Dot
01-29-2008, 10:35 PM
Debra McDonald is a consultant zoo nutritionist and she spoke at The Parrot Festival.
http://zoominfo.com/people/McDonald_Debra_623946544.aspx
Below is a link to an article that she gave at the AFA convention.
http://www.afabirds.org/2006_Convention/sp_mcdonald.shtml
Dietary Influences on Feather Pigmentation in Passerines and Psittacines
She has her own brand of pellets but they are not available in the US. I liked her because the first thing she said was that we do not know the nutrient requirements for parrots because we don't know what they eat in the wild. She has worked mostly in Australia, but has also worked in Peru. She said she saw some berries and said the macaws must really like those. The natives said that the macaws don't eat those, but named another animal that ate them. The natives pointed to the tree canopy and said that the macaws liked those. She said she could see a nut with a fruity or fleshy outer part, so she said that the macaws must really like the nuts. No. The natives said that the macaws only eat the fleshy part. They drop the nut.
In short, she is aware of what we don't know and is willing to go into the wild to do research on it. I liked her lectures and tried to take notes. Below are a few statements that I can read. LOL Some of them contradict what people are currently saying. A lot of this will not be knew for you, but I did the best I could.
There is no vitamin A toxicity in the wild, but it can occur in captivity.
Many birds are allergic to wheat. Spelt is a substitute for wheat.
Some pellets are made from FLOOR SWEEPINGS of bakeries. (Remember she has an Aussie accent so I am not really sure if she said "bakeries." Can you think of a better word that would make more sense?)
A pellet manufacturer can tell you what they put in the pellet, but they do not know what is in it after it was made. Nor do they know if their packaging will help or hinder the product. She actually did some analysis of pellets and wrote the manufacturer and told him that what he said were in the pellets weren't in there. He admitted that they had done NO research because they could not afford it and could he please see her research.
Use oilseeds in moderation. Their calcium and phosphorous ratio is reversed of what it should be. That would be sunflower, safflower and linseed.
Nuts have the Essential Fatty Acids but beware of Aflatixin with peanuts.
The nuts should have a 1.5-2 to 1 calcium to phosphorous ratio and all nuts are too low. (Sorry, but that is all my notes say and I know it isn't specific.)
Genetically modified nuts don't have EFA.
Use sweet potato and fiber instead of fruits because those fruits we can offer are totally different from what they can get in the wild.
Spirulina is very good for birds. Chlorella is good too, but not as good.
Phycocyanin is good for renal health and should be taken if zinc has been ingested.
Sprouts - feed them after 3-5 days. They ARE NOT best fed just when the sprout appears.
Sprout, don't cook, legumes.
Barley has some thing that is good. It looks like P4Di. (Sorry.)
Raw soybean is bad.
Soy flour is high in protein but not high enough.
Meat based proteins are too rich. Do not try to give your bird all it's protein from eggs and meat.
http://zoominfo.com/people/McDonald_Debra_623946544.aspx
Below is a link to an article that she gave at the AFA convention.
http://www.afabirds.org/2006_Convention/sp_mcdonald.shtml
Dietary Influences on Feather Pigmentation in Passerines and Psittacines
She has her own brand of pellets but they are not available in the US. I liked her because the first thing she said was that we do not know the nutrient requirements for parrots because we don't know what they eat in the wild. She has worked mostly in Australia, but has also worked in Peru. She said she saw some berries and said the macaws must really like those. The natives said that the macaws don't eat those, but named another animal that ate them. The natives pointed to the tree canopy and said that the macaws liked those. She said she could see a nut with a fruity or fleshy outer part, so she said that the macaws must really like the nuts. No. The natives said that the macaws only eat the fleshy part. They drop the nut.
In short, she is aware of what we don't know and is willing to go into the wild to do research on it. I liked her lectures and tried to take notes. Below are a few statements that I can read. LOL Some of them contradict what people are currently saying. A lot of this will not be knew for you, but I did the best I could.
There is no vitamin A toxicity in the wild, but it can occur in captivity.
Many birds are allergic to wheat. Spelt is a substitute for wheat.
Some pellets are made from FLOOR SWEEPINGS of bakeries. (Remember she has an Aussie accent so I am not really sure if she said "bakeries." Can you think of a better word that would make more sense?)
A pellet manufacturer can tell you what they put in the pellet, but they do not know what is in it after it was made. Nor do they know if their packaging will help or hinder the product. She actually did some analysis of pellets and wrote the manufacturer and told him that what he said were in the pellets weren't in there. He admitted that they had done NO research because they could not afford it and could he please see her research.
Use oilseeds in moderation. Their calcium and phosphorous ratio is reversed of what it should be. That would be sunflower, safflower and linseed.
Nuts have the Essential Fatty Acids but beware of Aflatixin with peanuts.
The nuts should have a 1.5-2 to 1 calcium to phosphorous ratio and all nuts are too low. (Sorry, but that is all my notes say and I know it isn't specific.)
Genetically modified nuts don't have EFA.
Use sweet potato and fiber instead of fruits because those fruits we can offer are totally different from what they can get in the wild.
Spirulina is very good for birds. Chlorella is good too, but not as good.
Phycocyanin is good for renal health and should be taken if zinc has been ingested.
Sprouts - feed them after 3-5 days. They ARE NOT best fed just when the sprout appears.
Sprout, don't cook, legumes.
Barley has some thing that is good. It looks like P4Di. (Sorry.)
Raw soybean is bad.
Soy flour is high in protein but not high enough.
Meat based proteins are too rich. Do not try to give your bird all it's protein from eggs and meat.