Download doc 403 kB

Learning topic: Provide advice on health and nutrition
Feeding birds
All animals have the same basic nutritional requirements, which are:

energy—supplied by fats and carbohydrates

protein

vitamins

minerals

water.
Each species then has its own means of meeting these requirements:
Different species of birds have adaptations to their anatomy and physiology
that allow them to use different types of food to fulfil these needs. Two
main examples of bird types are:

Nectivores tend to have long beaks and brush-like tips to their
tongues to enable them to obtain nectar from flowers.

Granivores have a gizzard that grinds the seed before digestion.
This information is available in textbooks and from welfare societies, eg
WIRES, zoos, nature parks and breed societies.
Some species have special requirements, eg the glossy black cockatoo has a
diet based on Casuarina nuts.
Natural food groups
Dry seeds

are a good source of energy

are the usual diet mix of seeds for a granivore—eg parrot
Seed type
Canary seed
Amount fed in diet

readily accepted by most
granivores

generally have a higher protein
content than most other millet
seeds

10%
1
© NSW DET 2007
Millet

the most common types fed are:
White, Red, Japanese, Panicum

80%
Others

oil seeds—higher fat and protein
content—eg sunflower, safflower,
niger, peanuts, almonds

10%

composition of
‘others’ depends on
the size of the bird,
eg budgies can have
their 10% made up
of smaller seeds like
sunflowers/oats

larger parrots—eg
Major Mitchells—
will have their 10%
made up of larger
seeds/nuts like
almonds and peanuts

carbohydrate source seeds—eg
hulled oats, wheat
Greens

Good examples of greens that can be fed to birds include silver-beet,
spinach, thistle, dandelion, lucerne, chickweed, milk thistle. These
are all are EXCELLENT choices.

Lettuce has little nutritional value, being mostly water.

Cabbage, broccoli, caulis and sprouts can all have antithyroid
effects.

You should wash all greens thoroughly to remove insecticides.

Do not source greens from roadsides due to the lead levels present in
them and other toxins from vehicles or from herbicides used to keep
roadside plant growth under control.

If fed to excess, the birds will have watery droppings that look like
diarrhoea.

You must not feed birds when you are worming through the water
supply as they will then use the water in the greens as their water
source and not drink
Seeding plants and grasses

Chickweed, wild oats, panic, milo, dandelion, dock, milk thistle,
clover, Shepherds purse, groundsel, Johnson grass, spinifex grass,
couch grass, panic veldt grass, rye grass, summer grass and winter
grass are all good choices for feeding to birds.

Feed as the seed head begins to ripen.

Do not collect food for birds from along busy roadways where there
may be high concentrations of lead from car exhausts.

Avoid areas where dogs may have urinated.
2
© NSW DET 2007
Learning topic: Provide advice on health and nutrition

Avoid plants that may have been sprayed with herbicides or
pesticides.
Sprouted seed

Sprouted seed is when seed is sprouted in a tray before being fed to
the birds.

These tend to have a high protein content and are usually well liked
by the birds.

Due to moisture, it is important to prevent fungal growth by using
strict hygiene when cleaning the trays between batches.
Fruit

Apple, pear, orange, banana, grapes, currants, peaches, nectarines,
plums cherries, loquats, figs, paw paw, mangoes, strawberries,
raspberries, rock melon, watermelon, kiwi fruit, passionfruit and
apricots are all good choices for feeding to birds.

Fruit can all add good variety to a bird’s diet.

Fruit has a high water content so it needs to be withheld if
medicating via the water supply, especially if the medication tastes
funny, as the birds can go without drinking for days if they are
getting water from the food they eat.

Avocado is toxic and should not be fed to birds.
Live food

Mealworms, maggots, termites and earthworms are all good
additions to bird’s diets.

Any invertebrates you may find on plants, in compost heaps, under
rotting timber or around outdoor lights at night or in insect traps are
all appropriate.

Don't use insects that have been killed with pesticides as these can
poison birds.
Live food you can breed

Mealworms, earthworms, cockroaches, mud guppies (in a fish tank
or outside in an old bathtub) and mice can all be bred as food for
birds.

