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Supplements
A thorny subject!
Supplements, some people swear by
them, some wont use them under any circumstances. Others use them as they think
appropriate. Supplement manufacturers, of course, would have you believe that
they are vital to the health of your parrot.
The need for supplements
Certain species of parrots do require
additional minerals/vitamins. The most common of these are African Greys and
Timneh Greys. Both these species require a lot of calcium in their diet, as they
are known to be calcium deficient naturally. All parrots would probably benefit
from additional calcium in their diet if they are breeding. The production of
eggs is particularly hard on calcium reserves and most breeders now recognise
that a pair of birds will rarely breed if their calcium levels are low. If they
do breed, it can be very dangerous for them. Parrots that have a bad diet
(especially seed only diets) can need supplements to boost their systems
Balanced diet
A balanced, healthy diet can negate
the use of most supplements. Species specific, good quality, pellet foods are
usually well balanced with additional minerals, vitamins and nutrients. If fed a
mainly pellet diet, most pet parrot species will not need any additional
supplements. If in doubt (and it causes no harm) a decent calcium supplement (we
use Calcivet by Bird Care Co) can be added to the soft food once a week. For
those people who enjoy researching on the internet, it is fairly easy to find
out which fruit and veg are high in calcium, iron, vit c etc. If fed in proper
percentages to pellets, then most parrots will live long and healthy lives
without supplements.
What we add to diets
As breeders we add calcium to all out
breeding bird's diets. This is added twice a week throughout the year and raised
to every alternate day when the parrots start to lay eggs. House pets are not
given any supplements as the diet can be better administered and any
change in preference in foods can be countered quickly
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