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There seems to be a resurgence of people recommending that you feed your pet bird mealworms. I don’t know why…these people seem to come around in cycles.

We were introduced to mealworms several years ago. A salesman called us up. At that time we were at the biggest stage of running our aviary, and did some advertising. That usually brings the salesmen to us. We were already aware of mealworms, but just barely.

This guy told us that pet birds LOVE mealworms. After all, wild birds eat them all of the time, and captive birds would greatly benefit from the protein they supply to the diet. Well….OK, that sounded reasonable.

He gave us a box of samples, and some literature, and basically was trying to get us to push his product on our customers. Again, this was reasonable request. But since I was the main nutritionist for our aviary, I needed to be more convinced. So I experimented for the next few weeks with feeding mealworms.

My first “test subject” was my breeding pair of African Grays. Since their diet required lots of protein, especially for breeders, they would probably love to try them. They took one look at their food dish, saw that it had a bunch of crawling bugs in it, screamed and ran into their breeding box. It took several hours to get them to return to the food dish again.

The only birds that seemed even a bit interested in mealworms were my finches, and even with those birds we had mixed results.

WHAT ARE MEALWORMS?

Mealworms are the larvae of the darkling, or flour beetles. They are not really “worms”, but the larvae just before turning into beetles (after about 10 weeks). They are an excellent source of protein, which is severely lacking in many fruit and seed diets that wild birds are accustomed to. Therefore, wild birds look to insects to supplement their diet. And mealworms are mighty tasty to them.

They are very easy to grow. Generally, fill up a box with rolled oats, toss in some slices of apple, potato, or carrots, and add some mealworms. They can also be purchased in a freeze-dried state. These are commonly sold in pet stores, and are used mostly for reptile and fish food. But home-grown mealworms are very popular for feeding wild birds. But since captive pet birds were never introduced to them, they are generally fed by their parents, or hand fed a powered formula by their breeders. Foraging for insects never quite got into their education.

Mealworms come in a variety of sizes. Small ones are ½ inch, and will grow to as much as an inch in size. The very large sizes are just common mealworms that are treated with a growth hormone that prevents them from developing into beetles, and grow even larger!

If you want to try your birds out on mealworms, what I would suggest is getting a small quantity of them. If your bird shows an interest in them, grow your own. They are a little expensive to buy, but since they are easy to grow yourself you can keep a never ending supply of them on hand.

The main advantage of mealworms is the high protein they supply. Most captive birds do not require such a high amount. The birds that seem to eat them are soft billed birds, such as Finches and Canaries. These types of birds love the small seed diets, like millet. Since these seeds lack a not of nutritional value, you need to supplement their diet with whatever you can find. If they will eat mealworms, that’s great!

But for other birds, I have not found any great advantage of feeding mealworms. They will have an easier time eating other sources of protein. The expense and trouble of feeding mealworms does not justify making this a major portion of their diet. If your bird will eat them, give it a try. But I wouldn’t try changing their diet over.

We are always getting letters and email asking for advice and comments. So from time to time we will be passing along some of these conversations.

QUESTION: Is it OK to have packing-peanuts in a parakeet’s cage as a toy? Also, would bubble wrap in the cage be ok?

ANSWER: You enjoy listening to POP-POP-POP all night long?? I don’t give this stuff to my own kids let alone my birds! We do have an African Grey that goes nuts over popping them, but we keep him under close watch to make sure that’s all he does.

I can certainly see how they may be fun to play with, but packing peanuts and bubble wrap are not a good idea.

Bubble wrap is easy to answer. NO WAY! Not because it’s toxic, but because it can’t be digested. That thin plastic is very easy to chew up and swallow. It will get lodged in the digestive system of the bird and cause some very nasty health problems, most likely death.

Packing peanuts? That depends. A lot of companies are beginning to use bio-degradable packing peanuts that dissolve in water, are non-toxic, and are safe for the ecology. They are made from a corn or potato-starch based mixture that breaks down easily in landfills. Other then a very small amount of polymers used as a bonding agent, they are totally safe.

The more common form of packing peanuts are made of polystyrene (better known as styrofome). This product is toxic, can not be digested, does not break down, and will cause all sorts of harm to your bird if swallowed.

But even though the starch based peanuts are considered safe, I would never recommend their use as a bird toy. I think you could find something a lot more safe and fun to play with.

QUESTION: A friend told me that rope toys and perches are bad for my bird. But I see them in all sorts of bird cages at pet stores? Should I remove them from my cage?

ANSWER: The problem with using rope perches and toys is the bird loves to chew them up. After a short time they become frayed, and tiny threads will begin to hang off them. These threads will easily get tangled around those tiny bird toes, trapping the bird. The bird begins to panic, and in many cases will actually chew their toe off to escape.

