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What To Feed Your Bird
Feeding Pet Birds
By E.R. Bennett, DVM
Virtually all new-bird owners feed their birds a seed diet (sometimes supplemented
with vitamins, minerals, fruits, vegetables, and other table food treats). This diet
represents a starvation ration and these birds are suffering from malnutrition. While
seeds do provide some nutrition, they lack about 20 important nutrients such as
proteins, vitamins, minerals and trace minerals (see addendum), and therefore, cannot
serve as a complete diet. Seeds are too high in fat (safflower/sunflower seed =
38.4/49.5% fat vs. formulated diets = 4-6% fat) and have almost no vitamin A,
vitamin D, or calcium.
Some owners try to compensate for deficiencies in seeds by adding a vitamin/mineral
mix to the water of food. The problem is that the vitamins break down and quickly
become useless in water. Even worse, vitamins enhance bacterial contamination of
the drinking water. Powdered supplements on the seeds are worthless since even the
trace amounts that might be on the dry hulls will be discarded when the bird cracks
the seed. Table foods can be used to create a balanced diet, but the ingredients must
be in proper proportions, and the birds must eat the entire mixture. Simply offering
some table food (even sprinkled with a vitamin/mineral mix) to a seed-eating bird
does not adequately compensate for its excess fat and nutritional deficiencies.
Signs of malnutrition
To their credit, birds will live for years and even successfully breed on an all seed
diet. The early signs of nutritional deficiencies are often subtle. Greg Harrison, DVM,
AVBP (Avian Practice) believes the early signs of nutritional disease include
malformed feathers, excessive growth of the beak and nails, flaky skin, black
discoloration on green or yellow feathers, excess keratin accumulation on the beak,
chronic infections, and even changes in personality. Dr. Harrison estimates that about
90% of illness in the birds he sees is due partially or, in many cases, entirely to poor
nutrition.
Some nutritional diseases are subtle. For example, most budgerigars presented with
overgrown beaks and nails are suffering from Hepatic Lipidosis secondary to being
fed an all seed diet. Selenium/vitamin E deficiency may cause paralysis, which is
most commonly seen in colour mutation cockatiels. Budgerigars may present with a
pathologic brown thickened flaking cere (vs. benign brown hypertrophy), flaky skin
and are overweight. In many cases this is due to a decreased function of the thyroid
gland. The therapy is not to put the patient on thyroid supplementation, but to change
the diet to increase iodine (also increase protein and vitamin A), so the thyroid gland
can function normally.
We commonly see canaries that have stopped singing and have scaly feet and legs.
Mites may be a cause, but usually these are signs of malnutrition and are corrected
when the birds are slowly converted to a proper diet. Virtually every Amazon parrot
we see has excessive flaking and growth of the beak, dull green feathers, sometimes
with black discoloration. Within 1-2 years of changing to formulated diets, these birds
will have normal beaks and bright green feathers.
So what should owners feed their birds?
The easy answer is to feed a formulated diet. The harder part is to slowly train your
birds to accept the new food. Just as there are formulated foods diets for dogs, cats,
and rabbits, formulated diets for birds are also available from vets and pet shops. At
Aston Clinton Vet Centre we supply Harrison’s Bird Foods. Pet shops may carry
other brands of formulated diets such as Hagen, Kaytee and Pretty Bird,. Scientific
research about psittacine nutrition is just in the beginning and thus, there is still
controversy about the ideal avian diet. While we still have a great deal to learn about
avian nutrition, current formulated diets are based on extrapolations from years of
poultry nutrition research, new psittacine nutritional research, and experience of
aviculturists and veterinarians.
Many owners ask about what birds eat in the wild with the assumption that “natural”
diets would be the best for their pets. Wild birds in Africa, South America, and
Australia may be eating various seeds, vegetation, and insects. They are certainly not
eating sunflower seeds, millet, and the vegetables found in grocery stores. Even if we
could reproduce their natural diet, there are still good reasons why this diet would not
be appropriate for our pets. Captive birds are not exposed to the same activity and
environmental stresses encountered in the wild and therefore, would not have the
same nutritional requirements of wild birds. More importantly, free ranging birds do
not live as long as pets. Starvation does occur in nature. Our nutritional goal for pet
birds is to maximize their health by exceeding the level of nutrition they would
otherwise have in the wild.
