly, how wild parrots actually LIVE.
Wild parrots are extraordinary athletes. They may travel enormous distances sometimes 150+ miles while searching for food and their lives involve dramatically different levels of activity, food availability, environmental pressures, and energy expenditure than those of our companion birds.
He also discussed the natural cycles wild parrots experience, including periods of food abundance followed by leaner periods.
That distinction is incredibly important.
A captive parrot is not living the life of a wild parrot.
Their activity levels, energy expenditures, food availability, and nutritional circumstances can be profoundly different. We should respect those differences rather than assuming we can recreate a wild parrot's diet by purchasing fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds at the grocery store.
The goal isn't to pretend our companion birds live in the wild. The goal is to understand what science and nature can teach us while providing nutrition appropriate for the lives they actually live.
🌾 During our sponsor presentation, Jason Rokey, Harrison’s Ingredient Sourcing and Quality Assurance Specialist, took everyone behind the scenes at Harrison’s.
Rather than use our time for a traditional sales presentation, we wanted to provide something educational.
Jason explained how Harrison’s ingredient-sourcing process can begin with relationships with organic farmers years before an ingredient ever makes its way into a bag of Harrison’s Bird Foods.
He walked attendees through our sourcing, verification, quality-control, and testing processes and explained one of the principles behind our program:
We trust but we verify.
Incoming ingredients are evaluated to confirm that they meet our requirements, including nutritional and quality parameters, and we conduct testing related to concerns such as glyphosate and toxins.
When you are producing food for animals whose entire daily diet may depend upon what is inside that bag, ingredient quality cannot simply be assumed.
🍽️ After a one-hour lunch break, Dr. Tia Greenberg brought everyone right back up to speed with a fast-paced presentation focused on what veterinary practitioners need to know when an avian patient arrives at the clinic.
She reviewed many of the common and serious conditions veterinarians may encounter in avian emergency medicine and emphasized something every bird owner should understand:
Birds can hide illness remarkably well.
As prey animals, birds may instinctively conceal signs of weakness. By the time an owner recognizes that a bird is seriously ill, that patient may be much more compromised than appearances suggest.
Her presentation also included specific clinical treatment information and drug dosages intended for veterinary professionals, so the recorded version of this lecture will have restricted access.
🩻 Dr. Jonathan Stockman brought many of the day's themes together beautifully through actual clinical case studies demonstrating the consequences nutrition can have on avian health.
One case that particularly stayed with me was little Boomer.
Boomer initially presented with what appeared to be a respiratory problem. He (DNA sexed male cockatiel) weighed approximately 120 grams and was obese, with significant visceral fat interfering with his air sacs and respiratory capacity.
In other words, his nutritional and weight problems were affecting his ability to breathe.
After transitioning away from his seed-heavy diet and implementing responsible nutritional management, Boomer gradually lost the necessary weight over approximately 11 months.
The radiographs told the story.
You could actually see the improvement in the space available to his air sacs and respiratory system as his body condition improved.
It was an extraordinary visual demonstration of something we talk about all the time:
Nutrition matters.
We ended the day by bringing our experts together for a panel discussion and opening the floor to questions from attendees.
What an incredible day of education.
Harrison’s Bird Foods is extremely proud to have sponsored this event and helped bring these experts and this information to the avian community.
And to those who may be skeptical of Harrison’s motives, we genuinely hope you take the time to watch the recordings when they become available.
Listen to the scientists. Look at the research. Study the clinical cases. Hear the questions being asked, including the questions science still cannot fully answer.
This isn't simply about selling bird food.
Dr. Greg Harrison's legacy has always been about raising the standard of care for these incredible species. That commitment continues through education, veterinary medicine, responsible nutrition, conservation, scientific research, and supporting the people who dedicate their careers to advancing our understanding of birds.
A heartfelt THANK YOU to our presenters, our attendees, and especially Texas A&M University, Dr. Donald Brightsmith, and Dr. Gabriela Vigo-Trauco for helping make this extraordinary educational opportunity possible.
🌎 138 registrants. 17 countries. One shared commitment: better care for birds.
We will let everyone know as soon as the recordings become available through the Harrison’s Learning Center.
Stay tuned....
