Aliray's right, but thought this information might be of interest also:
Be careful with vitamin supplements. Giving your bird too much can cause overdosing, where the buildup of vitamins will begin to act as poisons.
For the majority of us, the subject of supplements is a guessing game. We guess at which supplements our feathered friends require. Since there is the multitude of supplement options – which one do we choose? What if your Pesky Parrot is allergic to a particular supplement, will you know? What will you do?
After we decide on a type and brand of supplement, how do we get Pesky or Pollyanna to consume the supplement? Do we sprinkle it on their food or do we mix it in their water, do we mix a solution and feed with an eye dropper?
Because there has been relatively little study done on specie specific requirements (birds), many of the supplements offered are the same as those offered we humans.
We often hear of tainted foods and product recalls in our own food chain as well as in the pet industry.
The supplement industry is, as of this writing, an unregulated industry in the United States. That being the case, how do we know what is safe and what is not To be honest, we don’t. You may want to ask your veterinarian about a particular supplement and/or the brand before offering to your feathered friends.
In commentary about the ingredients used in supplements, Susan Weiss, president of Ark Naturals, a supplement manufacturer, said:
“It can be a real challenge, even for manufacturers, to get to the reality of ingredients. Manufacturers buy raw materials and get a certificate of analysis. The supplier basically warranties the quality, but how do you know? There is no authority that warrants that the COAs are valid.”
Eve Adamson, writing for Pet Product News International, August 2008, wrote:
“If a manufacturer can’t even be sure that an ingredient is what it says, how does a retailer, and then a consumer, trust the label?”
Weiss goes on to state:
“You can’t test every single lot of every ingredient you buy. Both the time and cost would be prohibitive. So 100 percent oversight over ingredients is impossible.”
Considering Weiss’ statement, my birds will never receive any products from an industry that cannot concern themselves with properly testing the raw materials that are used for their offerings.
Just because it is on the shelf in your favorite pet store or in the catalog of an online vendor does not mean it is necessary for companion birds. Remember, the pet store, online vendors and the supplement/additive manufacturer are in business to sell product and make money, they are not necessarily good sources of medical advice. Just because they make and sell a product to the pet bird market, do they really know if that product is of a benefit to the birds?