Maggots can be bred by hanging a piece of liver, lung or heart in a
large metal box or tin that has a thick layer of bran in the bottom.
3
© NSW DET 2007
Blowflies will lay eggs onto the meat, the eggs hatch into larvae
(maggots), which then drop into the bran for easy collection.
Australian native plants

Eucalyptus, hakea, grevillea, leptospermum (tea tree), banksia,
acacia (wattles), melaleuca (paperbarks), callistemon (bottlebrush),
include leaves, flowers, nuts, berries—these are all good choices for
bird diets.
Water

Change water daily and keep container clean of algae.

Position in the water supply in the aviary to keep clear of droppings
both from overhead perches and wild birds that may sit on the roof
of the aviary.
Cuttlebone (calcium)

Cuttlebone provides many minerals for maintenance, growth and egg
laying.

Birds that won't eat this tend to suffer shell abnormalities.

Cuttlebone is used by birds to keep their beaks trimmed.
Grit

Grit is used by seed eaters for the proper functioning of the gizzard.

Use shell grit for finches, budgies and rock grit for larger parrots.

Shell grit is available in different sizes from small to large, so
provide grit in a size that is appropriate to the bird.

Withhold grit from sick birds as they tend to overeat it and cause gut
impaction.
Food you can store or grow
The table below identifies the different type of food for birds that you can
store or grow:
Food to store in the
pantry
Examples include chicken starter crumbles, parrot seed mix,
budgie or canary seed mix, shell grit, tinned baby foods (meat
and vegetables, fruit).
Food to store in the
An example of food that may be frozen is excess mealworms.
4
© NSW DET 2007
Learning topic: Provide advice on health and nutrition
freezer
Food to plant
This includes native flowering shrubs, dandelions, milk thistle
and any fruit and vegetable from the lists above that you have
time and space for.
Food to breed
This includes mealworms and cockroaches.
Native Australian birds
Look at the tables below which list the balanced ration for different types of
birds.
Canaries and finches
Natural diet
Captive diet

mainly seed, also fruit and greens

insects taken in breeding season
Seed mixture:

50% canary seed

25% rape seed

25% mixed millet
-
two parts yellow millet
-
one part white millet
-
one part red millet

a seed treat of niger seed, poppy seed, flax seed,
sesame seed, oats, and anise is available
commercially and can be offered periodically;
however, these seeds are fattening
Greens

fresh, washed kale, lettuce, spinach, or dandelions
should be offered daily
Protein

cooked egg

cooked egg combined with biscuit mix
Carbohydrate

plain biscuit—crumbled
For parents feeding
young

sprouted seed

seeding grasses

live food—maggots, mealworms, termites,
drosophila (fruit flies)

egg cake
Lorikeets (rainbow, purple crowned, little, varied etc)
Natural diet

mainly pollen, nectar, flowers and fruit
5
© NSW DET 2007
Captive diet
An alternative diet
prepared by Taronga
zoo

may be supplemented with insects and seeds

Wombaroo lorikeet mix or a mix of baby cereal,
warm water, honey or malt extract and Petvite (or
similar vitamin supplement)

fruit such as apple or pear

greens such as greens or sprouts

a wide variety of ripe fruit, such as grapes,
rockmelons, pawpaws, oranges, pears and apples

a seed mixture such as those sold for budgies

mixed greens

a nectar mix made up of one part honey, three parts
Heinz High Protein baby cereal and ten parts water,
plus one teaspoon Petvite per cup of nectar mix. (The
baby cereal.
Note
People who feed them only honey or sugar water on and bread
unintentionally contribute to dietary imbalance in lorikeets. This causes
problems for young lorikeets, ranging from poor feather growth to limb
deformities.
Lorikeets will prefer the artificially sweet nectar mix to the other foods and
so cause a dietary imbalance themselves. For this reason, it is important to
feed the nectar mix sparingly, at a rate of one teaspoon per bird. The other
foods may be given freely.
The nectar mix should not be left out for longer than six hours, especially in
summer, as it will sour and may cause illness in the birds.
Lorikeets bottle feeding
6
© NSW DET 2007
Learning topic: Provide advice on health and nutrition
Cockatoos, galahs and corellas
Natural diet
Captive diet
Babies
Adults
Seeds, nuts, fruits, roots, shoots, nectar, insects and larvae

large parrot seed—sunflower, corn, wheat, oats,
peanuts

apple or pear

gum branches

soaked corn, greens

glossy blacks will primarily need Casuarina nuts,
supplement with sunflower seeds

Give them a high protein dried cereal with a small
amount of rolled oats for roughage. Pour boiling water
over, squeeze out the water, and feed the bird the
mash. Dry rolled oats are only suitable for older birds.

