Avian Health Care Tips

Written by: Dr Barton Huber

January 19, 2021

Updated on August 28, 2024

VeterinarianDr Barton Huber

Dr. Bart received his Bachelor’s degree in 1981 and his Veterinary Doctorate in 1987 from University of California at Davis. He has worked in the veterinarian field for over 40 years, since his teens. He opened his own practice (AMC) on September 28, 2005. He grew up on a lake in Florida then in the hills of Thousand Oaks, CA where he fell in love with nature and especially reptiles. He is the proud father of Christopher and Raquel, as well as owning his own small zoo full of various animals ranging from dogs and cats to tortoises, snakes, lizards, a DYH Amazon, and a Blue and Gold Macaw. He and his lovely wife, April, have been serving the Corona community for more than 30 years. Hobbies include off-roading, visiting places with lots of wildlife, going to zoos and animal parks and playing with his reptiles.

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Expertises: Veterinary

Avian Health Care Tips

By: Animal Medical Center of Corona
Barton C. Huber, D.V.M. “Dr. Bart”
Corona, CA – (951) 493-6771

Birds get sick for many reasons but there are two main categories where most of the problems lie. These two categories are the bird’s environment and diet. After these comes trauma as a source of problems, but it runs a weak third. If bird owners can optimize their bird’s environment and diet, many problems which we avian veterinarians see could be avoided. This means that your bird can live a longer, healthier life and your wallet will also be spared much trauma! When you do need the services of a veterinarian, make sure that the veterinarian is an avian veterinarian who sees birds on a regular basis. It is not a bad idea to call around and talk to some of the local veterinarians who claim to be “bird experts” and ask them some questions, don’t be afraid to ask for references either.

Avian Health Care Tips – DIET

Poor or inadequate diet is the number one reason for illness in birds. Whether the illness is due primarily to the deficiency or the birds get a secondary infection, diet is the key. Dietary deficiencies cause a wide range of diseases, ranging from poor feather color and feather picking to severe upper respiratory infections to egg binding in laying hens (a situation where an egg is stuck in the reproductive tract of the female bird). We will break diet into five categories then offer some ideas of optimal or healthy diets for your bird(s). The five categories are:

Vitamin and Mineral:

Vitamin A deficiency is the most common single dietary deficiency or problem seen in cage birds. Vitamin A may be provided as actual vitamin A or as beta carotene, the advantage of beta carotene is that you cannot give too much to your birds whereas vitamin A if over-supplemented could cause liver and bone disease. Many foods are high in vitamin A and this list, along with other healthy fruits and vegetables will be provided in the vegetable and fruit section. Vitamin D3 is the next most common problem, vitamin D3 is essential for healthy bones, feathers, and egg-laying, without this vitamin, the body cannot properly use calcium.

Natural sunlight will allow the body to produce normal amounts of this vitamin so will using vita lights or another full-spectrum lighting if indoors. Windows absorb too much of the UV light necessary for vitamin D3 so placing your bird by a window will not work. Vitamin supplementation is an easy and inexpensive way to ensure your bird receives proper amounts of all vitamins. It is important to use vitamins made for birds as they will contain vitamin D3. Your bird will not properly utilize other forms of vitamin D, they need to have D3. The rest of the vitamins are also necessary, I just wanted to review the two most important ones.

In the case of minerals, calcium is the most important. The only birds that require extra calcium in their diet are African Gray parrots, Blue Fronted Amazons, and any bird laying eggs. All other birds will receive enough calcium from a good vitamin/mineral supplement. Cuttlebone, mineral blocks, manu blocks, oyster shell grit, and D-CA-PHOS (Fort Dodge) are all excellent and natural sources of calcium. Do not overdose your birds with the food additive type of calcium supplements as it may cause calcification of their internal organs.

Another special need element is the Budgie’s (classic parakeet) need for iodine. Without iodine, they will develop thyroid goiters, a condition leading to thyroid hormone deficiency. Iodine is a necessary component of the thyroid hormone and budgies seem to need more than other birds. Other birds do not need this supplemented in their diet. The best way to get this to your Budgie is to place a drop (one single drop) of tincture of iodine, available in most drug stores, in their drinking water once a week. If there are any questions, please consult your avian veterinarian.

