Laurie Hess, a vet at the Animal Medical Centre in
New York, conducted a study on 135 pet birds. She reported the findings at the first International Symposium on Pet Bird Nutrition held in Hanover late last year.
Her basic findings make quite alarming reading:
27% had less than the recommended amount of vitamin E.†
67% had less than the recommended amount of vitamin A.
97% had less than the recommended amount of vitamin D.
98% had less than the recommended amount of calcium
Interestingly enough about half of the birds surveyed were being fed on "complete" pelleted diets. The problem is that very few were getting enough of these products to properly satisfy their
nutritional requirements.
The Americans have followed the pellet route in their feeding. In contrast Europe has generally preferred supplements. (We offer both options but have a strong preference for
supplements in most circumstances). These statistics highlight the pitfall of feeding pellets if they do not make up enough of the diet. In Britain most breeders feed seed based diets and few pet owners feed
pellets alone without diluting the diet with "table scrap" fruits and vegetables.
†Laurie used recommended nutrient allowances for companion birds developed by respected avian
vets Ritchie, Harrison and Harrison in 1994 as her benchmark
