Emergency Care Signs of Illness Your Avian Vet Capturing Your Bird Broken Pin Feather Bleeding Head Trauma Eye Injury Poison Egg Binding Stabilizing and Transporting your Ill or Injured Bird Special Care for Leg Injured Bird PARROTS DIETS Over the last twenty years, dietary suggestions http://pocketoption.in from expert certified avian vets have changed as many times as the seasons. We've been directed to feed our birds everything from all seeds, to table food, to just pellets, to not just pellets, to finally, a blend of all of the above--excepting foods containing high fat, high salt, animal protein, lactose, caffeine, high sugar content, high preservative content. What's presented here are good, logical choices of healthy foods for your birds. Always keep in mind the use of pesticides, when feeding fresh foods, and always think "healthy". If you ever question whether a food is acceptable, or not, for your bird, call an avian vet and confirm the choice. The issues of diet and health are very controversial in the bird world. We should first think about what your specific species of parrot eat in the wild. This is very important because, contrary to what the bird industry would like you to believe, no two species have the same dietary needs. Then, we have to keep in mind the bird's activity level, whether or not he's molting (shedding his feathers), or whether or not she may be laying eggs (some hens lay infertile eggs for no apparent reason). There are many different things on the market to feed your bird that may be marketed as a "total diet" but none, I repeat, none are truly complete. Pelleted diets: These are similar to rabbit pellets or dog kibble. There are many different brands on the market, many with artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives that can have a harmful effect on your bird's health. If choosing to feed pellets, choose one that is certified organic, with nothing artificial. These may cost more, but will most likely keep your bird healthy longer. Pellets are designed to try to provide all the nutrients parrots need to stay healthy, but they cannot provide enzymes and natural nutrients that whole foods provide. Many vets recommend pellets, but many bird guardians prefer to prepare fresh foods instead. (A diet of 100% pellets is not recommended. Lorie and Lorikeets should never be fed pellets, and Parakeets [Budgies] and Indian Ringnecks, only sparingly. Especially for small birds, pellets should be selected with great care; should be organic, not be extruded, not be a concentrated pellet, not contain high sucrose or dyes.) Fresh foods: Many people feed fresh and cooked vegetables and fruits to their birds. Parrots are especially sensitive to Vitamin A deficiency, so it's important to feed foods with lots of vitamin A such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and papayas. Grains and legumes are also wonderful for birds. Plain oatmeal, cooked beans, whole wheat pasta, and grains like quinoa are very healthy. Many healthy human foods are also healthy for birds but they need to be organic and contain no caffeine, sugar, salt, chocolate, alcohol, preservatives or any artificial color or flavoring. ( A diet of mostly fresh foods is recommended). Seeds: Seeds used to be fed as a total diet, until people realized that most parrots do not eat that many seeds in the wild and the ones they eat are green seeds and not available in the States. Seeds do have some nutritional value, but they do not provide total nutrition, which is why they should not be fed as a total diet. Most birds relish seeds and, if given them often, will refuse to eat anything but seeds. Be sure to purchase a high-quality mix, and take care that this mix does not grow annoying flour moths, which often hatch out of seed mixes. You should not freeze seeds as it decomposes the oils in them but you should keep them in the fridge or at least keep pocketoption.in/demo them in an air-tight container. It is possible that certain species (ground feeders such as Cockatiels, Greys, and Cockatoos) do well with more seed in their diets than others. Other species, such as Amazons and Macaws, may suffer from obesity if allowed too much fat in their diet, and Eclectus should get very little of them as their natural diet is very low in nutrients and protein. (Seeds should play a small part in your bird's diet, depending on the species. Lories and Lorikeets should never be fed seeds). Cooked Food: Many people purchase commercial food mixes made especially for parrots. These mixes are often mixed with water and cooked on the stovetop, and then served to your bird. You can make extra and freeze this in ice cube trays for future use. Or, you can be creative and make your own mixes, birdy bread and muffins. Home-cooked recipes (gloop) use organic grains, rice and other grains, baby food (with high vitamin A content like squash, carrots, etc.), mashed pumpkin and yams, canned, frozen or fresh vegetables, etc. Experiment; there are many foods that you might think your bird won't eat, until you serve them a different way. A good way to feed a food that your bird doesn't like is to puree it and cook it into a mix. Pellets can also be ground up in a food processor and mixed into cooked foods. (Personally, I swear by gloop). Supplements: Calcium and vitamin A deficiencies are still a serious health problem in parrots who are fed a primarily seed diet or too much human junk food. These two nutrients are essential for the proper growth and condition of tissue, skin, and feathers. There is also a direct relation between vitamin C and feather picking / skin mutilation. Another small, but very important function of Vitamin C is its natural anti-histamine action. Most people believe that all birds produce their own vitamins and so supplementation is unnecessary but a good quality vitamin supplement, given on a regular basis although not every day, can be very beneficial. A deficiency of enzymes and/or essential fatty acids in the diet will contribute to feather abuse. This most often occurs when more than 50% of the diet is comprised of cooked or https://pocketoption.in/download-app manufactured foods in which these nutrients have been destroyed. That’s why fresh, organic food is so important in their diet. Calcium is another needed mineral which is usually lacking in birds. This is because calcium cannot be absorbed into the system unless there is vitamin D3 present and, as it is not found in any vegetal material and animal flesh is not recommended for parrots, it needs to be supplemented in the form of avian liquid calcium. Miscellaneous notes: Too much of something can be as bad as too little. As with everything else, moderation is the way to go. Too much protein is as bad as too little protein, same with vitamin C… even spirulina has been found to cause screaming and erratic behavior in some birds. Watch your bird carefully, keep records of his schedule and diet, record all environmental conditions such as weather, unusual sounds, visitors, changes in routine, or changes in the home, or cage position and compare your notes frequently, this will help you determine what can be causing FDB.