The best types of supplements to give your bird are the powder forms that go on the food. Water-soluble types are not as good as they are low in fat-soluble (A and D3) and vitamins break down fast in water losing potency and increasing the growth of bacteria. A few brands I would recommend are Prime, Avia, and Superpreen. Another supplement I would recommend in addition to vitamins would be Micracine, a lactobacillus/herbal combination that may boost the immune system and natural defenses in birds with chronic illness or recovering from illness. Only buy enough vitamins to last 6 months or less as they slowly lose their potency when exposed to air. Vitamins/mineral supplements are utilized best when mixed with wet foods, not seeds or pellets.

Avian Health Care Tips – Protein:

Birds do need protein in their diet, the amount and type vary on the bird’s activity and age. More active birds (show birds and birds in large flights that fly around a lot) and breeding birds (egg-laying hens, parents feeding their young), and growing birds need more protein than the average caged pet bird. Older birds or birds with certain metabolic diseases such as liver and kidney disease or gout need less protein. The quality of the protein is also important. While many seeds have decent amounts of protein, the quality is not that great unless the bird eats all the seed types in the mix in proper proportions. Since this is not realistic, I prefer to give the birds pellets. Seeds are also very high in fat and most birds prefer the taste of seeds to other foods, this may lead to obesity as well as deficiencies.

There are many brands of pellets available, stick to the brand names, avoid newcomers to the market that are not from a regular bird food manufacturer. Many of the pellet companies have a variety of pellets for your bird’s needs, consult your avian veterinarian if you are unsure of which type to feed your bird. Many birds that have been on the seed will not readily accept the pellets. You may need to “cold turkey” them onto the pellets by withholding their seeds, making sure they have plenty of water and “wet” foods.

If you are uncomfortable doing this type of change-over, you can offer your bird a mix of pellets and seeds or place an additional bowl of pellets next to the seeds. You may want to offer a limited amount of seed so that your bird is hungry enough to try the pellets (this holds true when offering any new food to your bird that they do not seem to want). Birds are like young children, they will not make wise nutritional choices on their own, and are usually afraid to try new things. Be patient whenever you are attempting diet changes or offering new foods to your birds.

If your bird will not eat pellets or you want to offer seeds, their diet should be no more than 20-50% seed (depending on their activity levels and whether they are outside or inside and the environmental temperature). Avoid sunflower seeds unless using the new low-fat sunflower seeds available, the birds really enjoy the taste of sunflower seeds and will preferentially eat them over other foods. They are high in fat and not very nutritious. If you want to give your birds sunflower seeds, use them as treats or rewards. Other good sources of protein for your bird are non-fat cottage cheese, regular cheese (high in fat), lean cooked meats (beef and poultry), and well-cooked chicken bones. Give these protein sources once or twice a week in addition to a balanced diet offered daily.

Avian Health Care Tips – Carbohydrates:

There are two forms of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple ones are the sugars, they are rapidly digested and absorbed and are not very good for your bird. Avoid giving treats that are high in sugar, never give your bird chocolate as there is a substance in there that can kill your bird. Fruits are high in sugar and therefore need to be given in moderation. Complex carbohydrates are the starches. These are great energy sources for your bird and serve as building blocks for non-essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and fats. Your bird should have starches in its diet in the form of cooked rice, beans (good for protein as well), cooked potatoes, pizza crust, pasta, corn, and tortillas.

Avian Health Care Tips – Vegetables and Fruit:

There are only a few things your bird should not have in this group of foods. One is avocado, there is a substance avocado that is fatal to birds and there is no treatment once they have eaten it and get sick. Iceberg lettuce is mostly water and has little nutritional value, birds seem to like it and will eat it over other good vegetables.

