"Probably
most pet owners still think 'seeds' when it comes to food for their parrots,"
admitted Larry Nemetz, DVM, an avian-only veterinarian in Santa Ana, Calif."Nationwide, the pet owners who opt for a formulated diet for their birds are still in the minority." But he said the number of pet owners who are switching to a formulated diet is growing each year.
Avian veterinarians generally recommend that 70 percent to 90 percent of a parrot's diet be comprised of an extruded or pelletized formulated diet, and the remaining 30 percent to 10 percent be made up of healthy table foods, fruits and vegetables, and seeds or nuts.
As veterinarians continue to get the word out about formulated diets, Dr. Nemetz believes, this type of food will become more popular. He estimates that 70 percent of his clients are feeding their birds a formulated diet.
"Pet owners are becoming more aware of the formulated diets," said Julie Burge, DVM, of Grandview, Mo.
In her area, many breeders are weaning their baby birds onto pellets and instruct new bird buyers to feed them a formulated diet rather than seeds.
Still, Nemetz said, if pet owners do not buy their bird from a bird breeder who uses formulated diets, or if they have not consulted a veterinarian, then most of these people aren't going to have a clue what a formulated diet is.
"Sometimes I'll recommend pellets to new clients and they'll say, 'Huh? What's that?' They think I'm telling them to buy rabbit food for their bird," Nemetz said.
He said he's not discouraged by that, though. Formulated diets have been on the market only for about 20 years now, and it takes time to get the word out.
That's not to say formulated diets will take over the avian market completely.
"There will always be some people who prefer to feed their birds a seed-based diet," predicted Kitson Logue, DVM, vice president of research and development for Kaytee Products in Chilton, Wis.
"A lot of people see seeds as the more natural type of food for pet birds. The premium mixes with the different seeds, nuts, and dried fruit are really popular. People like that variety."
Even among people who use a formulated food as their bird's base diet, many still buy seed mixes as a supplemental food.
What's New
One trend in formulated diets has been the development of species-specific diets to meet the nutritional needs of particular birds. Several companies offer such diets. Pretty Bird of Minneapolis, for one, has developed 13 species-specific diets, including ones for hyacinth macaws, mini macaws, Amazons, cockatiels, eclectus, lories and softbills.
"Rather than a cockatiel diet just being a smaller sized version of the larger parrot diet, for instance, the nutrient levels have been altered to provide a better balance specifically for the cock-atiel's needs," noted Michael Massie, president of Pretty Bird.
Additionally, some manufacturers now offer specifically formulated diets targeted to birds that are obese, have allergies, are breeding birds, birds with liver or kidney failure, and birds that have proventricular dilatation disease. These formulations are normally distributed only through veterinary clinics.
Whether these specialized diets do what they're designed to do is the subject of some debate among manufacturers and avian veterinarians.
"There is no research supporting the specific needs of certain groups or species of birds," said Darlia Morris, DVM, director of veterinary affairs for ZuPreem in Mission, Kan. She said she sees the
specialized diets more along the line of "marketing gimmicks" rather than actual science.
"It's easy to come out with a diet and claim it to be something because there's no standards that are actually forcing you prove those things," added Greg Harrison, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, in Green Acres, Fla., and president of Harrison's Bird Diet.
Manufacturers have also made modifications in seed mixes. Most now add pellets and dehydrated fruits and vegetables to their seed mixes in an attempt to balance and fortify the seed diet.
Jeff Clark, vice president of marketing for Sun Seed in Bowling Green, Ohio, said he believes these "premium" seed mixtures are a step forward from the view that "birds like the mixes better because they're more fun to eat than just straight seeds or straight pellets."
Massie agreed to a point, but added, "The premium seed mixes have also been a step backwards, because unfortunately it's still a battle to make sure the birds don't pick and choose the seeds and nuts from the mix. Too often the birds refuse to eat the healthy nuggets that are in there."
Finally, a number of new supplemental bird foods have been developed. Many manufacturers produce high-end treats such as human-grade dried fruits and vegetables as well as foods that need to be cooked.
Some companies have incorporated pellets along with seed into treat sticks or berries, so that the bird will at least have exposure to the formulated food while eating the seeds.
Others have created treats that look like human snack foods, so a bird that has been used to junk food may be willing to try the look-alike healthy treat.
Veterinary Tips and Tricks
Most veterinarians probably have definite ideas about which bird diets and supplemental foods they recommend to clients. But coming up with recommendations is only half the battle. How can you motivate your clients to follow your dietary suggestions? Here are some steps you can take.
• Show, don't tell. When clients come in with a bird on a seed-only diet, point out symptoms of nutritionally related disease that are starting to show up, Harrison suggested.
It' the bird is overweight, for instance, swab the skin with rubbing alcohol and let the owners see the fat underneath the skin. Explain the long-term health risks associated with obesity or nutritional deficiencies. If you've seen parrots die at 7 or 8 years of age from obesity resulting in fatty liver
disease, pass on these stories.
• Put your nutritional arguments down on paper. Put together some handouts on avian nutrition that you can give your clients to read at home when they're not rushed or preoccupied with other things.
Nemetz has nine information sheets that deal with nutrition in some way.
"I give my clients this unarguable data and I ask them, 'Can you live on a 50 percent seed diet that's vitamin A deficient and calcium depleted for very long?'
• Discuss nutrition in human terms. Nemetz tries to relate his nutritional arguments to human health, to bring the point home to clients. "I might talk with some clients about heart disease in parrots," he said. "I'll ask them, 'Well, how do we prevent it?' I tell my clients it's just like with people: You have to eat right. A bird eating just sunflower seeds is like a person living on candy and potato chips. Everyone gets the point when I relate it to people."
• Give your clients a sample of healthy bird food. Dr. Burge has found that pet owners are more willing to give new food items a try if they have it in their hands-and they don't have to drive around to particular stores looking for it. Her clinic has a variety of free samples available for owners interested in trying different diets for their pets.
"We purchase several types of formulated diets in bulk and repackage them into convenient sizes for owners to try without having to spend a lot of money on larger bags of food," Burge said.
• Help owners see the benefits of using seeds for rewards in training only. Avian veterinarian Brian Speer, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, of Oakley, Calif., said he believes nutritional arguments are not going to work with all pet owners.
"It's like people who smoke cigarettes who hear all the health arguments against it," Dr. Speer said. "It's like 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. I
know,' and they don't care."