Hi Lori,
Nutrition seems to come up in most of our webinars. There is a lot we know, and even more that we don’t. Dr. Tully explained in the February webinar about how experts had to guess about parrot diets initially, and what we feed now is still largely based on “guessing”. But, that doesn’t mean what we recommend now isn’t working. The nutritionally balanced diets – pellets or a “pre-pelleted” food like our Nutri-Berries – have been developed through studies conducted over years with captive birds. Many studies are still ongoing and formulas are updated as we learn more. This is due to the longevity of parrots. There are many theories about some species and specific nutritional needs. These are based on anecdotal evidence and still need scientific studies to fully understand if these needs are real and why a species might need more of one nutrient. This is one reason why an annual exam with bloodwork is now recommended. It’s not necessarily a good idea to provide an additional supplement without knowing for sure that your bird has a special need.
Your food goal for your Senegal should be for 80% of his diet to be a nutritionally balanced diet based on science, with 20% of the diet consisting of fresh veggies & fruits, greens, nuts, and healthy table foods. You can offer some calcium rich foods a couple of times a week, or make sure he has a cuttlebone or mineral block. Additional seeds are not recommended because pellets or our foraging diets contain seeds already. There is nothing wrong with seeds and some species are granivores. But the seeds in most loose mixes is not as fresh as what they find in the wild, so it has lost a lot of the nutrients. Since parrots remove the hull, adding vitamins to the seeds doesn’t work. And missing a vitamin pellet with the seed also fails due to selective feeding. This is why pellets were created, to prevent selective feeding and make a bird eat all of the nutrients in the food. Our Nutri-Berries, Avi-Cakes and Pellet-Berries are nutritionally balanced the same as a pellet, but they are not ground up. There is more of a commitment on the owner’s part, to make sure the bird is eating most of each berrie or cake. But it’s worth it since the foods provide the variety of tastes and textures that are more natural for a parrot, as well as natural foraging exercise. Parrots spend most of their day foraging in the wild.
You mentioned he wouldn’t eat Nutri-Berries. Have you tried crumbling the berries? Most birds do not recognize new food items as something they can eat. By crumbling the berries to begin with, this makes them look more like seeds or pellets. Once they learn to eat the crumbles, they generally learn to eat the whole berries, although some birds always prefer the crumbles. You do need to work on his diet, because the first foods you mentioned should only be a small part of his diet and he needs to do more than nibble on pellets or Nutri-Berries. The good news is that in May, Dr. Lamb will be presenting a webinar on teaching a picky parrot to eat better! This is a must view, and can be watched live or on youtube later, as with all of our webinars. Please watch for that announcement.
As to wing trims, this is a decision that should be based on the bird and his environment. There are a lot of objections to wing trims these days, however, it comes down to the benefits outweighing the down side, just as Dr. Tully explained about medications. If your bird does well as a fully flighted bird, and you have no concerns about open doors or windows, then don’t have him trimmed. But some birds can become too independent when fully flighted. Others can get dangerously aggressive. In some cases a bird may easily spook and keeps flying into walls or objects. Some households have a lot of family members coming and going, and this can result in a pet bird flying out an open door. And some birds are not tame, so a wing trim to begin with can help with the taming process and the bird is more likely to fit into the home. If a safe wing trim done by an expert can keep the bird in the home he loves, with his family, it is far better than ending up in a rescue or multiple homes because of behavior issues, or worse, escaping and likely perishing outdoors where he would face predators and lack of the type food he needs. Wing trims are not permanent, and the bird can be reassessed before each trim in case the situation has changed and the bird can be kept fully flighted. It is important for a trimmed bird to get exercise. This can be achieved through foraging as well as training the bird to flap his wings while you hold him.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