The following list is not complete but contains many of the vegetables and fruits that are high in vitamin A or beta carotene: broccoli, dried red chili peppers (birds do not salivate so they do not detect the hotness of these peppers like you or I would but if your bird kisses you after eating some of these, watch out!), sweet potatoes and yams – cooked or raw, carrots, winter squash, pumpkin, red cabbage, mustard greens, brussel sprouts, spinach, kale asparagus, parsley (give sparingly), dark leafy lettuce – not iceberg lettuce, papaya, apricots, peaches, mango, cantaloupe, cherries (may turn stool or droppings a dark red color which looks like blood but is harmless), and watermelon.

Many of the other vegetables not listed are O.K. to eat. You can use fresh or frozen vegetables, but avoid canned vegetables as they are processed and have had most of the good nutritional value destroyed. You can give these raw or in the case of frozen, thawed out. Cooking is not necessary (you may find that your bird prefers cooked yams and sweet potatoes over raw, just make sure they have cooled down). Your bird can eat as many vegetables as it wants, that’s O.K., but avoid too much fruit as it is mostly sugar and water and therefore, not all that nutritious.

Always wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly before feeding. If you use fruit cocktail, buy the type with no sugar or syrup added. Your bird’s droppings will get more watery when you feed them fruits and vegetables, especially with fruits. Do not mistake this for diarrhea, it is usually an increase in urine production due to the high water content of these types of food, or in other words, water in, water out! The fecal portion of the dropping should remain formed but you will see less of the white stuff (urates) and more “water” (urine). This is O.K. If the fecal portion is also unformed or has an odor, then you need to have the bird checked. Remember, your vet needs to see the droppings so do not clean the cage before your visit.

Avian Health Care Tips – Fats:

Fat deficiency is rare to non-existent in birds, especially in a pet bird. There are cases where birds require a certain type of oil in their diet, but fat is usually quite plentiful. Most cage or pet birds tend to have diets that are too high in fat. This is usually due to a high seed intake. Most seeds are high in fat, a good rule of thumb is the larger the seed, the greater the fat content (by percent of makeup), sunflower seeds are the largest contributor to obesity in birds. Peanuts are another high-fat food that birds love to eat, so offer them as treats only (or not at all).

Large nuts are also high in fat. Seed treats like honey sticks are very high-calorie, high-fat foods and should only be given to your birds once a month or less. Many people think that since these birds eat high-fat foods in the wild that they need them in captivity, however, your bird is not getting the exercise that a wild bird gets when flying around looking for food! Besides, if a wild bird gets an obesity problem, it falls easy prey for a predator or gets sick and dies, not a good outcome.

The best way to minimize your bird’s fat intake is to minimize fatty foods. Seeds should constitute only 20-50% of the diet if you want to feed seeds. Pellets are good, since they are low in fat, your bird can eat all it wants and won’t get fat! If your bird likes regular cheeses, give them sparingly. The yolk of hard-boiled eggs is high in fat and should be given judiciously; egg whites are a good protein source and have no appreciable fat content. Chicken and turkey skin and meat trimmings are very high in fat and should be avoided. Do not supplement your bird’s diet with any fats or oils unless you consult your avian veterinarian first.

In the next blog post, Dr Bart will talk about: THE OPTIMAL DIET

Here is an infographic you can download and distribute about the above blog post:

VeterinarianDr Barton Huber

Dr. Bart received his Bachelor’s degree in 1981 and his Veterinary Doctorate in 1987 from University of California at Davis. He has worked in the veterinarian field for over 40 years, since his teens. He opened his own practice (AMC) on September 28, 2005. He grew up on a lake in Florida then in the hills of Thousand Oaks, CA where he fell in love with nature and especially reptiles. He is the proud father of Christopher and Raquel, as well as owning his own small zoo full of various animals ranging from dogs and cats to tortoises, snakes, lizards, a DYH Amazon, and a Blue and Gold Macaw. He and his lovely wife, April, have been serving the Corona community for more than 30 years. Hobbies include off-roading, visiting places with lots of wildlife, going to zoos and animal parks and playing with his reptiles.

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Expertises: Veterinary