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Question:

December 14, 2020

African Grey diet


Is calcium a must in African Greys’ diet ? my AG eats pellets, fresh fruit, rice nuts, cacius, almonds etc.
should I also provide Calcium from time to time ? he is 5 months old.
thank you
Calypso from Athens Greece


Answer:

Hi Calypso!

Thank you for joining our webinar all the way from Greece. 🙂 It does seem that low blood calcium is more common in African Greys. Much is being learned about parrot nutrition and we change our formulas as new discoveries are made. But without scientific studies on each species, there is a lot of guessing when formulating diets. Some species are believed to have specific needs, such as Greys seeming to need more calcium. But without formal studies, it’s hard to know if this is related to their eating habits – Greys are known for being picky eaters – or if this is a species-specific need. You are offering a great diet, and I would recommend offering calcium rich, non dairy foods rather than any type of supplement. There are also mineral blocks made for parrots that contain calcium. Almonds have more calcium than other nuts, so those are good. Dark leafy greens such as spinach and kale have a lot of calcium. Broccoli and broccoli rabe also have a good amount of calcium. As long as he is eating pellets as 80% of his daily diet and the rest consists of the healthy foods you are offering, he should be getting the calcium he needs through his diet.

Thank you for attending our webinar!

Brenda

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