Read About Bird Supplements

Providing a complete diet is an essential part of your bird’s health, and bird supplements may help ensure all his nutritional needs are being met. The types of bird supplements that might be appropriate for your pet bird depend largely on the makeup of his main diet. In general, bird supplements are either added to the bird’s existing food sources, or added to his water supply. Adding bird supplements to food is often preferred since the food may mask the taste of some supplements, making it more likely that your bird will ingest them. Also, some supplements may not be water soluble, so adding them to water is not a good option. Some bird supplements may even encourage the growth of unhealthy bacteria when added to water, which is certainly not beneficial to your bird. However, in the defense of adding bird supplements to your bird’s water, this is often an easier approach for you, as a bird owner, than mixing bird supplements in with food. This is especially true if your bird’s main diet consists of seed, since it is hard to get the bird supplements to stick to the seed and most of it will stay in the food dish or fall onto the cage floor. This issue of unhealthy bacteria growth can be addressed by treating the supplemented water with a water sanitizer. Birds that eat a mostly seed diet, such as budgies and cockatiels, will almost always benefit from bird supplements. These birds tend to lack essential vitamins and minerals, and their diets are notably low in protein. The key is either getting them to drink the supplemented water or mixing the supplements into other food items, such as fruits or vegetables. Birds that eat pelletized diets, such as most parrots, may not need bird supplements quite as much as those that eat primarily seeds, but you may find the health of your bird is much better when supplements are added. Most supplements can be added easily to pelletized food. Or, as in the case of birds that eat seed diets, the supplements can be added to foods such as fruits or vegetables. Some birds, such as breeding birds, may require additional bird supplements to help ensure successful breeding. Most birds, particularly breeders, will benefit from calcium bird supplements. Many bird supplements also contain digestible enzymes and healthy bacteria, which can positively contribute to your bird’s digestive and immune systems.