What is Avian Health Coming to???

By
Alicia McWatters, PhD, CNC

Over recent months, I have noticed an increasing amount of skepticism among bird owners toward the many commercial bird foods. The makers of these foods often claim that their diets duplicate nature or even boast that they are an improvement over nature itself. Is it realistic to think that anyone could duplicate nature in its wholeness and complexity? Improve upon nature?? Are they dreaming??? How in the world could a dry, fabricated diet match or exceed the outstanding quality that can be found in a natural foods diet?

With the abundance of feed choices on the market these days, many bird owners are dazed about the dos and don’ts of good avian nutrition. Confusion and frustration abounds! Most feed products are touted to be "balanced" or "complete". The feed makers all say that their products are superior in quality. But, can they ALL be "the best"?

You may think that just because a food product is on the store shelf that it is safe and healthy to feed your birds. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. If you haven’t already done so, it is time you take a closer look at these feed product labels and define each ingredient for the future welfare of your birds. I will warn you though; you may be very surprised and not very happy with what you find.

The way in which you feed your birds is a very personal choice. This choice is based on information gathered from many sources. Veterinarians, breeders, your peers, and advertisements in avian publications all influence your decision. You may receive advice on feeding from well-meaning individuals, but be sure you investigate this advice before putting it into action.

Many bird owners have decided that they do not want to feed their birds a dry, fabricated diet any longer, as it does not meet their standards as a quality diet. Some bird owners have never fed a fabricated diet to their birds, but instead feed a whole foods diet that is fresh and varied in content. This natural diet may consist of organically grown foods when they are available. Certified organically grown produce is usually your best option and can supply your bird(s) with the top quality nutrition they deserve. Why would anyone want it any other way?

Well, with the invention of the "scientifically" formulated feeds ("meals in a bag") so prevalent these days, more and more bird owners, with good intentions, are relying on pellets and manufactured handfeeding formulas. They are believed to be the proper source of all nutrients by those who use them. I have to admit the manufacturers promote their products in a very convincing manner with the "nutritionally complete" written in bold print on the label.

A pellet diet is a neat, convenient meal in a bag, sure to stay fresh for months while waiting for you to purchase it off the pet store or veterinary office shelf. And of course, this bag consists of wonderful ingredients that could not be found anywhere else on earth and includes everything your birds will ever require for health and a long life. BARF! Oh, and some of these meals in a bag are so pretty in color, they are sure to brighten up any birdcage with their presence, even if they don’t brighten your birds’ appetites. Ugh!

You have to wonder though, what on earth made them so colorful? Could it be fresh fruit and vegetable juices? Or, maybe it’s the chemical dyes so commonly used in these products to make them so eye appealing. Was that the color No. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 40, or all of the above? I would also question what magic trick was used to keep these foods fresh on the shelves for who knows how long.

Then finally, they have to make sure those morsels in the bag taste good. Is artificial flavoring used as well? Or perhaps just a scoop or two of sugar is added to each "healthy" batch of feed. Yes, that will make the product complete… almost… oops, now let’s not forget to add all those synthetic nutrients. Just a scoopful of pellets a day keeps the doctor away. Mercy! This is certainly not what I would put my faith in for a healthy avian diet.

Many bird enthusiasts use commercial diets and therefore, the manufacturing of such "food" is BIG business. But does guaranteed adequate nutritional balance automatically come with the convenient pellet form? There are so many nutrients and medicinal chemical components that have been discovered in fresh foods, so many more that are currently being investigated and some we aren’t even aware of yet. So to call a commercial feed complete is an exaggeration to say the least.

The following information includes a few of the risks involved in feeding your birds some of the commercial bird feeds available. At the very least it is a gamble!

First of all, it is nearly impossible to provide your birds a healthy diet out of a bag, jar or canister. Extruded or heat-treated diets leave much to be desired. Many feed products undergo high heat in order to kill any bacteria that may be lurking in the ingredients used. The heat-treatment destroys the naturally-occurring enzymes contained in the original food, which had they remained would have assisted in the digestion of those foods. Food enzymes are an important factor in your birds’ diet and they come from fresh raw, uncooked foods.

Feeding a dry, fabricated diet would be like feeding a crushed vitamin and mineral supplement without the fresh foods required for digesting and assimilating them. No enzymes leads to impaired digestion and eventually may lead to disease.

In order to maintain a shelf-life, some of these diets contain potentially toxic chemical preservatives, i.e., BHT, BHA, and Ethoxyquin. BHT and BHA are used in rubber and petroleum products. Ethoxyquin is used as a pesticide for fruit. These synthetic antioxidants are used in human and animal foods to preserve their fat content. They help break the chain of "free radicals" and prevent microbiological spoilage and rancidity.

