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Supplementing a Bird’s Diet

Pet Age Staff//January 6, 2014//

Supplementing a Bird’s Diet

Pet Age Staff //January 6, 2014//

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Regardless of a bird’s diet, supplementing it with proper vitamins and minerals ensures they are receiving proper nutrition, as well as aid in digestive issues.

Hagen Bird Products offers a wide variety of companion bird supplies, many of which include supplements.

Hagen Bird Charcoal is a great option for companion birds that are prone to digestive upsets. Charcoal helps reduce the amount of acid in the stomach to assist with smooth digestion.

An inadequate amount of calcium is one of the most common deficiencies in caged birds. To help battle this, Hagen has produced Hagen Crushed Oyster Shell, which provides a high amount of calcium and other vital minerals which are crucial to a bird’s diet. Offering breeding birds the Crushed Oyster Shell can help to ensure stable and strong eggshells.

Morning Bird Bird Care Products offers Calcium Plus, a liquid calcium supplement, which comes highly recommended by Mary Wyld, founder of Wyld’s Wingdom. The product is pre-dissolved and concentrated for easy mixing into food or water. In addition to calcium, the supplement also contains magnesium and vitamin D, allowing for quick absorption into the bird’s intestinal system.

Wyld also recommends Avitech’s supplement products.

“Enhance from Avitech is a natural supplement which contains ten veggies, nine fruit, three berry and three sprout powders,” she said. “Also, from Avitech is AviGreens, containing all five of the ‘Green Superfoods; wheat grass, alfalpha, barley grass, spirulina and chlorella.”

Avitech’s Enhance is not only an effective nutritional supplement, but it also appeals to picky birds by adding vibrant flavors to their diet.

Avoiding Deficiencies

Hagen also produces Prime, a complete powdered multivitamin for companion birds. This supplement supports a wide range of deficiencies by containing 14 different vitamins and nine minerals, and can be added to seed and fresh fruit and vegetable diets.

Prime supplement includes high amounts of vitamins C and E, which provide antioxidants and support a healthy immune system.  It also contains the amino acids lysine and methionine which improves protein absorption, as well as enzymes and probiotics to assist with digestion.

Vitakraft  also offers a wide range of dietary requirements.

Quiko Classic is a supplemental food for birds of all species. Eggs are used in the full Quiko line and provide a bird with an excellent source of vital protein and amino acids. Quiko Classic is a multi-purpose food which, because of its high palatability, can be used to successfully administer medications and other vitamin supplements or coat fresh fruits and vegetables to help picky birds expand their diets.

A multivitamin, like Vitakraft’s, which has a concentrated powder that can be used during daily feedings, can prevent common nutritional deficits as well as support the immune system during stressful periods such as traveling, change in environment, illness or breeding.  Vitakraft Multivitamin dissolves fully in water to allow for easy consumption and can also be mixed easily with moist foods like fresh fruits or vegetables.

For those customers who want to take a holistic approach to supplements, there is Dr. Harvey’s Whole Food Concentrate Supplement. The powder provides a combination of herbs, yeast and bee pollen and can either be added to the bird’s everyday diet or can be included in home baked treats.

– Erin Salley