In other cases, the threads can become entangled around the neck or wing, causing similar panic.

When we first started our aviary, we put all sorts of these toys into the cage. At that time we had over 100 birds. One day we went out to do our evening check and feed and discovered one of our lovebirds hanging from the top of the cage, it’s leg bleeding. It was from one of those “cotton candy” rope toys. That was the day we removed every rope toy from our cages.

What we recommend using is leather lace. Be sure that it’s untreated with any toxic chemicals. There are a number of bird toy suppliers that carry this product, and you can easily make fun bird toys for them to chew on.

If you must use these products, check them daily for loose threads and remove them. Note that they also absorb lots of moisture (and the bacteria that goes with it), and they can be difficult to clean. You don’t want your bird chewing on these, so dispose of them when they become soiled.

In our many years of breeding birds, we get a lot of people asking to purchase very young baby birds. The younger the better…..even a couple weeks old.

Sounds like a reasonable request. After all, we have constantly stated that getting a young bird is much easier to train than an older one…why not a baby?

Baby birds are also a lot cheaper to purchase! Just recently our daughter told us that a vendor at a flee market in Florida had just-weaned Blue/Gold Macaw babies for $400. Up here in the north these birds would cost at least $900 as babies, and $2500 once weaned and about 6 months old! So naturally the new pet-owner would love to save some huge cash!

The reason they are cheaper is because the bird breeder has not invested their time into raising it. Look at the work required…..you have to feed the birds every 2-3 hours all day long. And all night long! If you have a lot of babies you can’t possibly do it yourself, so you have to hire someone to help feed. Now we have employee costs. This is their business! Investing their time is how they earn their money.

Food can be expensive! With our aviary, the birds are fed a prepared hand feeding formula that looks like brown flour. It’s actually a formulated mixture of grain, vitamins and minerals that are scientifically designed to fit the needs of a baby bird. Unless you purchase it wholesale the price is expensive. After a few weeks we begin to introduce other foods. We gradually work them through the stages of Gerber baby foods and other types of human foods. Those are not cheap either! Ask any mother who just had a baby! The cost of feeding a parrot from birth to weaning at 3-4 months is easily $200-300. The time invested in those feeding is factored in, and you end up with a very expensive pet!

But buying them as babies eliminates all of the cost involved in weaning them, making them a bargain. We have lost our share of baby birds. Sometimes it was from bad food. Other times it was from our experimenting with something new. It was an expensive lesson. But we learn from our mistakes, and pass on these lessons to others.

But the average pet owner does not really have a clue how to properly feed babies. When I first started getting involved with birds, I would have given anything to find a breeder to help me out, teach me the proper technique, and mentor me. Such things as why you need a brooder, what is the correct temperature of the food. I lost a lot of babies, and every one of them devastated me! I didn’t have the vast knowledge of the Internet. All I had was a library with old books that didn’t tell me much.

In most cases, we refuse the sell unweaned baby birds. And in ALL cases we will not sell them unless the purchaser can demonstrate that they know how to hand feed them, and can show they understand the dangers and responsibilities of hand raising birds. A very good sign of a bad bird breeder is someone who would sell a baby so someone with no hand feeding experience. You are usually condemning your bird to death!

I remember attending a bird show. My husband was watching the booth while I got to “shop” and socialize with the other vendors. I was shocked to see a vendor trying to teach a prospective buyer how to hand feed a baby macaw using a turkey baster… one of those plastic tubes with a bulb on it! And the food was as thick as peanut butter!

Hand feeding birds is not easy. The younger the baby, the more often you have to feed it. Are you prepared to feed the bird every 2-3 hours….all day long? And all night long?

Therefore, if you are contemplating purchasing an unweaned bird, you must educate yourself on the procedures. Start by visiting a bird breeder and see if they will teach you. You will need to learn how to properly mix the food, test the temperature, and learn how to feed the bird. If you can find one, see if your local avian vet can assist you in training.

Larger birds are obviously much easier to feed. In most cases you can simply use a baby spoon and spoon feed the baby. But this does take more time. With experience and training you could learn how to use a syringe. But note that if not done properly, you will force the food down the esophagus and choke the baby.

Small birds should never be hand-fed by beginners. Even the most experienced breeders will not feed finches or parakeets, as those tiny bodies are next to impossible to work with. I did manage to feed parakeets, but only because the parents had abandoned the birds and I was left with no choice. It’s not something I look forward to.

WHERE TO GET MORE INFO

If you are dead set on trying to hand feed babies, start by gathering some education information. Most of the companies that produce hand feeding formula offer literature and videos on hand feeding. They include Kaytee, Lafeber, Zupreem, and Prettybird. You can go to their home page on the Internet and order this information.

