Importance of Proper Nutrion for Your Pet Birds

Millions of Americans enjoy having pet birds. Answers.com stated that over 6.4 million American have pet birds. An important part of owning a pet bird is giving the bird healthy. Like most pets, pet birds have physical and mental health needs. However, keeping your pet bird healthy does not have to be rocket science. There are several tips that will keep your pet bird healthy and happy.

Pet Birds' Health Tip Number One: Nutrition is Critical
Whether we are talking about people or pet birds, nutrition is always important. Pet birds need an appropriate diet, to keep them healthy. Proper nutrition can vary from species to species of pet birds. Nash described nutritional needs of pet birds as, "When feeding pet birds, we must realize that the species of birds we have as companion pets do not all have the same dietary needs. Just as our North American wild birds such as chickadees, woodpeckers, and hummingbirds do not eat the same foods, neither do our companion birds." There are multiple resources for finding the proper nutrition for your pet bird including Alyson's Pet Birds Blog, Niles Animal Hospital's Pet Bird Nutrition and Basic Care Guide, University of Florida's Understanding Pet Bird Nutrition Guide, your local veterinarian, and even your pet store.

Pet Birds' Health Tip Number Two: Variety is Important
Just as humans need a variety of foods in their diet, variety is also important your pet bird. For instance, parents need to eat a variety of different foods. Some owners of pet birds build the majority of their pet birds' die off of seeds. However, seems to not have enough nutritional value. Seeds are made mostly of fat. Pet birds also need a source of protein and vitamins.

Pet Birds' Health Tip Number Three: Pet Birds' Also Need a Food Pyramid
for humans, and the Federal drug administration created a food.. While, there is not officially a food pyramid, for your pet birds. Your pet birds need a diet created along the same lines. Pet birds need a diet that contains whole grains, whole wheat pasta, bread, and even pretzels. Butcher and Miles described the variety that your pet birds need as, "To properly nourish a pet bird, balanced amounts of nutrients must be ingested, digested and absorbed into the body. The food that your pet bird eats is composed of a variety of ingredients and the ingredients are composed of nutrients. There are six major categories of nutrients: (1) water; (2) proteins; (3) carbohydrates; (4) lipids; (5) minerals; and (6) vitamins."

For pet birds, there are variety of commercially available dietary supplements. These include palettes and grit. Each of these supplements has been found to aid the diet of pet birds. Dr. Whittington described the potential makeup of pet birds' diet as, "Ideally, pet birds should be fed a pelleted diet supplemented with a variety of other foods. Most of the commercially available pelleted diets are similar and nutritionally complete. Foods that can be used to supplement the pelleted diet include cooked pasta and rice; dark leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, or kale; and foods high in protein, such as beans and peas."

Pet Birds' Health Tip Number Four: Treat Can Be Healthy
when it comes to pet birds (or pets in general) treats can be a highly contested topic. Some pet owners believe that treats are always okay. Others believe that treats are never okay. Still a third group, believes that treats are okay in moderation. Burgess lists many potential treats, for your pet birds, including fruit, beans, sprouts, vegetables, pasta, bread, popcorn, cereal, nuts, and peppers.

Pet Birds' Health Tip Number Five: Be Careful When Switching Your Pet Birds' Diets
after researching the proper diet for your pet birds, you may find that you need to make some adjustments. However, switching your pet birds diet, even from a bad diet to a good one, cannot be done half-haphazardly. Dr. Nash suggests, "Perhaps you are changing your bird's diet on the recommendation of your veterinarian, or maybe you have decided on your own to convert to a formulated diet. If so, have your veterinarian examine your bird to make sure he is otherwise healthy and able to handle the diet change."

Researching the proper nutrition for your pet birds shows that you are a conscientious pet owner. Proper nutrition is important to the health of your pet birds. Following simple steps including researching proper nutrition, keeping variety in mind, remembering that your pet birds need a food pyramid also, properly utilizing treats, and being careful switching diets will help ensure your pet birds' future health.

References
How many people own pet birds? 2009. Answers.com. Retrieved on December 11, 2009 from http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_own_pet_birds
Nash, Holly. Bird Nutrition: Feeding Pet Birds, Parrot Diets, and Nutrition Recommendations. 2009 at education.com. Retrieved on December 11, 2009 from http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1835&aid=2844
Butcher, Gary and Miles, Richard. Understanding Pet Bird Nutrition. 2000 and nine@about.com. Retrieved on December 11, 2009 from http://birds.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&zTi=1&sdn=birds&cdn=homegarden&tm=33&f=21&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM067
Stone, Jennier. What You Need Is For The Birds Too! 2009. About.com. Retrieved on December 11, 2009 from http://birds.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&zTi=1&sdn=birds&cdn=homegarden&tm=36&f=21&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm%3Fid%3D321
Burgess, Alyson. Top 10 Tasty and Nutritious Treats to Share with Your Bird. 2009. About.com. Retrieved on December 11, 2009 from http://birds.about.com/od/feeding/tp/top10tastytreat.htm
Nash, Holly. Switching from a Seed-based Diet to a Pelleted Diet. 2009. Three December 11, 2009 from http://birds.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&zTi=1&sdn=birds&cdn=homegarden&tm=826&f=21&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.peteducation.com/article.cfm%3Fcls%3D15%26cat%3D1835%26articleid%3D2843