Feeding Management of Pet Birds
Proper feeding management is essential for maintaining the health and well-being of pet birds. Most bird diets consist of seeds, except for the fruit and nectar-consuming birds.
Soaked Seed Feeding
Soaked seeds may be fed to young birds that are having trouble in breaking hard seeds, and to birds during breeding and moulting seasons.
The seeds should be soaked in warm water for about 24 hours; this will stimulate the germination of the seeds.
The chemical changes in the seeds during germination increase the protein content. When feeding soaked seeds, it is important that the water be poured off and that the seeds be washed thoroughly with tap water.
Soaked seeds provide an ideal medium for the growth of moulds and fungi; birds must not be allowed to consume seeds that have a mould and fungi on them.
Any seeds not consumed by the birds in a few hours should be removed and thrown away. The container that the seeds were in should be washed thoroughly before feeding more soaked seeds.
Green Leave Feeding
Birds can also be fed green plant materials. Chick-weed, dandelion leaves, carrot tops, kale, and spinach are good choices that can be fed.
Care must be taken not to feed too much green plant material because it may cause diarrhoea; this is especially true if the bird is not used to green plant material.
Green material must be thoroughly washed to remove any residue of pesticides or other chemicals.
If green foods are taken directly from the refrigerator, they should be allowed to warm to room temperature before being offered.
Grit Feeding
Birds cannot grind up their food. They can break the seeds open with their beaks, but the actual grinding of the food takes place in the proventriculus. This is accomplished with the aid of grit that must be supplied in their diet.
Grit is available in two forms, soluble and insoluble. The soluble form is usually oyster shell that breaks down and serves as a source of minerals.
The insoluble form is usually crushed granite, the insoluble grit provides the primary base for which the food material is rubbed and worked against to grind the food up.
Grit should be available to the birds at all times. Cuttlefish bone should be provided as a source of calcium; cuttlefish are marine mollusks.
Female birds need a supply of calcium for the making of egg shells.
Some small birds may have trouble in breaking or chewing off pieces of the cuttlefish bone; pieces may have to be cut or shaved off for them.
Feeding of Cage Birds
Based on the feeding behaviour cage birds can be differentiated into various categories.
Munias, Parakeets and Budgerigar are seed eaters or hard bills. Mynah is insect eater or soft bill.
Koels, Pegions and doves fall into two classes seed eater and fruit eaters. Generally insect eater requires more care in feeding where as seed eaters are easily fed.
In addition to seeds like cowpea, peanut, Bengal gram; grains like rice, maize, millet and wheat; vegetables, greens and mashes; minerals and vitamins should also be provided.
Soaked seeds are better than un soaked seeds. Cuttle fish bone and shell grit should also be available to seed eating birds. Grit enables a seed eater to digest its food properly.
Although birds lack teeth they still require a grinding surface to break up its hard seed and make it accessible to digestive enzymes.
Shell grit is broken down in the digestive tract and provides additional source of minerals to the birds.
Feeding of Hand Reared Birds
Hand-reared birds are in great demand because they are usually tamer and more easily handled.
Birds that are hand-reared need to be provided a brooder or heating pad so that the birds can be kept warm.
A spoon bent up on the sides makes an ideal tool for hand-feeding young birds. Hand-feeding is very time consuming; newly hatched birds need to be fed every 3 or 4 hours.
Feeding is required from early morning to late evening. Foods commonly used are dry baby cereals, fruits, and canned baby food.
These foods are mixed with water in a blender and then heated; the food must be warm and fairly runny.
Supplements such as calcium and vitamins can be added. As the birds get older, they can be gradually weaned from the liquid diet to seeds.
Feeding of Orphan Birds
- Young birds are of two types:
- Nidicolous chicks (Altricial birds)
- Nidifugous chicks (precocial)
Nidicolous chicks (Altricial birds), which hatch at an early stage of development and are generally blind, helpless and more or less naked (nestling).
the second type Nidifugous chicks (precocial) have longer incubation period and they leave the shell clad in down feathers and have the ability to run about and pick up food for themselves.
The young ones of the above mentioned birds belong to the first type requires much care.
For small birds the best feeder is thin tipped spatulate wooden stick or (match stick). This helps to push back the food on bird’s tongue.
It is important not to fill the mouth with food, as this may block the wind pipe and cause suffocation.
Young nestling require frequent feeding in every 20-30 minutes. It is generally safe to continue feeding until the bird ceases to gape.
The feed may be (depending upon the type of species) boiled mashed egg, biscuit meal, insects, larvae, minced earth worm, bread soaked in milk etc.
The bread should be thoroughly soaked but not dripping milk as the milk could enter the trachea and cause aspiration.
Banana and other soft fruits can also be given. It is a good policy to do feeding, watering and cleaning at the same time each day, if possible by the same person.
Birds quickly become accustomed to such routine and may became disturbed if these operations are performed at unpredictable time.
One should always remember to move slowly and deliberately around birds and not make sudden loud sounds as birds are very easily frightened by unaccustomed movements or sounds.
The Passerine Group
The passerine group of birds are born in a warm nest, either naked or with a covering of down, they should be housed in their own nest or replica of it with a thick pad of cotton covering them.
If possible two or more nestling should be kept together. When the pad is removed the nestling gape reflexively for food.
After feeding, they usually elevate their cloacal regions to the edge of the nest to defecate; the dropping is contained in a thin membrane and should be removed with a teaspoon.
Young birds grow quickly. Chicks are fed until they stop gaping. As growth occurs, feeding intervals are lengthened and large food items given.
Once young bird begin to eat without aid, they can be introduced to water.
A large stone placed in a shallow dish of water gives the birds some security, prevents spillage and enables them to bathe.
Dried egg based food with cereal and dried insect added food can be given. It is important to add as much live insect food as possible.
Hard boiled egg and or scraped raw liver in small quantities can be given if no dried food is available.
When the birds grow older, the diet should be more closely approximate the adult diet (e.g. more cereal for seed-eating birds).
Parrots and Pigeons
Parrots and pigeons initially feed their naked young on a regurgitated crop secretion.
It is possible to rear chick from a tender age by imitating the parents, using a small syringe containing a quantity of milk-based baby food.
Young birds should be placed in a small cardboard box and bedded on wood shaving within a cage kept at about 90 ° F for the first 4 or 5 days.
The amount of food to give varies with the species. Generally 1 ml will do for a bird of pigeon size, offered every 3 hours during the day.
The degree of crop distension indicates the amount of food required. Care should be taken, as overfilling of crop can lead to disease.