If very young, it should be fed about three times a
day—about two tablespoons full of food are required
by each bird per meal. Make sure, through observation
or touch, that the little crop is full of food after each
meal—add two drops of Vitemol per day for young
birds.

As the bird gets a little older, give boiled pigeon peas,
put them into the beak one at a time, and make sure
that they go down into the crop. When the bird can
take hard food, put a small tin of seed in the cage
containing canary seed first, then introduce adult feed,
as listed below.

Equal parts of whole corn, wheat and millet seed with
some canary seed, and just a LITTLE sunflower seed.
Add a pinch of salt to the seed occasionally.

They also like some raw apples and greens such as
lettuce or spinach. All food must, of course, be given
fresh. It is suggested that you mix your own seed
ration. Buy a quantity of the above seeds from a
reliable produce merchant and mix it yourself. In this
way, you will probably get the seed much fresher than
if you buy the ordinary packet food for birds.

Give daily, if possible, a small green branch with the
bark, leaves and gumnuts attached, taken from any
Eucalyptus trees; in the wild, birds eat a great deal of
this food.

Always provide plenty of grit, wood, charcoal and
water.
Parrots and rosellas
Their diet is similar as for cockatoos but substitute a smaller sized parrot
seed—sunflower, hulled oats, millet, cracked corn, wheat.
7
© NSW DET 2007
Ducks, geese and swans
Geese and swans

natural diet: grasses, herbs, sedges, aquatic plants and
seeds
Omnivores

natural diet: variety of plants supplemented by insects,
molluscs, crustaceans and larvae
Insectivores

natural diet: mainly insects, crustaceans and larvae;
some large algae and other plant matter
Captive diet (for all
the above)

poultry breeder pellets

seed—cracked corn, millet, wheat, cats

greens—lettuce, spinach, sprouts, celery and grass

bread—wholemeal

mealworms or insects if birds don't have access to them

note, for geese and swans, greens should make up a
large proportion of their diet—always ensure good
supply

insectivores—benefit from inclusion of pupae, daphnia
etc

smaller species—crushed pellets—do not include wheat
and oats in seed
Exotic birds that are kept in Australia
The tables below list the balanced ration for exotic birds kept in Australia:
Parakeets, lovebirds, small conures and dwarf parrots
Seed mixture

The basic seed mix contains canary seed, millet and
hulled oats:

Canary seed should be increased in juvenile rations,
while millet should be increased in the adult ration. A
commercial seed ration, which contains millet and
canary seed in either a 60/40 or a 40/60 ratio, is
8
© NSW DET 2007
Learning topic: Provide advice on health and nutrition
available. Also, spray millet is very popular with
parakeets. Parakeets will consume 1-18 grams of seed
per day.
Protein supplement

Crumbled, hard-cooked egg yolk is appropriate.
Greens

Chickweed, spinach, cloves, dandelion, carrot tops, rye
grass, sowthistle, alfalfa, beet tops, watercress, brussel
sprouts, celery leaves, cabbage, broccoli or kale are all
appropriate.

Feeding greens presents a dilemma which, you and your
bird will have to work out together.

When presented with greens, some birds will wolf down
every leaf in sight and develop diarrhoea. The solution is
to offer small amounts over a long period of time.

Offering greens once daily for 0.5-1 hour and then
removing them, as recommended by some experts, may
be an answer to this problem. More often than not, it just
teaches the bird that he had better eat while he can, so he
consumes a lot in a short time and develops diarrhoea.
Vegetables

Carrots, beets, turnips and parsnips are all good choices.
Fruits

Apple, orange, grapes, figs, grapefruit, banana,
pineapple and pear can all be offered.

NEVER leave fruits in the cage overnight. They will
spoil quickly and cause diarrhoea if ingested.
The Amazon, African grey and macaw
Seed mixture

This comprises mainly large canary seed, mixed
sunflower and safflower seed and mixed cereal seeds
and nuts.
Protein supplement

Either: small amounts of ground or chopped meat,
either fresh or from a can of all-meat dog food;

Or: non-medicated chick starter ration—poultry
food. The bird may not eat it unless it is chopped and
cooked egg or a freshly grated carrot is added.

Every bird prefers a different combination; attempt
to vary the combination to prevent a ‘narrow’ ration
from developing.