Don’t get me wrong…hand feeding is a very rewarding experience. Watching your baby grow up to be a very tame and playful pet is worth all the effort. Just do it right!

If you are like us (I’m sure you are because you are reading our blogs), you have a special love for birds. How would you like to share your love of birds with others? Give a bird presentation about your bird(s) and share your knowledge and experience with others

I first started giving bird presentations when my son was in Kindergarten. It was mostly letting the little kids hold my young Parrot and a few easy questions like “What do birds eat”? Or “Can the bird talk”?

You really need to be prepared for some questions that only a kid would ask because an adult would be too embarrassed to ask such questions. “Where do baby birds come from”? Or “Why do birds have feathers instead of fur like a dog”?

Very young kids may only want to hold the bird so a presentation should be tailored to meet the age group of children. When presenting birds to older kids, the topic should include proper cage size and care and cleaning. Bird diets, health care, and safe toys for the pet birds can be accompanied with samples of food and toys. We were amazed at how many kids already had a pet bird, but knew very little about the proper care or training.

In some school classes that I gave presentations in, some kids were scared of the birds. To help overcome the fear I would have a child that wasn’t afraid of the bird allow me to tickle them on the hand with a feather. The kids that were scared of birds would see their class mate laughing and having fun with the bird and the feather that they would want to be tickled too. I had hoped that I was able to help kids get over the fear of the birds.

Some of our “presentations” were nothing more than taking a parrot to a public place, like a park or festival. Our area has a lot of “ethnic” festivals that are held outside, and we would walk around with our parrot on the shoulder having a fun time. We would be surrounded by kids asking questions or wanting to hold the bird. We would answer their questions. and then move on to another area. People would look forward to us coming to these events.

Once the word got out that I was giving education bird presentations I was asked to go to Nursing Homes, Special Needs Adults and Children’s Groups. And the best part about doing these presentations is when you come across someone special.

We were asked to do a presentation for the county school for severely handicapped, and mentally challenged children. We took along several birds, including a little black masked lovebird named Morticia. We did a small group of children and there was one little girl staring off into space. I walked up to her and one of the workers said “She doesn’t respond to anyone”. She was severely handicapped and didn’t have control of her arms or legs.

I placed Morticia on her shoulder, and Morticia began to rub her beak against the side of her face. The child very slowly turned her head toward Morticia. For a second she didn’t show a response, but then a big smile showed across her face. The workers were just shocked because the child never showed a response to anything…this was the first time! They had other animals there and she wouldn’t respond to them, but she responded to this little black masked lovebird! We left the bird on her shoulder for a while before moving on.

By doing bird presentations you establish yourself with people of the Community, and have a lot of fun at the same time!

OK, allow me a few moments to vent, let off steam, and do some primal screaming. I know my birds are having a field day with this. I hear them giggling in their cage. They read the news in the newspaper on the bottom of their cage and they are laughing at me!

Buttered microwave popcorn is bad? No way!

A group of doctors have decided that based on one single known patient, and very little research, that the butter flavoring in microwave poses a major health risk. This single patient was known to eat two bags of popcorn per day, and has been doing it for ten years!

The problem, according to Denver’s National Jewish Medical and Research Center is with the food flavoring additive Diacetyl. This ingredient has been around for many years. It is a naturally occurring flavoring found in a wide variety of foods, including butter, milk, cheese, and fruits. It has already been examined and approved by the FDA for use in food manufacturing.

The disease, known as bronchiolitis obliterans, has been researched at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine. Their research indicates that there are numerous infectious agents that can cause this disease. It’s extremely rare, and mostly develops in patients who have gone through lung transplants and are already in high a risk group.

One case of “popcorn lung” is diagnosed….out of how many millions of people who eat buttered popcorn? And now it gets a bad rep. My wife tossed out all my popcorn! What do I eat while watching television now?

So why are my birds making fun of me? It’s payback time because I tried to change their food over to organic pellets!

THE PELLETED FOOD DEBATE

If you have read my book The Easy Parrot System – Feeding and Nutrition, then you know I’m a big believer in pellet diets. They contain all of the vitamins, minerals, and protein that your bird needs. But if it doesn’t taste good, your birds will not eat it. If it doesn’t look appealing, or doesn’t have any flavor, the birds will not want to eat it.

>>My book also goes into great detail about pellet food diets, and gives you a step-by-step method to convert your birds from a seed diet. It’s very easy to do, and you will extend the life of your bird, plus eliminate a lot of health problems. This information and much more is available at The Easy Parrot System – Feeding and Nutrition

Many of the “organic” pellets do not contain artificial coloring or flavoring. That assumes that you use a very liberal definition of what “artificial” means. They taste like cardboard. Go on…taste it! Would you eat that stuff? Does it smell good? Then why would you want your bird eating it?