There is also controversy about how to feed and supplement diets. The late Dr. Ted
Lafeber (manufacturer of Lafeber’s Bird Food) recommended feeding birds twice
daily with treats in between meals. Sally Blanchard (editor of Pet Bird Report)
considers this a myth and recommends having formulated rations available at all
times. Dr. Greg Harrison (manufacturer of Harrison’s Bird Foods) strongly believes
that supplementation with table food will imbalance the carefully designed formulated
rations. Sally Blanchard argues that parrots get bored with one food, and there is not
enough knowledge for any one ration to be considered complete. Despite the
controversies, there is no debate that the all seed diet in inadequate for pet birds.
Methods of converting birds to formulated diets
1. Mix the formulated ration with the seed diet. As the bird begins to
“accidentally” taste and eat the new diet, gradually decrease the
percentage of seeds, eventually eliminating seeds. This may take weeks to
months to accomplish. Some birds never convert with this method. Once
the bird starts to nibble at the new ration, you may want to try method 2.
2. Offer the seeds only in the morning and evening for a limited time. Leave
the formulated ration in the cage at all times. As the bird eats the new
diet, gradually eliminate the seeds. Ask your vet for the correct amount
of time to leave the seed mixture in.
3. Try to get your bird to first eat table foods such as carrots, and dark leafy
vegetables. You can entice your bird by eating these items in front of them
and making exaggerated sounds about how good it tastes. Try sharing the
food with another person, passing the food in front of the bird but not
giving it to them until they really beg to try it. You can try the same
technique with pieces of Harrison’s Bird Food since it is a human quality
organic food. The package even recommends that you taste the food to
test for freshness before offering it to your bird.
4. Mashed or crumbled versions of formulated rations may be offered and
accepted more readily than the larger pieces.
5. Formulated diets may be incorporated into a homemade recipe such as
Dr. Raymond Krays diet (see addendum).
There are many other methods to convert birds from a seed diet to a more
balanced ration. Some excellent articles, such as Hooking your hookbill on pellets
and My bird won’t eat that, are listed in the references.
Final notes
1. If you feed Harrison ’s bird foods, remember that they are 100% organic and
have no preservatives. Be sure to discard any uneaten food within 24 hours. Please
note that the colour of the faeces will change from dark green or black to light
brown.
2. Birds must be provided with fresh clean water. Wash water bowls daily.
3. Once a malnourished bird is converted to a proper diet, there will be changes in
the bird’s body, Birds may itch more as dry flaky skin sheds and birds moult. Aloe
Vera spray is very helpful in alleviating the itch during this time. They may
initially lose fat and increase muscle. Once they start eating the new diet, they
may initially overeat, but after several weeks, they will reduce their consumption
to lower, normal amounts. This does not mean they “don’t like” the food anymore.
Addendum
The following homemade recipe was developed by Dr. Raymond Kray and has
been reported by bird owners to give good to excellent results as a regular
maintenance diet or used to help convert birds from a seed to formulated ration.
Ingredients
Equal portions of :
Mixed vegetables (fresh, canned, or frozen)
Boiled brown or white rice
Boiled beans (black-eye peas, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentil beans, lima beans,
navy or pinto beans)
This mixture is combined and frozen until ready to feed. Thaw ¼ cup of the
mixture, and add ¼ cup pellets, and ¼ cup of seeds, 1/8 teaspoon dicalcium
phosphate, and ¼ teaspoon of a multivitamin/mineral/amino acid powder. This
recipe is used as 75% of the final diet with the remaining 25% consisting of
fruits, vegetables, cheese and meats.
Nutrient Deficiencies of Seed Diets
Protein (amino acids): lysine, methionine
Vitamins: A, D3, B12, and riboflavin: possibly vitamins E, K, pantothenic acid,
biotin, niacin and choline.
Minerals: calcium, and possibly sodium
Trace minerals: possibly iron, copper, zinc, manganese, iodine and selenium.
Source: Dr.Randal N. Brue, Director of Nutritional Reaserch, Kaytee Products,
Inc.
REFERENCES
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Abramson J, Speer BL, Thomsom JB : Th eLarge Macaws. Their Care,
Breeding, and Conservation. Raintree Publications. Fort Bragg , CA 1995
Altman R, Clubb S, Dorrestein G, Queensberry K (eds): Avian Medicine
and Surgery. Philadelphia WB Saunders Co, 1997.
Anderson , N.L. Hints on Avian Nutrition. Client education from Ohio State
University , College of Veterinary Medicine .
Blanchard, Sally. Food and Diet Myths. The Pet Bird Report Vol. 3 #2.
Blanchard, Sally. My Bird Won’t Eat That. The Pet Bird Report Vol. 8 #3.
Burgmann, Petra M. Feeding Your Pet Bird. Barron’s Education Series, Inc.
1993.
Hagen, Mark. Hagen Avicultural Research Institute Brochure.