Some questions to ponder...

• "Are these chemicals more harmful or helpful?"
• "Do you really want to feed your birds a diet that contains these chemicals?"
• "Do YOU know if the feed package ingredients you are serving your birds list these chemicals?" (If not, it is time to read the label.)
• "Do you know whether or not chemical preservatives were added to the ingredients BEFORE the manufacturer purchased them and created the final feed product?" (If the manufacturer didn’t add the chemicals to the feed then they do not have to list them on the label.)

Finally, sugar is often added for palatability in the form of sucrose or corn syrup and artificial coloring to please the eye of the customer (not the consumer – your bird!). Artificial colors are derived from coal tar dyes or petroleum. Both refined sugar and chemical dyes can cause short-term as well as long-term damage, by weakening your birds’ immune systems and compromising their complete line of defense. For example, over the short-term, sugar can cause illnesses, such as yeast (Candida) infections.

Since many of these substances in bird foods are toxic to the body, the body attempts to expel them through the process of detoxification and elimination in the liver and kidneys. Over the long-term these non-nutritive additives may cause enlargement of vital organs, hormonal dysfunction, immune system disorders and degenerative diseases, thus a shorter life-span.

Many additives and synthetic preservatives have not been fully tested and are on the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) list. Long-term safety research simply has not been conducted. These substances need further testing before they can possibly be considered safe. On occasion, articles are found that report the problems these chemicals can produce in dogs, rats, mice and humans, but rarely describe the effects caused in birds.

Research thus far tells us that beyond a shadow of a doubt at some level of ingestion, synthetic antioxidants are inducers or promoters of neoplasia (cancer). But, these additives simply remain on the GRAS government list and are "assumed not harmful". There is no concrete proof (and there may never be) that the so-called "safe" levels of these synthetic preservatives in various animal feed is indeed accurate. Why wait to find out? Why use something potentially harmful, knowingly? Consider the small size and weight of our birds, particularly the growing neonate. They would undoubtedly be more vulnerable to any harmful effects that these chemicals may produce.

The FDA will tell you that we cannot extrapolate from one species to another with any degree of certainly. There are no species-specific studies in animals or birds that demonstrates safe levels. True safety and toxic levels are not well established or adequately researched.

While the suspected dangers of some of these chemicals might ultimately prove to be less damaging then presently thought, why take chances when safer, more natural products and diets are available. The important thing to do, I believe, is to look for a natural alternative rather than figure out what the acceptable chemical level is.

Since not all products are created equally and there are different levels of quality, you must take a careful look at processed packaging and question these products before you buy them. If you are interested in providing a preservative-free diet to your birds, then check all labels of products before use and define each ingredient for yourself. Buying the book A Consumer’s Guide to Food Additives by Ruth Winter will be a great help and offer you insight on distinguishing helpful versus harmful foods. Only then, can you feel that you’ve made an educated decision and one that is safe.

The dilemma over diet began several years ago when dry seeds were compared to pellets exclusively. Why not compare a whole foods diet consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes and seeds to pellets? Certainly the whole foods diet is superior. After all, where does all potential life come from – seeds or pellets? If we try sprouting pellets, what will happen? Will we produce a pellet tree???

Some bird owners feed pellets with added whole fresh foods. But, if quality fresh foods are served to your birds in a wide variety then pellets are really not needed at all. To me it seems wasteful because birds do not require both if we are feeding a diversified diet. After all is said and done, each bird owner must form their own opinion about what is best to feed their birds and have confidence in the choice of bird food they decide to feed.

I personally feel that the best diet in the world for birds is one that emulates their natural wild diet; these are the foods that our birds are biologically adapted to. A natural home-prepared diet is really not difficult to do correctly and efficiently, and the health rewards for the birds are both great and obvious.

To achieve the best long-term health results, fresh natural foods should make up the majority of your birds’ diet. For those who feel they must feed a commercial diet, I would not recommend that it make up more than 10-20% of any bird’s diet.

There are some very positive things you can do to enhance the lives of your birds. Begin by getting back to nature and offering the fresh foods that they were intended to thrive on. In doing so, you keep their immune systems strong and their bodies resistant to disease and infection. Sound too simple to be true? The basic truths of nutrition are simple, and easy to apply once the understanding is attained. A natural fresh diet has no nutritional competition and is part of what only nature can provide us. After all, aren’t nature’s gifts the ultimate gifts we can offer our birds?