Don’t get me wrong! I am not against the “natural” or “organic” brands of pellet or formulated diets on the market. If your bird will eat them, that’s all that counts. My problem is that there are a lot of uneducated bird enthusiasts who are dead set against many brands of pellets. When you ask them why, they give you the same set of responses. So let me give you my opinion on these “facts”.

“PRESERVATIVES ARE BAD FOR YOUR BIRD”

This one is easy. Without preventives the food will go stale, become rancid, and very unpalatable. Your bird will refuse to eat it. Like it or not, you have to put preservatives into the food.

Many of the ingredients that are used in pellets (organic or not) use ingredients that already come with preservatives in them. They seem to forget this fact when talking about their products. As long as “they” don’t add more preservatives, it is ok, and they can still call it “organic”.

These are grain and protein products, and they only have a certain amount of shelf life. Unless you send them directly from the factory to the store, and they are sold within a couple of weeks, they will go bad. But bird pellets are manufactured and shipped to distributors, where they will sit in a warehouse for several weeks. Then they are shipped out to stores where they are again shelved for weeks or months! Ask your pet store how often they rotate their products? Even with preservatives, the shelf life of most pellet diets is only 1 year.

Therefore preservatives are added. The problem is which one to use. Many manufactures, such as Kaytee, Zupreem, and Prettybird use an antioxidant called Ethoxyquin, along with other natural antioxidants like Vitamin E and C extracts. This makes people nervous because they can’t pronounce it and do not know what it is. Used in small quantities these preservatives are perfectly safe. This is an FDA approved additive.

However, due to a narrow group of organic food enthusiasts, panic set in when they began to spread rumors about this product. Their concern was based on lab studies where rats were fed huge amounts of ethoxyquin in their diet caused transient depression and organ damage. But upon reading the study, it clearly goes on to report that “chronic toxicity in animals is reported as ‘apparently low’”. Isn’t it funny how this statement never got out in their warnings? This original study was done many years ago, and proven to be flawed and poorly developed. Numerous studies since then have proven this preservative to be very safe.

Some manufactures (such as Roudybush and others) caved in to the pressure (and lost a lot of sales) and changed over to a vitamin E derivative called D-Tocopherol. While this is a more natural preservative, it is not as effective or long lasting. It also has not been tested for safety in birds. They may be one reason it’s not readily available at pet stores, due to the short shelf life.

I guess that fact never gets mentioned in the anti-organic literature either.

ARTIFICIAL FLAVORINGS OR COLORINGS

In nearly every article I’ve read about the evils of these in pellet diets, they rarely ever target any particular chemical. But when they do, they go after them in vague accusations. Try this one:

“Artificial colors are derived from coal tar dyes or petroleum.”

The fact is that in the US, there is only a small handful of approved food colorings used in human and pet food production. And with these colorings, they are made of a huge variety of ingredients. Some are derived from tar/petroleum products, but to label the entire coloring as such is extremely deceptive. You will note in these articles that they never mention natural coloring or flavoring…..many of which are used in pellets, and are completely safe.

“Norway banned all products containing coal tar and coal tar derivatives in 1978”

True. But they lifted the ban in 2001 when the claims of their danger were proven false.

“Erythrosine is linked to thyroid tumors in rats”

Yeah, you remember this one I’m sure….the Red Dye #3 scare. Feed a lab rat 1000 times the normal consumption and it certainly did cause problems. So if you intend to drink 40 gallons of red soda a day, you need to be very concerned about this. The rest of us can relax.

My point is that even though many of these chemicals have been researched and approved by the FDA for human consumption, they should also be safe for your pets. And if it makes the food more palatable and appealing for the bird, without causing an unreasonable health risk, why all the fuss?

I am more concerned that birds are not getting a proper diet. I do not need tons of lab research to tell me that an all seed diet will cut the lifespan of a domesticated bird in half! I’ve seen too many cases of this myself, and my eyes do not lie to me.

So in conclusion, it is my “educated” opinion that the vast majority of pellet diets are safe, and I will continue to encourage them. If your bird will eat the “natural and organic” brands, so much the better. But my experience is that they will be more likely to eat the colored and flavored pellets such as Kaytee, Zupreem, Pretty Bird, and the rest. This does not make them better! But birds are like kids, and they can be very picky. They want their food to taste good, and not taste like cardboard.

Now, if you will excuse me…I need to run to the store and replace the buttered microwave popcorn my wife tossed out yesterday!