Fresh foods, eg apples, oranges, bananas, plums,
grapes, pears, grapefruit, figs and dates, are good
choices.

Dried fruits may be substituted for the above fresh
fruits.

Grasses and leafy vegetables, eg chickweed, spinach,
cabbage, endive, lettuce, plantain, dandelion leaves,
carrots, should be given.

Macaws love to crack open and eat a variety of nuts,
especially Brazil nuts. Other large psittacines also
like nuts, each bird preferring a specific kind.
Fruits and vegetables
Nuts
9
© NSW DET 2007
Amazons and African greys love peanuts.
Positioning of food in an aviary
Remember these tips about where to place the food in the bird aviary:

Food should not be placed underneath perches or under an
uncovered section of roof.

Dry seed should be kept under cover so it is protected from rain.

Perishable food can be offered out in the open, as it should be
removed at the end of each day.

Keep water and dry food separate.

There should be enough feeding stations, so all the birds can feed
without competition.

Ideally, feeding stations should be accessible through a trap door
from outside, to reduce the amount of times a person has to enter the
aviary. Each time a person enters, they run the risk of allowing birds
to escape and increase the possibility of bringing in disease on their
shoes. Also, birds in aviaries—especially during breeding season—
can be very flighty and easily stressed by constant 'invasions' into
their territory.
Note

Never forget to wash insecticides off fresh vegetables. Keep birds away
from flowers and houseplants, especially geraniums, philodendrons and
cacti.

Do not feed birds candy, biscuits, etc.

Remove all uneaten fruits and vegetables at the end of each day, to
prevent ingestion of spoiled food and soiling of plumage.
Two methods of feeding
1
Free choice: This is where the bird is offered food, usually in a dish,
and they select what they want to eat. These birds are either offered
their natural diet, which they are used to eating or a captive diet that
they have been adapted to and taught to eat. As a carer, you must be
sure the bird is actually eating the food of its own volition, before using
this means of feeding, as many birds will starve to death if offered food
they do not recognise.
10
© NSW DET 2007
Learning topic: Provide advice on health and nutrition
2
Force feeding: Before force feeding any bird, they must be checked
over for injuries that could prevent force feeding—eg beak deformities
or fractures—and identified correctly. This could effect the food that
they eat, eg carnivore, granivore etc, because feeding the wrong diet can
also kill the bird.
Ways of delivering food
Food needs to be kept in good condition as long as possible to ensure its
acceptance and palatability. This usually means keeping perishable food out
of direct sunlight, high temperatures, vermin and ants and preventing soiling
by faeces. Non-perishable food also needs to be kept in as good a condition
as possible, as it is not unusual for this type of food to only be replenished
as it runs out. The most common form of non-perishable food are seeds and
grain, which need to be kept out of the rain and away from vermin.
Feeding stations in large aviaries that hold fruit should be positioned above
the ground, out of reach of vermin. It should also have a roof to prevent
spoilage by sun, rain and bird faeces. The tray for the fruit should also be
removable to facilitate good cleaning.
A substitute nectar mix can be supplied using a dropper bottle hanging on
the side of the aviary.
These bottles can also be used to deliver water.
Ways of delivering water
There must always be a constant supply of fresh clean water. This can be
achieved a number of ways:

self-filling systems

automatic waterers—troughs and bowls

bowls that need cleaning and replenishing daily.
Self-filling systems
The devices in the photo below are self-filling waterers, where the white
part is filled with water and keeps the yellow bowl full as it is being
emptied. These well for large numbers of birds, as they keep a constant
supply of water, supplied in a narrow dish that birds cannot bath in. They
can be placed on the ground for small birds or hung above the ground for
larger birds, which helps prevent soiling.
11
© NSW DET 2007
Automatic bell waterer
These are used in the chicken industry. They are gradually raised as the
birds grow to prevent them being able to soil the water.
Water bowls
Two ceramic water bowls placed on bricks at the bottom of an aviary
These are located away from perches and the aviary roof above is solid so
there is no risk of birds defecating into the water. Being shallow and
ceramic, the bowls are easy to clean and there is little risk of birds
drowning.
12
© NSW DET 2007
Learning topic: Provide advice on health and nutrition
Water dishes have to be cleaned out daily, as during hot weather many birds
will use them for a bath!
13
© NSW DET 2007